Chemoresistant diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a devastating illness that affects thousands of people each year in the United Stats, but there is good news to report. Dr. Leandro Cerchietti and Dr. Peter Martin, both members of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, published a paper in Cancer Discovery in September 2013 that sheds light on the mechanisms by which DLBCL becomes resistant to chemotherapy and how those changes might be reversed.
This was the 22nd annual presentation of the DOM Investigator Award, which is presented to members of the Department of Medicine, below the rank of professor, who perform on an outstanding level in the areas of clinical and/or basic biomedical research. The award is generously supported by the Michael Wolk Foundation.
Initiated in 2002, the Fellows Research Award is presented annually to fellows within the Department of Medicine who have presented outstanding research. This year's winners were announced at the June 11 Medicine Grand Rounds (11th Annual).
Dr. John P. Leonard was named Chair of the Lymphoma Committee (NIH-Sponsored Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology). He will guide the national agenda for lymphoma research regarding Phase II and Phase III NIH-funded clinical trials. Directing a team of clinical and translational researchers from U.S. academic and community medical centers, efforts are focused on creating and implementing new standards of treatment and fostering novel therapeutics.
For excellence in cancer research, Dr. Lewis Cantley, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor in Oncology Research and Professor of Cancer Biology in Medicine, received an Inaugural $3 Million Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. The award was given to Dr. Cantley for his landmark discovery of the signaling pathway phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K).
For more than a decade, Dr. John P. Leonard has been at the forefront of personalized medicine in the field of cancer. He has focused on identifying the factors as to why people with the same cancer may react differently to the same treatment. Ultimately, Dr. Leonard seeks to improve cancer treatments, while minimizing side effects.
Dr. Ari Melnick led a team of national and international scientists in a first of its kind study in which they decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Specifically, they uncovered that ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1970, the IOM has 1,928 members with selection based on a record of making major contributions to the advancement of medical sciences, health care, and public health.
The ASH Clinical Research Training Institute is a "year-long education and mentoring program for hematology fellows and junior faculty at academic medical centers and offers a broad education about clinical research methods, research collaborations, statistical analysis, and managing the demands of family and career."
Dr. Linda Vahdat, Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program and Chief of the Solid Tumor Service, Division of Hematology & Medical Oncology, was featured in a MSNBC report on Halaven, a new drug for treating metastatic breast cancer. Halaven is derived from the sea sponge.
