I hope you all had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend — and that you paused to remember those who have fallen in service to our country.

Researchers at Georgetown Lombardi, led by Associate Professor of Medicine Benjamin Weinberg, MD, studied the microbiome of people with colorectal cancer and found the makeup of the bacteria, fungi and viruses in a person’s tumor varied significantly depending on whether they were diagnosed with early onset disease (age 45 or younger) or late-onset disease (age 65 or older). These results may help answer the riddle of why more young people are developing colorectal cancer, particularly those who have no known identifiable risk factors for the disease. Read more about this research.

Recent MD/PhD graduate Allison Fitzgerald (M’23, G’23), this year’s winner of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Award at the School of Medicine, was profiled in a story about Georgetown medical graduates for her ambition to combine patient care and research on pancreatic cancer. Read the full story.

The Second Annual Georgetown Center for Healthy Aging Symposium will be held Wednesday, July 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Fisher Colloquium, Hariri Building, as well as online. Titled “Advancing Knowledge about Aging to Improve Health and Health Care,” the symposium includes oral papers, panels, posters and breakout sessions on topics such as new research collaborations, career development, community outreach and grant proposal development. Networking opportunities include a luncheon and a closing wine and cheese reception. Organized by the Georgetown Center for Healthy Aging. Register now.

Join the Ruesch Center for a review of GI oncology research from the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting on Friday, June 23, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Drs. Marshall, He, Weinberg, Noel and Mukherji will highlight the most compelling abstracts in colorectal, pancreatic, liver, and upper GI cancers. Register to receive the Zoom link.

Learn how to upload your CV, add your personal website information, upload a syllabus, publications and more. Register for this class held via Zoom.

View the meeting agenda. Join this meeting via Zoom.

Leila Shobab, MD, assistant professor, medicine, Georgetown University, and clinical investigator, Endocrine Program at MedStar Georgetown University-MedStar Washington Hospital Center, presents “Sex-Differences in Thyroid Cancer Immune Response.” Join this meeting via Zoom.

Emre Deniz, PhD, mentored by Aykut Uren, MD, presents “Ezrin Asserts its Roles on Osteosarcoma Metastasis Through Interacting with RNAs.” Chandra Char, PhD, mentored by Suzanne O’Neill, PhD, and Marc Schwartz, PhD, presents “Hearing Loss & Cancer: Assessing the Moderation of Race Using the NIH All of Us Data Set.” Join this seminar via Zoom.

Axios New Bacterial Clues About Why Young People are Getting Colorectal Cancer

U.S. News & World Report Could Microbiome Changes Explain Rise in Colon Cancer Among the Young?

The Georgetowner Medstar Georgetown’s “Art for a Cause” Goes Viral

A weekly curated digest of federal funding opportunities of interest to colleges and universities to support programming, research, infrastructure and other efforts, provided by Thorn Run Partners. View report (for May 24, 2023).

The ReWARD program provides support for the health-related research of scientists who are making a significant contribution to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and who have no current NIH research project grant funding. The ReWARD program provides funding for both the scientific research and the DEIA activities of investigators. The grant will support scientific research in areas related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers and ongoing DEIA activities focused on enhancing diversity in the biomedical research enterprise within the United States and territories. View more information and application instructions. Application due date: Monday, June 5, at 5:00 p.m.

The goal of the Phi Beta Psi Charity Trust is to advance cancer research nationwide to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment by providing research grants to qualified investigators addressing original questions and hypotheses to be explored in basic and clinical studies in the field of cancer. Research applications must be focused on brain, breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, gastrointestinal tract or prostate cancer. Preference is given to young investigators with documented evidence of potential for conducting novel research of either basic or clinical aspects of cancer and cancer-related problems. Applications from established investigators exploring new and innovative areas of cancer research also will be considered. Post-doctoral fellows are not eligible. View full application information. Direct questions to Marcy Colley, marcycolleypbp@gmail.com. Applications for grants must be submitted to the office of the National Second Vice President by Thursday, June 15.

The Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, has released its fiscal year 2023 funding opportunities. The RCRP was initiated in 2020 to provide support for research of exceptional scientific merit in the area of rare cancers research. Rare cancers are defined as cancers affecting 6 or fewer persons per 100,000 per year in the United States. Applicants will be required to provide a justification statement explaining the relevance of the investigated cancer types/subtypes that fall under the RCRP’s definition of rare cancers. Pre-application (letter of intent) is required. Direct questions to help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507. View the funding opportunities and application instructions for:

The Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, has released its fiscal year 2023 funding opportunities. The mission of the PCARP is to promote rigorous, innovative, high-impact research that leads to earlier pancreatic cancer diagnosis, new therapeutic tools, and improved outcomes. Pre-application (letter of intent) is required. Direct questions to help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507. View the funding opportunities and application instructions for:

The Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, has released its fiscal year 2023 funding opportunities. The LCRP looks to support highly innovative, high-risk early ideas as well as more advanced translation research and early stage clinical trials. In addition, it supports researcher development with a career development-focused award mechanism. Pre-application (letter of intent) is required. Direct questions to help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507. View the funding opportunities and application instructions for:

Meetings in italics should be attended by all fellows.

8:00 AM | Monday Morning Oncology Report | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

8:30 AM | Division Weekly Update Meeting | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

9:00 AM | Breast Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 528212194)

11:00 AM | GU/Melanoma Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 796253566)

12:15 PM | No Lecture – Memorial Day | Podium A / Zoom

4:00 PM | GU Tumor Board (on 1st/3rd Mondays of the month) | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 869742463)

9:00 AM | Hematology Path Conference - Inpatient Heme fellows + Outpatient Heme + BMT fellow | Podium A / Microsoft Teams (CME code: 80737; phone: 202-796-7323)

12:15 PM | Cancer Risk Factors – Dr. Destefano | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

4:00 PM | Liver Tumor Board | WebEx (dial 844-302-0362; Meeting number (access code): 711 507 430, password: Mse4mGSA2N5)

5:00 PM | Breast Tumor Board | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 93777073374; CME code: 80044)

8:00 AM | Thoracic Tumor Board – Thoracic Fellow | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 941 1630 5835)

9:00 AM | Thoracic Research Meeting – Thoracic Fellow | Microsoft Teams

12:00 PM | Melanoma Tumor Board | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

12:15 PM | ALL – Dr. Rivero | Podium A / Zoom

5:00 PM | GI Tumor Board | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

9:00 AM | Cancer Research Data Meeting | Todd Young | “Glutamate Metabolic Enzymes GLUD1/2 and GPX4 are Associated with Tumor Size in Black Women with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer” | W302 New Research Building or Zoom

9:30 AM | Head and Neck Tumor Board - Thoracic Fellow attendance encouraged as clinic allows | Microsoft Teams

12:15 PM | No Lecture | Podium A / Zoom

12:30 PM | GI Research Meeting | WebEx (dial 844-302-0362, Meeting Number (access code): 712527865, HOST PIN: 5514)

5:00 PM | Lymphoma Tumor Board - every other week | Microsoft Teams

5:00 PM | Myeloma Tumor Board - every other week | Microsoft Teams

7:00 AM | CNS Tumor Board | Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 378 807 316)

12:00 PM | Oncology Grand Rounds Lecture Series | No Lecture | Zoom

12:00 PM | ASCO | Zoom

1:00 PM | Pancreas Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams