Dr. Weiner’s blog will return next week.

Happy New Year!

Read past blog posts.



Atkins Article Named JCO ‘Paper of the Year’

The editors of the Journal of Clinical Oncology selected the article titled “Combination Dabrafenib and Trametinib Versus Combination Nivolumab and Ipilimumab for Patients With Advanced BRAF-Mutant Melanoma: The DREAMseq Trial—ECOG-ACRIN EA6134” by Michael Atkins, MD, Georgetown Lombardi deputy director for translation and application, as the journal’s “2023 Paper of the Year” for its impact and reach.

Georgetown Lombardi Members and Staff Are Invited to Attend the Founder’s Atrium Dedication Ceremony

All Georgetown Lombardi members and staff are invited to attend a ceremony on Friday, January 12, at 11:30 a.m. dedicating the Lombardi Atrium in honor of the life and work of Dr. John F. Potter, the cancer center’s founding director (pictured). RSVP to lombardievents@georgetown.edu by January 5 to attend.

2024 MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research & Education Symposium: Abstract Submissions Open Jan. 10

The 2024 symposium takes place Monday, April 29, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. It will feature research posters for peer-reviewed projects from across the academic health system. All MedStar Health and Georgetown University physicians, nurses, researchers, staff, residents, and fellows are encouraged to submit. Visit the symposium portal for complete submission guidelines as well as resources on preparing an abstract. Abstract submissions will be accepted January 10 - February 5.

Diversity in Cancer Research Summer 2024 Undergraduate Internship Program Now Accepting Applications

This internship program is open to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors with an interest in STEM, cancer and/or biomedical research. Applicants from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research are strongly encouraged to apply.

About the program:

• Ten-week full-time program available beginning June 3, 2024 ($5,000 stipend).
• In-Person/virtual workshops, seminars, scientific meetings, mentoring and career development activities during the 2024-’25 academic year.
• Carefully matched mentors and peer mentors for each intern.
• Georgetown campus housing offered for in-person interns (in addition to stipend)

Application deadline: February 16, 2024. View more information and application portal. Questions: cancerresearchtraining@georgetown.edu.

THIS WEEK:

IO/Heme Working Group Meeting

Thursday, January 4

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Presenters are Michael Atkins, MD, Georgetown Lombardi deputy director for translation and application, and Sid Jain, MD/PhD candidate, discussing “DREAMseq Melanoma Study Biomarker Preliminary Results and Ongoing Efforts.” Join this meeting via Zoom.

NEXT WEEK:

Bhussry Seminar Series: “Translating Research Discoveries Into Impactful Solutions: Working With Georgetown’s OTC” 

Tuesday, January 9

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Tatiana Litvin-Vechnyak, PhD, vice president for the Office of Technology Commercialization, Georgetown University, presents a session dedicated to understanding and maximizing the collaboration with the Office of Technology Commercialization. Sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. Join this seminar via Zoom.

Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series

Thursday, January 11

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Presented by Manu Platt, PhD, distinguished scholar and senior investigator, NIBIB, director, Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (βETA), chief, Mechanics and Tissue Remodeling In Computational & Experimental Systems (MATRICES), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH. Held in-person in the New Research Building Auditorium with Zoom option.

Survivorship Research Initiative Seminar Series: “Achieving Health Equity in Cancer and Palliative Care”

Friday, January 12

Talk: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Meet the Professor: 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Presented by Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD, chief medical officer, The Tisch Cancer Hospital, vice president for cancer clinical services, The Mount Sinai Health System, professor for the departments of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Join this seminar via Zoom.

Combination of Itacitinib or Parsaclisib with Pembrolizumab in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors: A Phase I Study

Cultural and Linguistic Adaptation of a Telephone-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Intervention to Treat Depression and Anxiety in Hispanic Cancer Survivors

Cigarette Prices and Disparities in Cessation in the United States

Relationship Between Area-Level Socioeconomic Status and Health-Related Quality of Life among Cancer Survivors

Calcium Activation of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cells

Extracellular Vesicles-Associated miRNAs in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: From Tumor Biology to Clinical Relevance

Socioeconomic Disparities in the Association Between All-Cause Mortality and Health Check-Up Participation Among Healthy Middle-Aged Workers: A Nationwide Study



Association of Neighborhood Gentrification With Prostate Cancer and Immune Markers in African American and European American Men

NBC News People who got colon cancer in their 20s or 30s describe what it was like and the signs that were ignored

Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion represent a focused effort to encourage and support investigators from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in cancer research and to foster their career advancement. Proposed projects must be basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, population health, and/or community-based cancer research projects designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer. Research that aims to advance the science of understanding cancer health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities that has relevance to breast cancer will also be considered. The grants provide $150,000 over two years for expenses related to the research project. View more information, eligibility criteria and application instructions. Application Deadline: 1:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 9, 2024.

Ruesch Center GI Program Funds Award

The Ruesch Center is soliciting research proposals for 2024. Funding will be available to Georgetown Lombardi, John Theurer and MedStar Health scientists and clinicians with a GI cancer-relevant research focus — basic, clinical, or translational. This funding is intended to foster translational collaborations and generate new hypotheses and results to prove them, leading to jointly authored publications and externally funded grants. New one-year pilot collaborative project funding awards and repeat one-year funding to the previous year’s awardees whose pilot projects have generated encouraging data are available. Up to four multi-investigator-initiated projects will be funded up to $50,000 each.

There is dedicated funding available for the following:

• A pancreatic cancer research project
• An immunotherapy-related project
• Projects on any promising GI cancer-related topic. Areas of GI cancer research interest include the microbiome, liver metastasis, liver and biliary cancers, and CRC (early onset)

View more information and application procedure details. Submit a letter of intent to marshalj@georgetown.edu. LOI Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Mary Kay Ash Foundation Innovative/Translational Cancer Research Grant

The Mary Kay Ash Foundation, a funding source for cancer research, is currently accepting applications for innovative grants for translational research for cancers affecting women, including but not limited to ovarian, uterine, breast and/or cervical cancer. Principal Investigator must be appointed a full-time assistant professor or higher at the time of application submission and commit a minimum 5% effort. Grants will be awarded in the amount of $100,000 over a two-year period. View more information. Please submit grant documentation to Sharon Levy (sgl5@georgetown.edu) by Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.

Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK)

The Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK) is a one-year research opportunity open to current college seniors and those who have graduated with a bachelor’s degree within the last 36 months who are:

• From a racial, ethnic, or other group underrepresented in biomedical fields, including first-generation college students, those from economically and/or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds as defined by the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity, and those with disabilities
• A U.S. citizen, permanent legal resident, or DACA recipient who is eligible to legally work in the United States 
• Strongly committed to a future career in research, with a curiosity for cancer research, and planning to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD degree following completion of post-baccalaureate research

The program will provide students who have the potential to become leaders in cancer research with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond. The award includes a stipend and expense allowances for the recipient. Application deadline: Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. View more details and application guidelines.

Federal Grants Digest: Colleges & Universities Edition



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 current issue (for Dec. 20, 2023).

8:00 AM | Division Weekly Update Meeting | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

8:30 AM | Monday Morning Oncology Report | Inpatient Oncology Fellow | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

9:00 AM | Breast Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 528 212 194)

11:00 AM | GU/Melanoma Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 796 253 566)

4:00 PM | GU Tumor Board (on 1st/3rd Mondays of the month) | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 869 742 463)

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

4:00 PM | Liver Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams

5:00 PM | Breast Tumor Board | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 937 7707 3374; CME code: 80044)

8:00 AM | Thoracic Tumor Board | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 993 7680 5192; Passcode: 4231; CME 86693)

12:00 PM | Melanoma Tumor Board | Podium A / Microsoft Teams (CME: 80988)

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

9:00 AM | Cancer Research Data Meeting - none | W302 New Research Building or Zoom

9:30 AM | Head and Neck Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams

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 | Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 298 285 483 265, Passcode: rJWpmU)

12:00 PM | Oncology Grand Rounds Lecture Series | none | New Research Building Auditorium / Zoom

12:00 PM | Dr. Isaacs - ABIM Questions | Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)

1:00 PM | Dr. Mainor - Early Stage/Locally Advanced - TNBC | Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)

1:00 PM | Pancreas Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 299 996 740 910, Passcode: z7j7Rc)

2:00 PM | Dr. Mainor - Pre-malignant/High Risk Histology | Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)