The 62nd Annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting will take place virtually December 5-8, 2020. The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has compiled a list of session chairs, presentations, abstracts and papers from Cleveland-based institutions including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. We wish the best of luck to all presenters and attendees! 

The 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will take place virtually December 8-11. Drawing an international audience of academic and private physicians and researchers, the symposium is designed to provide state-of-the-art information on the experimental biology, etiology, prevention, diagnosis and therapy of breast cancer and premalignant breast disease. The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) has compiled a list of spotlight sessions and posters featuring Cleveland-based institutions including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. We wish the best of luck to all presenters and attendees!

University Hospitals (UH) will be one of six research sites to initiate Phase 2 of a clinical trial of PVSRIPO in combination with pembrolizumab for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive tumor types. According to a release from clinical-stage biotechnology company Istari Oncology, Inc., PVSRIPO is a novel viral immunotherapy that activates a patient’s innate and adaptive immunity to facilitate a targeted anti-tumor immune response. The study seeks to determine whether PVSRIPO and pembrolizumab will be able to generate anti-tumor response in patients with rGBM, given their complementary mechanisms of action.

“The Phase 1 trial of PVSRIPO yielded survival rates like we’ve never seen before,” said Andrew E. Sloan, MD, FACS, Director of the Brain Tumor & Neuro-Oncology Center and the Center of Excellence in Translational Neuro-Oncology at UH Seidman Cancer Center and UH Neurological Institute, and Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Sloan is a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center's Developmental Therapeutics and Cancer Imaging programs.

Anixa Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious diseases, announced Monday that it has entered into a license agreement with Cleveland Clinic for exclusive, world-wide rights to an innovative ovarian cancer vaccine technology.

Cleveland Clinic immunologist Vincent Tuohy, PhD has been working on a method to vaccinate women against ovarian cancer and other gynecological malignancies. This development-stage vaccine targets the extracellular domain of anti-mullerian hormone receptor 2 (AMHR2-ED), that appears in many types of ovarian cancer. Dr. Tuohy is a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center's Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program.

The Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute is seeking qualified candidates for various roles. CITI has open full time positions at all academic levels for candidates who have expertise in immuno-oncology, immunotherapy, immunology, or immunogenomics. The center is also seeking a Program Head for Cell Therapy Developmental Therapeutics and Faculty in Immuno-Oncology focused on Cell Therapy, as well as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Timothy Chan, MD, PhD. CITI is also hiring a Research Department Analyst.

The Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Computer & Data Sciences in the Case School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) are inviting applications for a mid-level (tenured/tenure-track) faculty position in the area of artificial intelligence and medical imaging. The successful candidate will be jointly appointed and will also be affiliated with the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD).

The Mary Kay Foundation is accepting applications for grants for translational research in ovarian, uterine, breast, or cervical cancer. Only one individual at Case Western Reserve University (including University Hospitals researchers with CWRU appointments) will be nominated to submit a full application. Case Comprehensive Cancer Center members who are appointed through UH or CWRU should apply to THIS internal competition. CCF applicants should apply internally here by Dec 1.

Grants up to $100,000 total costs ($86,956 direct costs with a 15% IDC rate), to be used over one or two years. PIs must have a full-time, independent, faculty appointment.

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center leadership will review all applicants. Selected nominees will work with their department research administrators and Case CCC administration to submit full applications to the sponsor before February 5, 2021.

Do you have a cancer technology idea that breaks convention? The NCI SBIR Development Center is proud to announce the launch of a new funding option for you. Say hello to the SBIR Phase I Concept Award.

This opportunity is designed for small businesses developing highly innovative and transformative technologies that have the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish entirely new and improved approaches to significantly improve cancer research, prevention, detection and care in pediatric and/or rare cancers. The short proposal is intended to de-risk out of the box ideas – therefore review will focus heavily on innovation and preliminary data is NOT required.

You can learn more about the SBIR Phase I Concept Award during an informational webinar on Wednesday, December 16, 2020.

Interested small business offerors are requested to indicate their intent to propose by submitting a White Paper by March 26, 2021. This will allow the NCI to provide feedback on whether or not the proposed idea falls within the scope of what this solicitation is seeking. Details are included in the solicitation.

Responses to this solicitation are due by July 23, 2021, 5 pm ET. For more information about this program, please visit the program solicitation or contact Tiffany Chadwick.