The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has awarded Department of Quantitative Health Sciences researcher Ming Hu, PhD, a five-year, $2.4 million grant to study how chromatin is organized within cells and its implications for human health and disease.

The grant is part of NHGRI’s Genomic Innovator Award program, which recognizes and supports early-career researchers in the field of genomics. Hu is one of 11 Genomic Innovator Award recipients named in 2021.

Research supported by this award will build on findings recently published in Nature Methods by Hu’s team and collaborations from the Center for Integrated Multi-Model and Multi-Scale Nucleome Research, which brings together an international team of genomics researchers and is also funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Hu is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and member of the Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics Program of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Cancer Center Seminar Series will continue today, October 8 on Zoom. This interdisciplinary seminar series addresses cutting-edge clinical, translational, and basic research topics in cancer and is a focal point of the educational and inter-programmatic activities of the Cancer Center. CME credit is available for those who attend seminars. 

Seminar will not be available for viewing at a later date.

Professor of Population Health (Epidemiology), NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Associate Director for Population Science, NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center

Presented by the Population and Cancer Prevention Program

*Seminar taking place virtually via Zoom

The human body hosts trillions of microbiota and creates a symbiotic relationship. The recent development of next-generation genomic sequencing widely opened to study the human microbiome. Humans have substantial inter-individual variability in microbial composition, which may confer cancer susceptibility. Dr. Ahn will discuss three topics: 1) the microbiome as risk factors for oro-digestive cancer development, 2) the microbiome as predictive factors for cancer immunotherapy outcomes, and 3) cultural, societal, and dietary determinants of the microbiome.

Medical Director, Molecular Diagnostics Lab, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Professor, Department of Pathology; Member, Immune Oncology Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

October 22, 2021- Homecoming weekend. No seminar

October 29, 2021 - External Advisory Committee meeting. No seminar

Physician, Radiology, Neuroradiology/Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; Clinical Director, MRI, University Hospitals

Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology; Member, Cancer Imaging Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Registration is open for the third annual Artificial Intelligence in Oncology Symposium, November 8-9, 2021, hosted by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in partnership with the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics. This year's theme will focus on "Precision Medicine and Cancer Disparities." Past conferences have attracted attendees from across the globe, and this year is no exception. Plus, discounts are available for student and trainee attendees.

During this two-day virtual symposium, speakers and panelists will dive into discussions on technical advances in AI, how AI and machine learning are being used as diagnostic and prognostic tools in clinical decision-making, cancer disparities and global health, and the ethics and policy surrounding this ever-changing field.

The keynote presentation, "AI Enabled Re-Thinking of Microscopy for All-Digital Cancer Pathology," will be delivered by Rohit Bhargava, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Director and Professor, Bioengineering, Founder Professor of Engineering.

Additional speakers represent: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Verily, University of California, Irvine, University of Pennsylvania, Caring Cross, Dynam.AI, Tel-Aviv University, Queen's University, University of Toronto, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center, Joint Pathology Center, Hampton University, Technical University Munich, Helmholtz Center Munich, Analytics Ventures, CorePlus Servicos Clinicos y Patologicos, Mayo Clinic.

Attendees will experience the conference using Whova, our official web-based conference app, to view presentations and ask questions during panel discussions, and to easily network and connect behind the scenes.

Aiforia, dynam.AI and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Bioengineering.

Junior faculty members and established faculty wishing to refocus are invited to submit proposals for career development projects of up to $40,000 to be funded by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) - Tazania - Uganda HIV-associated Lung Cancer Collaborative. This training program is funded by the NCI U54 mechanism and is a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), the Case CCC, University Hospitals (UH), Makerere University, the Joint Clinical Research Center (JCRC), Uganda Cancer Institute, National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Tanzania, Muhimbili National Hospital, and the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI). Full-time faculty at or above instructor-level at any of the aforementioned institutions are eligible.

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, with funds from its American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant, will provide seed money to foster cancer research by junior faculty who have no current national grant support of their own. Investigators in the CWRU School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine as well as in other schools and colleges affiliated with Case Western Reserve University are eligible. Grants, not to exceed $40,000, will be awarded to investigators who intend to gather preliminary data to be used in seeking future and independently funded programs.

The American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center was also recently awarded a Diversity Equity and Inclusion supplement. Persons from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

Medication can play an essential role in breast cancer prevention, Holly J. Pederson, MD, director of medical breast services at the Cleveland Clinic, said during the NAMS Annual Meeting. “My objectives... are to identify women who will benefit most from risk-reducing medications, to recognize the importance of comorbid conditions and the timing of therapy and to develop strategies for improved uptake and adherence,” said Pederson, who also is an associate professor of medicine at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland.

But a clinical trial from The MetroHealth System and Case Western Reserve University, in partnership with Gathering Place, is working to give breast cancer surgery patients their independence back. The trial was backed and funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Health. In the trial, massage therapists were using a technique called myofascial massage.