Holiday Season

I hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. We had a wonderful long family weekend, starting with Thanksgiving at Dave and Kelly’s house (they have more space than we do), with 20 total guests. Then, on Saturday, we celebrated our oldest grandchild’s bar mitzvah (now called a brit mitzvah).

Read more.



Newly Unveiled Verstandig Pavilion Promises Continued World-Class Care in a World-Class Facility



On November 30, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital officially unveiled the brand new Verstandig Pavilion, which will open December 10. A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the hospital’s new 477,000-square-foot addition, which is set to become the D.C. region’s most advanced health care facility. Read more about this event and new hospital space.

Remembering Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD

Medical oncologist Worta McCaskill-Stevens (M’85), MD, founding director of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), died from complications from a sarcoma on Nov. 15. A Georgetown University alumna and honorary degree recipient, she is remembered for her work as a tireless champion of diversity in cancer research and better care for underserved communities. Read a tribute to McCaskill-Stevens by Georgetown Lombardi’s Lucile Adams-Campbell, PhD, and Hopkins’ Otis Brawley, MD, in The Cancer Letter.

Georgetown Lombardi Members: Please Complete the Shared Resources User Survey by 12/8

Those Georgetown Lombardi members who have not yet filled out the Shared Resources User Survey should plan to do so by Friday, December 8. All members are expected to complete the survey. Information gathered in this process is critical to planning and decision-making processes, particularly as it relates to members’ needs for Shared Resources services in D.C. and Hackensack. Access the survey here.

Ruesch Center Announces 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: Monday, January 15, 2024, 5:00 p.m.

I-REACH Annual Meeting: Learn about Aging, Cancer and Disparities

Monday, December 4

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

A panel of speakers will highlight I-REACH research and resources, including a new remote scholar program designed to support candidates and research that contributes to I-REACH’s mission to promote diversity and inclusion. Register to receive Zoom joining info and agenda.

Center for Metabolomic Studies Seminar Series: “Using Lipidomics to Understand How Human T cells Control Outcomes of Infection and Autoimmune Disease”

Monday, December 4

2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Presented by D. Branch Moody, MD, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, associate physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Sponsored by the Center for Metabolomic Studies at Georgetown Lombardi. Join this seminar via Zoom.

Bhussry Seminar Series: “Membrane Stress Due to Defective Lipoprotein Biogenesis Blocks Initiation of Chromosomal DNA Replication in Escherichia coli”

Tuesday, December 5

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Presented by Rahul Saxena, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown. Sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. Join this seminar in Basic Science Building 341 or via Zoom.

CDI Seminar: “Exhaled Extracellular Vesicles: How To Capture Meaningful Data Out of Thin Air”

Tuesday, December 5

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Presented by Olivier Loudig, PhD, associate member of the Center for Discovery and Innovation. Join this seminar via Zoom (Meeting ID: 895 8054 1239).

Clinical Research Coordinator Seminar Series

Wednesday, December 6

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

This series is designed for Clinical Research Professionals and others vested in the care of research participants. The series provides opportunities for professional development as well as updates on GU policies, procedures and operations related to clinical research. Register for the Zoom seminar series.

Cancer Research Data Meeting

Thursday, December 7

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Sidharth Jain, an MD/PhD student in the Tumor Biology Program, presents “Understanding Biomarkers of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy and Toxicity in Metastatic Melanoma.” Mentor: Anton Wellstein, MD, PhD. Join the meeting in W302 or via Zoom.

Hariprasad Thangavel, PhD

Yuanyuan Tian, PhD

CDI-Georgetown Postdoctoral Seminar

Thursday, December 7

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Hariprasad Thangavel, PhD (Mentor: Dr. Jyothi Nagajyothi) presents “Adipomes: Key Orchestrators of the Breast Tumor Microenvironment” and Yuanyuan Tian, PhD (Mentor: Dr. Yi Zhang) presents “PDL1 and IFNa: prediction and prevention for GVHD.” Join this seminar via Zoom.

Brain Tumor Working Group Meeting

Thursday, December 7

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

View the meeting agenda. Meeting held in E501 Conference Room or join via Zoom.

Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series: “Thinking about Liver Diseases”

Thursday, December 7

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.



Featuring Theo Heller, MD, section chief, Translational Hepatology Section, Liver Diseases Branch, senior investigator, Clinical Research Section, Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH. Held in-person in the New Research Building Auditorium with Zoom option.

Survivorship Research Initiative Seminar Series: “Addressing Disparities in Genomic Care for Hereditary Cancer”

Friday, December 8

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

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

Presented by Anita Y. Kinney, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor of biostatistics and epidemiology, and director, Center for Cancer Health Equity, Rutgers University School of Public Health. Join this presentation via Zoom.

Oncology Grand Rounds Lecture Series: “Dissecting the Therapy Resistance Landscape of Acral Lentiginous Melanoma”

Friday, December 8

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.



Presented by Vito Rebecca, PhD, assistant professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, joint appointment in oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Sponsored by Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Held in-person in the New Research Building Auditorium with Zoom option.

CDI Seminar: “Signal Control in T Cells and Autoimmunity”

Tuesday, December 12

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Presented by Xiaoping Zhong, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and integrative immunobiology at Duke University Medical Center. Join this seminar via Zoom (Meeting ID: 886 3098 4951).

SGC-CLK-1: A Chemical Probe for the Cdc2-Like Kinases CLK1, CLK2, and CLK4

Benefits and Harms of Mammography Screening in 75 + Women to Inform Shared Decision-making: a Simulation Modeling Study

Greater Social Isolation and Social Constraints Prior to Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Are Associated with Greater Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms



Trace Sample Proteome Quantification by Data-Dependent Acquisition without Dynamic Exclusion

Beyond Pesticides Study Confirms Connection Between Exposure to Pesticides and Male Reproductive Problems



FOX 5 DC Donate: Help FOX 5 and Hyundai Pack a Palisades with Toys for Local Children With Cancer

NEW 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 January 9, 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.

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 - Sidharth Jain - “Understanding Biomarkers of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy and Toxicity in Metastatic Melanoma” | 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 | “Dissecting the Therapy Resistance Landscape of Acral Lentiginous Melanoma” - Vito Rebecca, PhD | New Research Building Auditorium / Zoom

12:00 PM | Dr. Ashai - Early Stage/Locally Advanced - HER2+ | Marietta or Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)

1:00 PM | Dr. Isaacs - Metastatic BC - HR+ | Marietta or 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. Rapisuwon - Breast Cancer Genetics | Marietta or Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)