Patrick Ma appointed to Steering Committee
Patrick C. Ma, MD, MSc, a professor at Penn State College of Medicine and a medical oncologist specializing in thoracic oncology at Penn State Cancer Institute, has been appointed to represent Penn State Cancer Institute on the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Steering Committee. Dr. Ma serves as the associate director for translational research and disease team leader of the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology team at Penn State Cancer Institute. Dr. Ma is also co-leader of the next generation therapies program. His research team was among the first to identify early-onset adaptive reprogrammed drug persister cells against EGFR targeted therapy.

Population Science group explores research opportunities from prevention to survivorship
Within the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, disease-specific Clinical Trial Working Groups are largely focused on developing novel therapeutics to treat and ultimately cure disease. The Big Ten CRC’s Population Science Working Group, led by co-chairs Sharon Manne, PhD (left), of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Electra Paskett, PhD, of The Ohio State University, has a different goal: To develop and implement population-based research within the Big Ten CRC. Drs. Manne and Paskett share a common vision to harness the strengths of each member institution of the consortium to meet the needs of patients across all Big Ten catchment areas.

Big Ten investigators aim to close gaps, break barriers in AYA cancer research and care
Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium investigators are determined to give adolescents and young adults a fair shot in overcoming cancer by addressing the systemic challenges that are often roadblocks to the best care, including access to cancer clinical trials. David Dickens, MD, FAAP, a hematologist-oncologist at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, is working alongside Amanda Parkes, MD, a medical oncologist specializing in sarcoma and breast cancer at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, to address barriers often faced by this age group as co-chairs of Big Ten CRC’s newly formed Adolescent and Young Adult Clinical Trial Working Group.

Wesolowski appointed co-chair of Big Ten CRC correlative sciences group
Robert Wesolowski, MD, associate professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, was recently appointed as co-chair of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s Correlative Sciences Clinical Trial Working Group (CTWG). He joins fellow co-chair Thomas G. Sors, PhD, Assistant Director of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease. The group serves as a resource to advise investigators on the correlative aspects of Big Ten CRC studies in development.

Kristen Spencer, DO, MPH, discusses innovative hepatocellular carcinoma study, BTCRC-GI20-457
"As an early phase clinical investigator at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, my research focuses on developing novel combinations to treat advanced biliary tract, hepatic, and pancreatic cancers," writes Dr. Spencer. "Unfortunately, the rising incidence of hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers, coupled with poor outcomes for these patients, continues to be a pressing reminder of our mission as researchers. One project I am proud to be the national principal investigator of is BTCRC-GI20-457, A Phase II study of Atezolizumab and Bevacizumab in Child-Pugh B7 Hepatocellular Carcinoma (the AB7 trial), which is open to accrual at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and is being conducted in collaboration with participating sites throughout the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium."

Vijaya Bhatt, MBBS, MS, highlights UNMC's multi-disciplinary approach in geriatric oncology
With the aging US population, we face the challenge of rising incidence of cancer in older adults," writes Dr. Bhatt. "Older adults are at a higher risk of developing and dying from cancers. Several factors contribute to poor outcomes including cancer biology, multimorbidity, frailty, and social isolation, which has become worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults are also frequently not well represented in clinical trials; this poses additional challenges by creating a knowledge gap in understanding how to optimally treat older adults with comorbidities. Improving outcomes in older adults with cancer requires multidisciplinary care, research collaboration and innovative trial designs."
Investigator spotlights
Philip Low, PhD

Dr. Low is the Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry – Biochemistry (Department of Chemistry) at Purdue University. His research interests include the design of ligand-targeted drugs, tumor-targeted dyes for fluorescence-guided surgery of cancer, and development of novel immunotherapies for cancer, among others. Dr. Low's latest research is the design, synthesis, and patenting of PSMA-617, an investigational PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Coral Omene, MD, PhD

Dr. Omene is a medical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She has devoted much of her research toward translating novel laboratory observations into discoveries to better care for breast cancer patients, with a particular focus on triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Her current research is aimed at developing interventional strategies, including clinical trials, that will help close disparity gaps that exist in breast cancer treatment.
Paul Mayor, MD, MS, FACOG

Dr. Mayor is an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He provides care for women across the full spectrum of gynecologic cancers and manages their surgical interventions and their chemotherapeutic and immunotherapy treatments before and after surgery. His research interests include the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment with particular interest in genomic alterations that drive tumor resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, as well as the role surgery plays in inducing ovarian cancer resistance to therapies.