Krishna Komanduri, MD, an international leader in the fields of hematology-oncology, transplantation, and cellular immunotherapy, will become the new chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology based at UCSF Health as of July 1. He will also assume two newly created roles: physician-in-chief of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and clinical director of the UCSF Living Therapeutics Initiative. [read more]

Joanna Halkias, MD – Associate Member, Pediatric Malignancies

Natalia Jura, PhD – Member, Pediatric Malignancies

Samuel Washington, MD, MAS – Associate Member, Prostate Cancer

Lee-may Chen, MD; Chris Freise, MD; Nalin Gupta, MD, PhD; Patrick Ha, MD; and Madhulika (Mika) Varma, MD were among the recipients of 2021-22 UCSF Health Exceptional Physician Awards. Read more.

Kevan Shokat, PhD will serve as interim chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology – taking over from Wendell Lim, PhD – as of March 1, 2022. Read more.

Susan Chang, MD has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Neuro-Oncology, the flagship journal of the Society of Neuro-Oncology. Read more.

Emily Finlayson, MD, MS received an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award for a project, "PrehabPal: A digital tool to help frail elders prepare for cancer surgery.”

Wendell Lim, PhD received an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award for a project, "Geographic targeting of brain metastases using synNotch-CAR T cells."

Alexander Marson, MD, PhD received an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award for a project, “Engineering gene programs for enhanced allogeneic T cell therapies."

Arun Wiita, MD, PhD received an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award for a project, “Search & DESTOI: a strategy to degrade intracellular oncoproteins.”

Jacob Young, MD will receive the National Brain Tumor Society Award at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Luke Gilbert, PhD; Felix Feng, MD; Kevan Shokat, PhD; and Michelle Arkin, PhD received a 2021 PCF Team Challenge Award for a project, “Targeting the PTGES3-AR Axis in Advanced Prostate Cancer.”

Franklin Huang, MD, PhD (UCSF), Elisabeth Heath, MD (Wayne State University), and Clayton Yates, PhD (Tuskegee University) received a 2021 PCF Team Challenge Award for a project, “MET-PAAM: Elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Progression in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Among Men of African Ancestry.”

Natesan D, Zhang L, Martell HJ., Jindal T, Devine P, Stohr B, Espinosa-Mendez C, Grenert J, Van Ziffle J, Joseph N, Umetsu S, Onodera C, Turski M, Chan E, Desai A, Aggarwal RR, Wong A, Porten S, Chou J, Friedlander T, Fong L, Small EJ, Sweet-Cordero EA, Koshkin VS. APOBEC Mutational Signature and Tumor Mutational Burden as Predictors of Clinical Outcomes and Treatment Response in Patients With Advanced Urothelial Cancer. Front Oncol. 2022 March 7.

James JE. Race, Racism, and Bioethics: Are We Stuck? Am J Bioeth. 2022 Mar;22(3):22-24.

Molinaro AM, Wiencke JK, Warrier G, Koestler DC, Chunduru P, Lee JY, Hansen HM, Lee S, Anguiano J, Rice T, Bracci PM, McCoy L, Salas LA, Christensen BC, Wrensch M, Kelsey KT, Taylor JW, Clarke JL. Interactions of Age and Blood Immune Factors and Noninvasive Prediction of Glioma Survival. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2022 Mar 8;114(3):446-457.

The goal of the Leveraging Expertise to Advance our Professionals/Professors (LEAP) Program is to provide career mentoring to early career faculty who do not receive it elsewhere. Open to HDFCCC members who are assistant or associate professors. Learn more and apply.

The goal of the Cancer Application REview (CARE) Program is to provide R01 grant review for HDFCCC faculty who do not have access to it in their department or program. Learn more and apply.

Mar 18: Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Research Group Seminar Series

Diana Bell, MD (City of Hope) will present, "Controversies and Emerging Entities in Skull Base."

Mar 18: Cancer Center Friday Seminar Series

Luis Carvajal-Carmona, PhD (UC Davis) will present, "Precision health equity studies of gastric cancer in Latinos."

Mar 30: Breast Oncology Program Retreat: Scientific Poster Session

This scientific poster session will be held outdoors at the UCSF Mission Bay campus. Please register to attend.

Apr 5: Tweetchat: How to Encourage and Achieve Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials

In honor of National Minority Health Month in April, join the #SaludTues Tweetchat to discuss how to increase diversity in clinical trials and achieve equitable cancer research.

Apr 7: CCMI Software Series: UCSF cBioPortal

Join Dr. Michelle Turski and Dr. Karla Lindquist for an instructional webinar on the university's local instance of cBioPortal.

May 15-21: 8th Annual Hope Walk

UCSF-JMH Cancer Network is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area’s (CSC) 8th Annual Hope Walk. CSC has been providing help and hope to cancer patients and their family members since 1990.