Among the research foci at the related Head and Neck Cancer Research Program, are immunotherapies, reduction of medical oncology after transoral robotic surgery (TORS), transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) and its effect on oropharyngeal cancers, correlation of environmental toxins and thyroid cancer, and tumor cell dormancy.
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Oren J. Becher, MD, has joined Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital as Chief of the Jack Martin Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, the Steven Ravitch Chair in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, and Professor of Pediatrics and Oncological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Becher is a renowned expert in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), as well as other brain tumors in children. He will continue his research on DIPG at Mount Sinai, and will also focus on genomics for both diagnosis and therapy. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Becher was at Northwestern University School of Medicine in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Previous academic appointments include Duke University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he also did a fellowship in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology. Dr. Becher earned his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a residency in Pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
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M. Margaret Kemeny, MD, FACS, received the 2021 Richard L. Schilsky Cancer and Leukemia Group B Achievement Award from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Foundation. Dr. Kemeny, Director, Cancer Center of Excellence, Queens Hospital Center, has conducted innovative clinical and laboratory research throughout her career. She is especially known for her leadership in the National Clinical Trials Network and as a surgical oncologist involved in clinical trials. Under her guidance, Queens received the highest accreditation and recognition for excellence from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
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Yiyang Chen, PhD student in the Chipuk Laboratory, was awarded a Mount Sinai Trainee Innovation Award for his project on development of an IHC-based melanoma prognostic assay that can be used for early detection of melanoma as well as monitoring of melanoma progression. Dr. Chen was honored at the SINAInnovations Awards Ceremony, held on November 8.
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Emma Zhou, LCSW, Social Work Supervisor at The Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai, was recognized with a 2021 40 Under 40 in Cancer award, an initiative that recognizes contributions made across the field of cancer by emerging leaders under the age of 40.
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Diego Chowell, PhD, has received a Sinsheimer Scholar Award from The Alexandrine and Alexander L. Sinsheimer Foundation to support his research project, “Learning the language of T cell epitope recognition: Implications for vaccine design against cancer and viruses.” Dr. Chowell’s research will apply deep learning algorithms to decipher the molecular determinants of antigen recognition by T cells. The Sinsheimer Scholar Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate potential for making major contributions to the prevention or cure of human disease.
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Yang Tian, PhD, received the 2021 EGFR Resisters grant award from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) for “Targeting lung lineage plasticity to suppress Osimertinib-induced drug-tolerant persisters.” The EGFR Resisters grant is part of the LCRF Pilot Grant Program, which funds innovative research focused on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. Dr. Tian is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Watanabe Lab.
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Call for PRMC Citizen Scientist Candidates |
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TCI is soliciting nominations for citizen scientist members of the Protocol Review Monitoring Committee (PRMC), with the goal of increasing collaboration between TCI and our community and harnessing community members’ valuable perspectives on cancer clinical research. The community members serve as reviewers of proposed research protocols; they comment on feasibility, logistics and relevance. The community members also serve as lay advocates and conduits, communicating study opportunities and results back to our community and the larger public.
Read more for a complete description of responsibilities and eligibility criteria.
Nominations of qualified and interested candidates can be sent to Venesha White, Research Program Director.
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Alexandra intends to pursue a career in oncology and brings a personal drive to her research. At the age of seven, she was diagnosed with an aggressive osteosarcoma that led to an above-knee amputation.
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Jarvier N. Mohammed, a PhD candidate in the Cancer Biology multidisciplinary training area at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, is a member of the Chipuk Laboratory. Jarvier conducts research on elucidating novel cellular and pharmacologically mediated mechanisms regulating the activation of the pro-apoptotic protein, BAX, which is implicated in homeostatic and chemotherapy-induced cell death. One aim of his work is to provide molecular insights into the cooperation of the BCL-2 family and mitochondria in the context of cancer to improve treatment. Dr. Chipuk says that Jarvier is “incredibly talented at the bench, a dedicated mentor, and a skillful writer; he already has seven publications,* one in revision, and three more in preparation.” An international student from Trinidad and Tobago, Jarvier earned his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from New York Institute of Technology.
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Guest Faculty: Amit Singal, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
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Martin A. Cheever, MD
Cancer Immunology Research. 2021 Nov. PMID: 34645621
“Mac opened and expanded the field of cellular immunotherapy, led important initiatives that supported all cancer immunotherapy efforts, and drove innovative trials with agents for patient benefit.”
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Science Advances. 2021 Nov 17. PMID: 34788103
This study is the first to use multi-omics to create a computational model of multiple myeloma. The model—the Multiple Myeloma Patient Similarity Network (MM-PSN)—enabled accurate dissection of the genetic and molecular landscape of the disease and identified 12 distinct subgroups defined by five data types generated from genomic and transcriptomic profiling of 655 patients. Findings revealed significant diversity within previously-defined disease subtypes and novel insights into the occurrence of primary and secondary genomic alterations within each patient’s cancer. The studies pave the way for research into drug repurposing approaches aimed at novel therapies tailored to specific patient subgroups.
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Cell Reports. 2021 Nov 16. PMID: 34788626
This comprehensive investigation of young adult cancer’s genomic and molecular profiles revealed the molecular etiologies of young adult tumors across multiple cancer types. Findings highlighted key genomic and microenvironment alterations that may be targeted by kinase inhibitors and immunotherapies, presenting possible precision treatment options for young adult cancer patients.
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Journal of Kidney Cancer and VHL. 2021 Oct 13. PMID: 34722126
This study—the largest analysis of metastatic sites for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC)—examined the patterns of metastasis in 16,899 patients. Findings indicate that the metastatic burden of disease in patients with mRCC has increased over the past three decades, with rising rates of lung, lymph node, and bone metastases. The researchers suggest that clinically appropriate bone imaging should be considered as a diagnostic standard, based on the rising disease burden in this patient population.
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Nature Biotechnology. 2021 Nov 1. PMID: 34725502
Dr. Chowell and colleagues developed a machine learning model to predict immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) response by integrating genomic, molecular, demographic and clinical data from a comprehensively curated cohort with 1,479 patients treated with ICB across 16 different cancer types. In a retrospective analysis, the model achieved high sensitivity and specificity in predicting clinical response to immunotherapy and predicted both overall survival and progression-free survival in the test data.
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Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2021 Nov 23. PMID: 34812843
This study identifies an NR2F1 agonist that is able to prevent metastasis by inducing a dormancy program in disseminated cancer cells. It is also a proof of principle that it is possible to design dormancy-inducing therapies to prevent metastasis by understanding dormancy mechanisms in residual disease.
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Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 2021 Nov 11.
This review provides information on the immune microenvironments underlying the response or resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to immunotherapies. Dr. Llovet and colleagues discuss emerging trials assessing immunotherapies across all stages of HCC that could change the management of HCC in the near future.
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Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34520194
The research team led by Drs. Jian Jin and H. Ümit Kaniskan has demonstrated for the first time that KEAP1, a Cullin 3 ubiquitin E3 ligase, can be leveraged for PROTAC development using a highly selective, non-covalent small-molecule ligand of KEAP1. They discovered a proof-of-concept small-molecule PROTAC degrader, MS83, which is a novel KEAP1-recruiting PROTAC based on a previously reported KEAP1 small-molecule ligand that selectively binds the KEAP1 kelch domain. Their work expands the limited toolbox for targeted protein degradation.
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Invited Perspective
Science. 2021 Oct 15. PMID: 34648332
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Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 2021 Nov 1. PMID: 34669521
This review summarizes the use of clinical grading systems and biomarkers in GVHD treatment and highlights pathophysiologic phases of acute GVHD as context for the mechanisms of action and therapeutic targets of various approaches. Future strategies will employ a risk-adapted therapy using biomarkers and will reduce immunosuppression to avoid risk of infections and relapse.
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Nature Communications. 2021 Nov 25. PMID: 34824220
The research team led by Mihaela Skobe, PhD and Stuart A. Aaronson, MD, reports on characterization of a novel triple-negative Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) cell line that recapitulates all key features of human IBC in a mouse xenograft model. IBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer with unique clinical presentation and histopathology that includes skin erythema, diffuse growth, and dermal lymphatic invasion. Findings show that IBC tumors mobilize distinct subsets of inflammatory cells locally and systemically, and demonstrate a key role of the CCL2 chemokine and macrophages in promoting skin erythema, IBC growth, and metastasis. This IBC model provides insights into the distinctive biology of IBC that can foster the development of much needed IBC-targeted therapeutics.
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Cancer Services Expand in the Bronx,
Queens, and Brooklyn
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The Mount Sinai Health System and BronxCare Health System have launched BronxCareMount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care, featuring 10,000 square feet for medical and surgical oncology services and dedicated chemotherapy and immunotherapy infusion suites.
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The Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma is expanding services to Mount Sinai Brooklyn in early December. This is the third location for outpatient multiple myeloma care; the other two clinics are at the Ruttenberg Treatment Center and The Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center. Cesar Rodriguez, MD, Clinical Director of Multiple Myeloma at The Mount Sinai Hospital, will see patients at both Brooklyn and Ruttenberg.
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Do you have news for the next issue of TCI Connections?
Please send to Janet Aronson (646-745-6376).
Remember to share breaking news and high impact news that might be appropriate for media coverage with Marlene Naanes (929-237-5802) in the Press Office. This may include pending FDA drug/device approvals, studies/trial results being published in high-impact journals, and patient stories. The more lead time you can give Marlene, the better—ideally, four weeks or when a paper is accepted by the journal. Embargoes will always be honored and news will only be released with your approval.
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Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, Director
Janet Aronson , Editor
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