Save the date for the 2025 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 19-21, at Salamander Washington DC.
AACI Update | July 2025
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Save the Date for the 2026 AACI CADEx Conference
The 2026 AACI Catchment Area Data Excellence (CADEx) Conference is scheduled for March 9-11, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta. More details on registration, sessions, speakers, abstract submissions, and support opportunities are forthcoming.
CRI Steering Committee Seeks Nominations
Current CRI Steering Committee members at the 17th Annual AACI CRI Meeting (photo by Randy Belice)
The AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Steering Committee is seeking nominations by 5:00 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, July 16. Three new steering committee members will begin their three-year term in October 2025.
CRI Annual Meeting Focuses on 'Driving Solutions Together'
Loriana Hernández-Aldama (photo by Randy Belice)
AACI hosted its 17th Annual Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Meeting, June 23-25, in Rosemont, IL. Focusing on the theme of "Driving Solutions Together," the event drew over 600 registrants—including 578 in-person attendees—with 157 abstracts submitted for presentation.
CBS Sunday Morning Highlights 'Existential Crisis' for Cancer Research Funding
In a June 29 segment called Saving money vs. saving lives, CBS Sunday Morning highlighted the devastating impacts of cancer research funding cuts. George J. Weiner, MD (pictured), Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, and Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, were interviewed by Ted Koppel.
News from the Centers
Lonial Honored for Myeloma Research
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, FASCO, chief medical officer of Winship Cancer Institute, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Myeloma Foundation.
Polascik Recognized by American Urological Association
Duke Cancer Institute
Thomas Polascik, MD, received the American Urological Association's Focal Therapy Society Medal for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to men’s health. He is the director of surgical technology at the Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers.
Yendamuri Elected to the American Surgical Association
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sai Yendamuri, MD, MBA, FACS, has been elected to the American Surgical Association, the nation’s oldest surgical organization. Dr. Yendamuri currently serves as Roswell Park’s chief strategy officer and chair of thoracic surgery.
Biologist Receives Fox Chase Award
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Andrea Califano, Dr, a leader in the field of systems biology, was honored with the Stanley P. Reimann Honor Award at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD (pictured far left, with Califano), is the cancer center director.
Wei Honored With Professorship
Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University
Wei-Zen Wei, PhD, faculty member and researcher at Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been appointed to the rank of Distinguished Service Professor.
Research Trainee Receives ASH Graduate Hematology Award
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
Qingchen Yuan, MBBS, MSc, a third-year University of Florida doctoral student in pharmacology and therapeutics, has been selected by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to participate in the 2025 ASH Graduate Hematology Award. The award aims to encourage graduate students in the United States and Canada to pursue a career in academic hematology.
NIH Grant to Establish National Center for Microsystems-Based Biomedical Imaging
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Researchers from the University of Michigan received a $6 million center grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the new National Center for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The center will be dedicated to microsystems-based imaging systems, which offer a powerful approach to design and fabricate miniature devices that perform key functions for imaging.
$1.5 Million Gift to Support Sarcoma Research
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
A $1.5 million gift will advance sarcoma research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center through the establishment of the Dr. John A. Shoener Family Endowed Research Fund for Sarcoma. Jacqueline "Jackie" Shoener, inspired by her father’s lifelong commitment to health care and her own cancer treatment at UPMC Hillman by Benjamin Nacev, MD, PhD, established the fund.
V Foundation Funds Study on Obesity and Breast Cancer Prevention
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Kristy Brown, PhD, co-leader of KU Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control research program, has been awarded a four-year, $800,000 grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research to study how obesity may contribute to breast cancer risk, and how lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise might help prevent it.
Baskin Named Deputy Director of Research
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Monica L. Baskin, PhD, has joined VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center as deputy director of research. She will also serve as associate dean for cancer innovation at VCU School of Medicine.
Brain Tumor Center Announces Associate Directors
Siteman Cancer Center
WashU Medicine physicians Jiayi Huang, MD, and Milan G. Chheda, MD, have been named associate directors of The Brain Tumor Center at Siteman Cancer Center, a multidisciplinary practice of physicians and scientists.
Gamblin Named Inaugural Chief of Surgical Oncology
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
T. Clark Gamblin, MD, MS, MBA, FACS, has been named the inaugural chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah's Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine.
Scott Appointed Early Therapeutics Director
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Aaron Scott, MD, has been appointed director of the Early Therapeutics Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Scott currently serves as co-leader of the Clinical and Translational Oncology Program.
Markey Welcomes New Hematology Chief
UK Markey Cancer Center
Pierluigi Porcu, MD, has been named division chief for hematology and blood and marrow transplantation in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine and associate director for clinical translation at Markey.
Loss of Y Hinders Immune Response
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
A new study showing how loss of the Y chromosome hinders immune system function in males was partly funded by a National Cancer Institute grant to University of Arizona Cancer Center Director Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD.
To Get More Women Screened for Lung Cancer, Combine It With Mammogram
Stanford Cancer Institute
Leah Backhus, MD, and her colleagues came up with a creative approach to boost lung cancer screening: combine it with a mammogram. A recent study tested this idea in 54 women eligible for dual screening.
Cancers Can Be Detected in the Bloodstream Three Years Prior to Diagnosis
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Genetic material shed by tumors can be detected in the bloodstream three years prior to cancer diagnosis, according to a study led by investigators at the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study was partly funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Study Reveals Complex Genetics Behind the Survival and Growth of Brain Tumors
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
A research team from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and City of Hope has uncovered details about gliomas, including glioblastomas, that may ultimately inform personalized therapies. The preclinical study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, used DNA and RNA sequencing, as well as spatial transcriptomics, to analyze key genes in brain cancer tumors and the tumor microenvironment.
Drug Shows Safety, Efficacy for Precancerous Stomach Lesions
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
An early-stage clinical trial, supported by the Department of Defense, has demonstrated that the targeted cancer drug trametinib shows potential as an interventional therapy to reprogram precancerous gastric lesions, potentially preventing them from becoming malignant, and that it can be administered safely.
New Single-Cell Atlas Maps Childhood Leukemia in Landmark Study
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Researchers from Winship Cancer Institute and the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have published the most comprehensive single-cell analysis of pediatric leukemia to date. The study introduces the Pediatric Single-cell Cancer Atlas, the first public online resource of its kind dedicated to pediatric cancers.
New Partnership Aims to Deepen Understanding of Immune Response in Cancer Treatment
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
In a new collaboration that could transform how cancer is treated, OCCAM Immune—a Mount Sinai initiative focused on understanding the immune system’s role in disease—is partnering with the Cancer Research Institute to unlock the secrets of how the immune system responds to advanced therapies.
Could Electric Fields Supercharge Immune Attack on Deadliest Form of Brain Cancer?
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
A new study led by Keck Medicine of USC may have uncovered an effective combination therapy for glioblastoma. The study finds that using Tumor Treating Fields therapy, which delivers targeted waves of electric fields directly into tumors, may extend survival among patients with glioblastoma, when combined with immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy (temozolomide).
First Successful Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Using Deceased Donor in Blood Cancer Clinical Trial
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
For the first time, a patient has received an allogeneic stem cell transplant using a deceased donor graft as part of a blood cancer clinical trial at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.
CAR T Therapy Causes Brain Fog
Stanford Cancer Institute
Stanford Cancer Institute member Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, is the senior author on a study finding that CAR T-cell therapy causes mild cognitive impairments, and that this happens via the same cellular mechanism as cognitive impairment from chemotherapy and respiratory infections such as flu and COVID-19.
New Tool Improves the Detection of Hidden Genetic Mutations
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Scientists at UCLA and the University of Toronto have developed an advanced computational tool, called moPepGen, that helps identify previously invisible genetic mutations in proteins, unlocking new possibilities in cancer research and beyond.
Genetics and Therapy Type Determine Second Cancer Risk After Childhood Treatment
Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Physicians caring for survivors of childhood cancer later in life should be aware that survivors’ genetics, in addition to their lifesaving cancer treatment, contribute to the risk for secondary cancers. This finding comes from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists who quantified different factors’ contributions to the risk of a second cancer, the primary cause of mortality for long-term survivors.
Patients Are Opting in for 10 Years of Breast Cancer Treatment
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
As recommendations suggest extending hormone-based breast cancer treatment to 10 years for some patients, a recent study sheds light on whether patients are opting for it. The study was led by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Stanford Medicine.
AI Researchers Develop New Technologies for Cancer Care
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers using artificial intelligence have helped develop two technologies for improving cancer care. One, called MSI-SEER, better predicts microsatellite instability-high status from standard pathology slides and provides clinicians with specific data, including any uncertainties with predictions. The other, a breakthrough three-dimensional imaging tool, has transformative potential beyond cancer diagnostics.
Experts Make the Case for Onco-Primary Care
Duke Cancer Institute
Bridging the gap between oncology and primary care for cancer patients has historically been a persistent challenge for patients and their providers. Experts from the Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Primary Care recently published an editorial advocating for the development of onco-primary care models.
FDA Approves Standard-Changing Therapy Trialed at Siteman
Siteman Cancer Center
The immunotherapy pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) is the first change in standard-of-care treatment for certain head and neck cancer patients in more than 20 years. Federal approval follows the promising results of clinical trials first launched at Siteman Cancer Center in 2013.
TACIT Algorithm Offers Promise in Diagnosing, Treating Cancer
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an algorithm that could provide a new tool for determining the best options for patients, both in treating cancer and prescribing medicines. The algorithm—Threshold-based Assignment of Cell Types from Multiplexed Imaging Data (TACIT)—assigns cell identities based on cell-marker expression profiles.
Genetic Score Shows Promise in Improving Leukemia Outcomes
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
By allowing chemotherapy regimens to be personalized, a genetic score holds promise for improving treatment results in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have traditionally had poor outcomes, UF Health researchers have found.
Adding Immunotherapy to Standard Chemotherapy Extends Quality of Life in Advanced Endometrial Cancer
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
A study co-led by UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that combining the immunotherapy drug dostarlimab with standard chemotherapy not only improves survival for patients with advanced endometrial cancer, but also improves the quality of that extended survival by minimizing the time spent suffering from disease symptoms or severe treatment side effects.
Only 13 Percent of Americans Correctly Identify Testicular Cancer as Most Common in Men Under 40
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
A recent survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute focused on Americans’ perceptions of testicular cancer. The survey found that only 13 percent of U.S. adults correctly identified testicular cancer as most commonly affecting men under 40.
Researchers Identified New Indicators for HER2+ Breast Cancer Response to Therapy
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard report that conducting an integrated proteogenomic profiling of cancer cells, which combines the analysis of DNA, RNA, protein and phosphoprotein data, revealed two novel indicators of tumor response to treatment and alternative therapeutic targets for treatment-resistant HER2+ breast cancer.
Highlighting Cancer Survivorship
Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University
In a recent article, Karmanos Cancer Institute Director Boris Pasche, MD, PhD, FACP, highlighted challenges of cancer survivorship and the services and resources that Karmanos offers to address them.
KU Cancer Center to Build New Complex
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
The University of Kansas Cancer Center broke ground on the future site of a new complex that will bring research and patient care into one space. Roy Jensen, MD, is vice chancellor and director of KU Cancer Center.
UNM Cancer Center to Host Mastocytosis Symposium
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
The first-ever Albuquerque Mastocytosis Symposium will be held on July 26 to raise awareness of the rare blood condition. Ala Ebaid, MD, is director of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center's Classical Hematology Program.
Northwell Unveils $1.1 Million Expansion
Northwell Health Cancer Institute
The Northwell Health Cancer Institute unveiled a $1.1 million, 2,400-square-foot expansion of outpatient infusion at the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center. It features eight state-of-the-art infusion bays, which enhance patient care and experience at the center’s Don Monti Adult Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplantation Program.
Georgetown, Hebrew University Establish Research Collaboration
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Recognizing the power of education and research in preventing, treating, and curing one of the world’s most deadly diseases, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Georgetown University have established a joint initiative on cancer to amplify innovation, discovery, and action to end the disease.
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Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa
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Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University
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