Register today for the 17th Annual AACI CRI Meeting, June 23-25, 2025, at Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL.
AACI Update | June 2025
Headlines
Cancer Research Advocates Unite at Hill Day
On Thursday, May 22, AACI co-hosted the 2025 Hill Day with the American Association for Cancer Research. Over 160 participants from 34 states convened in Washington, DC in support of stable funding increases for the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.
CRI Spotlight: Empowering Career Pathways in Oncology
Lauren Wall, MSc, will moderate a discussion, "Shaping the Future: Empowering Career Pathways in Oncology," with panelists Stefanie Belanger, MHA, CCRP, Whitney Cunningham, MS, PHR, and Danielle S. Mitchell. The session will be held at 3:00 pm central time on Monday, June 23, during the 17th Annual AACI Clinical Research Innovation (CRI) Meeting.
AACI Working Group Seeks Volunteers to Strengthen Cancer Service Lines
AACI recently launched a working group dedicated to defining cancer service lines (CSLs). This working group will bring together representatives from centers with well-established cancer service lines, those in early development stages, and institutions currently planning their service line infrastructure to assess governance and leadership models, organizational and financial structure, evidence-based best practices, and metrics of CSLs in AACI cancer centers.
AACI Calls on Congress to Reject FY 2026 Budget Cuts
On Friday, May 30, President Donald J. Trump released his final budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, slashing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ budget by 25.2 percent overall, and cutting funding for the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute by 40.4 percent and 37.2 percent, respectively. AACI urges Congress to reject the FY 2026 budget proposal and protect the institutions that make the U.S. a global leader in biomedical research.
Join the Summer Fight for Science
After mobilizing nationwide protests this spring, Stand Up for Science (SUFS) has shifted its focus to the proposed budget cuts that threaten the future of scientific research in the U.S. SUFS is organizing the Summer Fight for Science to raise awareness of federally funded scientific research through teach-ins, science demonstrations, and open labs.
News from the Centers
Merad Awarded French Knighthood for Contributions to Science, Medicine
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, has been awarded the title of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur [Knight of the Legion of Honor] by the French Republic for her contributions to macrophage biology and immunology.
Cancer Drug Trial Design Wins International Award
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
A cancer drug trial designed in part by a University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions faculty member has won the Society for Clinical Trials’ David Sackett Trial of the Year Award. The trial showed that adding the drug blinatumomab to a chemotherapy regimen for children with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma decreased risk of relapse by about two-thirds.
Edgar Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Bruce Edgar, PhD, researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Holzgreve Recognized by Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Adrien Holzgreve, MD, MHBA, a visiting assistant professor in the Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division at UCLA, has been recognized by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging as "One to Watch."
Sung Named to Professorship
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Anthony Sung, MD, was formally invested as the A. Drue Jennings Professor in Medical Oncology at The University of Kansas Cancer Center in recognition of his research and his dedication to improving patient care.
Fox Chase Earns NCI Designation Renewal
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Fox Chase Cancer Center has received a five-year renewal of its Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, is the cancer center's director.
Sound Wave Research for Breast Cancer Receives $5.5 Million
University of Virginia Cancer Center
University of Virginia researcher Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD, has received $5.5 million from the Department of Defense to study the use of focused sound waves to improve the immune system’s ability to battle breast cancer.
Baylor Researchers Receive CPRIT Funding
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Researchers at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine have been awarded more than $5 million in grants by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support research focused on cancer treatment and innovative core facilities. CPRIT awarded $93 million in grants to institutions across Texas, including five to Baylor.
$3.8 Million NIH Award Will Support Development of AI Models for Precision Treatment of Breast Cancer
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
A new award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aims to support the development of AI models to improve breast cancer treatment. The models will integrate data from different scales and timepoints from patients’ experiences. It will be sourced from a multi-center collaboration network consisting of the University of Pittsburgh, Duke University, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Initiative Aims to Improve Symptom Tracking for Cancer Patients
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Jefferson
Jefferson Health has been approved for a funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative to implement an electronic patient-reported outcome program for symptom management of patients receiving cancer treatment.
Fox Chase Welcomes Ruckdeschel
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
John C. Ruckdeschel, MD, FACP, FCCP, will join Fox Chase as a professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology. He previously held leadership roles at Moffitt Cancer Center, Karmanos Cancer Institute, and other cancer institutions.
Kulasingam Named Associate Director of Population Science
Louisiana Cancer Research Center
The Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC) has named Shalini Kulasingam, PhD, MPH, as associate director of population science. Dr. Kulasingam will collaborate with cancer population health researchers across LCRC’s partner institutions.
Welm Named Chair of Oncological Sciences
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Alana Welm, PhD, has been named chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah.
Hatcher Returns to Office of Community Outreach and Engagement
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Jenna Hatcher, PhD, vice provost and chief inclusion officer for the University of Arizona, has been appointed to return to the University of Arizona Cancer Center as associate director of community outreach and engagement.
Khasraw to Lead U.S. Arm of International Glioblastoma Trial
Duke Cancer Institute
Mustafa Khasraw, MD, deputy director of the Duke Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, is at the forefront of a promising clinical trial aimed at improving outcomes for patients with glioblastoma.
Targeted Strategy Prevents Untreatable Nerve Pain Caused by Chemotherapy
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
New research from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is the first to suggest that a tumor-driving gene known as AEG-1 actively regulates the inflammation responsible for causing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Eliminating the function of this gene using targeted therapies could help manage a debilitating side effect experienced by many cancer patients.
Study Offers Reassurance for Patients With Some Cancer-Linked Genes
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
As more people receive genetic testing after a cancer diagnosis, newer variants have been identified that increase risk of developing cancer. A study led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center finds that patients with three of these variants face no extra risk of dying from their cancer.
Pinworm Medication Has Potential to Treat Aggressive Skin Cancer
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
A common pinworm medication may stop and reverse cancer growth in Merkel cell carcinoma, according to research led by the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Pyrvinium pamoate, a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1955, has been shown to have antitumor potential in several different cancers, including breast, colorectal, pancreatic and bladder cancers.
Clinical Trial Investigates Immunotherapy for Glioblastoma
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
The University of Kansas Cancer Center is the lead site in a multicenter trial exploring a new treatment approach for people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. This investigational study is testing a personalized treatment designed to enhance the body’s own immune system in a targeted response against brain tumors.
Genetic Mutation in Some Ashkenazi Jewish Men May Be Linked to Higher Prostate Cancer Risk
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led research team reports that it has identified a recurrent frameshift mutation, called F722fs, in the MMS22L gene among men of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that is associated with a higher risk of prostate cancer and increased sensitivity to a specific anticancer therapy. The MMS22L gene is involved in repairing damaged or faulty DNA.
Immunotherapy Improves Survival of Patients With Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Siteman Cancer Center
An international Phase III clinical trial co-led by WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center shows that patients with certain locally advanced head and neck cancers benefited from the addition of pembrolizumab to standard-of-care therapy.
Study Finds Genetic Driver of Drug Resistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
A Fred Hutch study describes a new way to screen for the genes that matter in chemotherapy resistance by using human tumor cells implanted in mice. The study identifies a gene that is well understood in other cancer types—but poorly characterized in small cell lung cancer—that drives drug resistance when it gets turned off.
Wildfire Pollution May Lower Survival Chances for Lung Cancer Patients
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Breathing wildfire pollution may impact survival for people with lung cancer, according to a study from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Looking at more than 18,000 Californians who had non-small cell lung cancer between 2017 and 2020, the study found that those exposed to more wildfire-caused air pollution in the year after their cancer diagnosis were more likely to die from the disease.
10,000 Patient Milestone Reached in National Cancer Research Network
UK Markey Cancer Center
The UK Markey Cancer Center has enrolled its 10,000th patient in the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) since joining the alliance in 2017. ORIEN is a national consortium of 19 leading cancer centers that collaborate by sharing anonymized patient data and tissue samples through the Total Cancer Care® protocol.
New Technology for Breast Cancer Surgeries
Stanford Cancer Institute
Stanford Medicine is the first hospital system to integrate a new FDA-approved technology into its breast cancer program. The technology, LumiSystem, is a fluorescent imaging system that detects remaining cancer cells after a tumor is excised so surgeons can immediately remove the residual cancer.
More Men With Prostate Cancer Are Avoiding Unnecessary Surgery
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Researchers at University of Michigan have shown that the proportion of patients undergoing prostatectomy for the lowest-risk type of cancer dropped over fivefold between 2010 to 2024. They concluded that efforts to increase active surveillance and improved diagnostic methods have helped more men avoid unnecessary surgery.
Study Advances Understanding of Personalized Vaccines for Bladder Cancer
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Matthew Galsky, MD, and colleagues report on results of a Phase I study showing that custom-made vaccines in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors activate strong immune responses in patients with bladder cancer.
Study Uncovers a Novel Source of Genetic Variation Influencing Childhood Brain Tumors
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Researchers still do not have a comprehensive picture of the factors that influence gene expression in human cancers. To improve understanding in this field, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions investigated for the first time in cancer the association between two sources of genetic variation: germline or inherited structural variation (SV), and DNA methylation.
AI Could Help Improve Early Detection of Interval Breast Cancers
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
A new study led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect interval breast cancers—those that develop between routine screenings—before they become more advanced and harder to treat. This could lead to better screening practices, earlier treatment and improved patient outcomes.
Study Suggests Unique Tumor Microbiome Linked to Colorectal Cancer Disparities in Appalachian Kentucky
UK Markey Cancer Center
Researchers at the University of Kentucky have analyzed different factors that could explain the high mortality rates of colorectal cancer in Appalachian Kentucky. The interdisciplinary team focused on samples from patients diagnosed with colon adenocarcinoma, looking at characteristics that could explain disparities in cancer outcomes in Kentucky.
Guidance on Radiation Therapy a First for Anal Cancer Patients
Duke Cancer Institute
The American Society for Radiation Oncology issued its first clinical guidance on radiation therapy as a treatment for patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and margin. Brian Czito, MD, co-director of the Duke Cancer Institute’s Gastrointestinal Cancer disease group, chaired the task force that led to this guideline.
New Compound Targets Circadian Clock Machinery in Cells to Fight Glioblastoma
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
A series of preclinical studies show that a new compound, SHP1705, targets circadian clock proteins hijacked by glioblastoma stem cells, impairing the cancer cells’ ability to survive and grow. SHP1705 is also the first clock-targeting compound to complete a Phase I clinical trial, where it was found to be safe and well-tolerated in humans.
Positive Progress Seen in Clinical Trial of Novel Immunotherapy SurVaxM
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has announced that the ongoing phase 2B SURVIVE clinical trial of SurVaxM in glioblastoma will continue following an interim analysis of trial data. The trial aims to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and overall survival benefit of SurVaxM in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma who get standard-of-care treatment combined with SurVaxM.
Study Sheds Light on How Inherited Cancer Mutations Drive Tumor Growth
Siteman Cancer Center
A study led by researchers at Sitman Cancer Center reports how inherited cancer mutations might take a toll on the body’s cells starting at birth, perhaps predisposing a person to develop cancers at various stages of life.
Prostate Cancer Discovery Opens Door to More Tailored Treatments
University of Virginia Cancer Center
Prostate cancer has distinct genetic properties in different groups of men that can be targeted to improve patient outcomes, UVA Cancer Center researchers have discovered. Based on new findings in Chinese men, the researchers are urging similar studies in other groups to advance precision medicine and better tailor treatments.
Blocking a Surprising Master Regulator of Immunity Eradicates Liver Tumors in Mice
Stanford Cancer Institute
Stanford Cancer Institute scientists found that tumor cells in immunotherapy-unresponsive tumors make erythropoietin (EPO), which binds to receptors on macrophages. By removing or blocking macrophage EPO receptors, the tumors become immune reactive.
New Technology Being Tested to Treat, Remove Kidney Cancer Tumors
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
Experts in kidney cancer and interventional radiology from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute recently completed a third successful histotripsy procedure – a new, non-invasive way to treat cancerous kidney tumors available as part of an ongoing clinical trial.
How Federally Funded Research Helped Navy Veteran Beat Lung Cancer
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Thanks to cancer research and clinical trials, Navy veteran and stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer survivor John Ryan has witnessed milestones including the birth of his grandchildren.
Classical Hematology Clinic Treats Broad Range of Blood Disorders
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Classical Hematology clinic helps patients who have a broad range of noncancerous blood disorders and chronic blood cancers. Ala Ebaid, MD, directs the program.
PAMN is Now the Cancer Marketing and Communications Association
Cancer Marketing and Communications Association
Following a three-year strategic planning process, the Public Affairs and Marketing Network (PAMN) has adopted a new name: the Cancer Marketing and Communications Association (CMCA).
AYA Oncology and Oncofertility Conference Builds Bridges to Reduce Gaps in Care
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
Leading experts from numerous disciplines, including medical oncology, obstetrics and gynecology, endocrinology, and pediatrics, came together with the goal of improving cancer care for young people during the first-of-its kind University of Florida AYA Oncology and Oncofertility Conference in April.
Roswell Park Nationally Ranked as Excellent Workplace
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has been recognized by two organizations for its excellence as a workplace. Forbes has named Roswell Park to its list of America’s Best Midsize Employers, placing it among the top 11 employers in healthcare nationally. Becker’s Hospital Review also included Roswell Park on its recent 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare.
Cancer Center Jobs
Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine (Tenure Track)
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Read moreAssociate Director, Research Development
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Read moreMedical Director, University of Maryland St. Joseph Cancer Institute
University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Read moreMeeting Announcements
17th Annual AACI CRI Meeting
June 23, 2025
2025 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting
October 19, 2025
Save the date for the 2025 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 19-21, at Salamander Washington DC.