Faculty News

Ira Pastan selected as a 2020 Sammies finalist

Ira Pastan, M.D., Co-Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, has been selected as one of 27 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) finalists. These finalists are outstanding federal employees who serve the public good and are addressing many of our country’s greatest challenges. Dr. Pastan is nominated for discovering a new class of drugs that can successfully treat a rare form of leukemia and hold promise to be effective therapies for pancreatic and lung cancer as well as mesothelioma.

John Schiller elected to the National Academy of Sciences

John T. Schiller, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Dr. Schiller, in close partnership with Dr. Doug Lowy, has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) culminating in the development of the prophylactic vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil, which protect from HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer.

Andrea Apolo receives Arthur S. Flemming Award

Andrea B. Apolo, M.D., NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, is a recipient of this year’s Arthur S. Flemming Award, which honors the accomplishments of mid-career federal employees. Dr. Apolo received the award for her work leading a clinical trial demonstrating that avelumab treatment led to prolonged survival in patients with refractory metastatic urothelial carcinoma. She then led the effort to get avelumab approved by the FDA for the treatment of bladder cancer.

Dr. William Dahut discusses coronavirus and cancer patients on Frankly Speaking about Cancer podcast

William L. Dahut, M.D., CCR Clinical Director, was a guest on the Frankly Speaking about Cancer podcast for their spotlight on coronavirus series. He addressed concerns from cancer patients and their caregivers and shared advice on what cancer patients can do to stay safe.

In Memoriam: Nancy Colburn, Ph.D.

The Center for Cancer Research mourns the recent death of past colleague and friend Nancy Colburn, Ph.D. She was an esteemed member of the NCI community for 36 years from 1976-2012.

Christian Hinrichs and Steve Rosenberg receive Federal Laboratory Consortium award

Christian Hinrichs, M.D., Investigator in the Experimental Transplantation and Immunotherapy Branch, and Steve Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch, received an award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) for their project, “New, First-in-class Immunotherapy for Treatment of Recurrent, Metastatic Cervical Cancer.” This award recognizes employees of FLC member laboratories and non-laboratory staff who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring federally developed technology.

Udo Rudloff and team develop potential new type of immunotherapy

New research led by Udo Rudloff, M.D., Ph.D., Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch, describes a potential new type of immunotherapy that applies across many types of cancer. The findings were reported in Science Translational Medicine and showed this approach has potential for treating other diseases as well. This work was featured in a recent press release from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Jennifer Brudno and James Kochenderfer discuss reduced side effects of remodeled CAR T-cell therapy

Jennifer Brudno, M.D., Assistant Research Physician, and James Kochenderfer, M.D., Investigator, both of the Surgery Branch, discussed their ongoing work to remodel CAR T cells to create a safer, more effective therapy in a recent Cancer Currents blog post. They share that since they tweaked the design of their original CAR T cells, the new therapy caused far fewer neurologic side effects than the original therapy did in an earlier trial but was equally effective.

James N. Kochenderfer receives Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award

James N. Kochenderfer, M.D., Investigator in the Surgery Branch, has been named a Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awardee by the Clinical Research Forum. Dr. Kochenderfer received the award for “Development of CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma.”

Jay Berzofsky and Hoyoung Maeng discuss new vaccine to help men with prostate cancer

Jay Berzofsky, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Vaccine Branch, and Hoyoung Maeng, M.D., Assistant Research Physician in the Vaccine Branch, recently discussed their ongoing work to design and develop vaccines and immunotherapy for cancer prevention and treatment with Cancer Therapy Advisor. They share how they are testing a vaccine that may one day delay the need to use androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer patients.

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