UF Health Cancer Center

NEXT WEEK! We're discussing the active study NRG-GI008 (Aka the "CIRCULATE-NORTH AMERICA" Study) with Drs. Dasari and George on the NRG Oncology Podcast. Follow today to listen as episodes air! https://lnkd.in/e2biVYn5 @TGeorgeMD @adasarimd #ColorectalCancer #ColonCancer

Congratulations to Rachel Newsome, Ph.D., on receiving a Thomas H. Maren Research Excellence Award to advance her research on harnessing the gut microbiota to improve cancer immunotherapy response! Newsome identified a key metabolite produced by gut bacteria, Bac-429, which significantly enhanced immunotherapy response. She's now developing novel derivatives of this natural small molecule for a drug to give to patients, and the award will fund further drug development studies. Newsome is a past cancer research trainee who has been heavily involved in UF Health Cancer Center educational programs. She works in the lab of Christian Jobin, Ph.D., co-leader of our Immuno-Oncology and Microbiome research program. She was recently featured her in our Cancer Researchers on the Rise video series: https://go.ufl.edu/akt6dkr

We're proud to contribute to this success! In 2024, 58 patents were issued to UF Health Cancer Center members. ??

Thank you so much to John Crispino, Ph.D., director of experimental hematology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for visiting us to deliver our Topics in Cancer seminar on Friday! He gave an outstanding lecture on amplification of chromosome 21 in hematologic malignancies. At St. Jude, Crispino holds the Wall Street Committee Endowed Chair. His research focuses on acute leukemia in children with Down syndrome and blood cell development.

???????????? Great having Erin Monari, Admin Dir of the UF Health Cancer Center clinical research office, present outcomes and lessons learned on our successful University of Florida clinical research internship program at the 2025 Association of Cancer Center Administrators annual meeting. The program provides structured gap year experiences for post-Bac students in a variety of clinical research careers and builds a pipeline for the next generation of cancer clinical research staff. For more info on the program: ???? https://lnkd.in/eenaHB6S #ACCA25

With support from The National Institutes of Health (NIH), UF Chemist Matthew Disney and The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology is using RNA molecules to build a search-and-destroy system for multiple incurable diseases, including ALS, dementia, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s, advanced cancers, COVID-19 and several rare diseases.

Check out this fascinating research led by UF Health Cancer Center member Kiley Graim, Ph.D.! The goal of this research is to improve how diseases like cancer are predicted, diagnosed and treated for everyone, regardless of their ancestry. Ji-Hyun Lee, DrPH, our associate director for cancer quantitative sciences, was also a co-author on the new study, published in Nature Communications and supported with funding from The National Institutes of Health. Read more: https://go.ufl.edu/viaxdpf

Congratulations to Caretia Washington, a University of Florida M.D.-Ph.D. student, who has been selected for the American Society of Preventive Oncology’s New Investigator opportunity! She is one of only 12 new investigators nationwide to be selected for the award, which provides a travel discount to the society's annual meeting and includes a pre-conference workshop. Under the mentorship of?Dr. Dejana Braithwaite, associate director for population sciences at the UF Health Cancer Center, Washington's research focuses on lung cancer screening use and outcomes among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with the goal of advancing personalized cancer screening and care. Read the full story to learn more: https://go.ufl.edu/jyl2mbm #UFHealthCancerCenter #UFCancerTraining #CancerResearch #LungCancer

A new study led by UF Health Cancer Center researchers Matthew Gentry, Ph.D., and Ramon Sun, Ph.D., used a high-content spatial metabolomics platform to examine the link between lung cancer and diet. Published in the Nature Portfolio journal Nature Metabolism, the study found that the typical Western diet increases glycogen levels and glycogen feeds lung cancer tumors by providing their building blocks for growth. Read the full story: https://go.ufl.edu/6hwi3rf

Discover the latest advances in cardio-oncology and hear from leading experts in the field at our Cardio-Oncology Symposium on April 3. Registration is open! The symposium will be an enriching day featuring a poster session and multiple presentations from University of Florida and external experts, as well as a patient advocate session. One keynote address from an expert at Moffitt Cancer Center will focus on cardiovascular toxicities of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Another joint keynote from experts at Mayo Clinic will focus on bench to bedside research. The goal of the symposium is to bring together faculty, staff and students with an interest in cardio-oncology to foster a collaborative environment that will lead to new projects and grant applications. See the agenda and register today! https://go.ufl.edu/nw2y71b #CardioOncology #UFHealthCancerCenter