Awards and Honors
John C. Byrd, MD, director, Division of Hematology; Professor of Medicine, of Medicinal Chemistry and of Veterinary Biosciences and the D. Warren Brown Designated Chair in Leukemia Research, was featured in Clinical Cancer Advances 2012: ASCO’s Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer. Published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the annual report is an independent review of advances in clinical cancer research that are likely to improve patients’ survival and quality of life.
Christopher Pelloski, MD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology and director of the Pediatric Radiation Oncology Program, has been awarded a $180,000 grant from Roche for work titled “The Preclinical Investigation of Concurrent Radiotherapy and p53/MDM2 Inhibition in Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). ” His team also will harvest xenografts for dynamic molecular changes during therapy as a first-of-a-kind study in pediatric RMS. Pelloski is establishing a world-class preclinical testing program for radiotherapeutic studies at Ohio State that utilizes a high-throughput in vivo apparatus and approach.
Mark Failla, PhD, professor of Human Nutrition, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for distinguished contributions to the field of nutritional biochemistry for developing valuable models elucidating bioavailability, metabolism and efficacy of health-promoting dietary constituents.
Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, professor of Medical Oncology, of Epidemiology and of Otolaryngology, has been elected a Fellow of the AAAS for distinguished contributions to the fields of tumor virology, cancer biology and epidemiology, particularly in defining human papillomavirus as the etiologic agent for head and neck cancers.
Julia White, MD, director of breast radiation oncology at the OSUCCC – James and professor and vice chair of clinical research in the Department of Radiation Oncology, will be inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Radiology (FACR) for seminal contributions to the field.
Trainee Recognition
Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, MD, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, and in the Division of Hematology, has been selected for the highly competitive 2013 Translational Research Training in Hematology Program created by the European Hematology Association and the American Society of Hematology. Eisfeld also was first author on a paper recognized as one of three “Best Published Manuscripts from 2011-2012” in a book produced by the clinical-cooperative group Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Her paper, published in the journal Blood, was highlighted for “Leadership by a Junior Investigator.”
Timothy Lautenschlaeger, MD, resident in Radiation Oncology, has been named a B. Leonard Holman Scholar by the American Board of Radiology. The national award recognizes residents who demonstrate potential as clinician-researchers in radiation oncology.
Leadership Activities and Appointments
Guido Marcucci, MD, associate director for translational research at the OSUCCC – James, and professor in the Division of Hematology, served on an Institute of Medicine committee that guided the Department of Defense on the operation of the Joint Pathology Center, the world’s largest collection of human pathologic specimens. The committee published its recommendations in a report titled “Future Uses of the Department of Defense Joint Pathology Center Biorepository.”
Patrick Ross Jr., MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, has been named co-chair of Ohio’s Cancer Liaison Physicians (CLPs). The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer established CLPs as a network of physician volunteers who manage clinically related cancer activities locally and in surrounding communities. The program has nearly 65 state chairs who provide leadership to the CLPs in their state or region.
Grants
Nicholas Denko, MD, PhD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology, has received a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the NIH/National Cancer Institute (CA163581-01A1) to study “Decreasing Oxygen Metabolism to Reduce Hypoxia and Radiosensitize Tumors.
Faculty and Programs
Christin Burd, PhD, has joined the cancer program as an assistant professor of Molecular Genetics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in the College of Medicine. Her research interests include regulation of the INK4/ARF locus in cancer models, melanoma, senescence and aging.
Craig Burd, PhD, has joined the cancer program as an assistant professor of Molecular Genetics in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the importance of hormone signaling in cancer development.
Norman Lehman, MD, PhD, has joined the cancer program as an associate professor clinical in Pathology. His clinical interests include histologic and molecular classification of gliomas. His research interests include cell-cycle regulation, radiation therapy and anti-neoplastic agents.
Stella Ling, MD, has joined the cancer program as an associate professor clinical of Radiation Oncology. Her clinical interests include optimizing patient outcome and satisfaction. Her research interests include pulmonary radiosurgery, proton beam radiotherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy, and head and neck intensity modulated radiation therapy.
James Spain, MD, PhD, has joined the cancer program as division chief of Interventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology. His clinical interests include interventional radiology globally with focus on interventional oncology, especially concerning hepatic disease. His research interests include hepatic loco-regional therapies and IVC filters.
Joyce Nancarrow Tull, BSN, MSN, has joined the cancer program as director of the OSUCCC – James Clinical Trials Office. Previously, Tull directed the Clinical Trials Office and the Beaumont Community Clinical Oncology Program at Beaumont Health System in Michigan.
The Ohio State University has signed an agreement with the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre in Malaysia to collaborate on the further development and commercialization of the promising anticancer agent silvestrol, which is derived from the Aglaia tree that grows in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
The OSUCCC – James awarded the 19th annual Herbert and Maxine Block Memorial Lectureship Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer to Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and senior associate member of the Broad Institute. For his Block Lecture, Garraway presented “An Integrative Framework for ‘Precision’ Cancer Medicine.”