In the past 12-15 months the OSUCCC – James has recruited more than 40 senior- and junior-level medical scientists, including these prominent senior-level researchers, all of whom received direct funding support from Pelotonia:
Zihai Li, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist and immunologist who was recruited from the Medical University of South Carolina in April to become founding director of the new Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology (PIIO) at the OSUCCC – James, where he also is in the Translational Therapeutics Program. Li, who specializes in mechanisms of immune regulation in cancer, will help the cancer program build on its already strong work in immunotherapy, widely considered to be the next frontier in cancer treatment. The PIIO is a bench-to-bedside research initiative that focuses on harnessing the immune system to fight cancer at all levels, from prevention to treatment and survivorship.
Allan Tsung, MD, was recruited from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to become director of the Division of Surgical Oncology at Ohio State and a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James. His research examines the role of innate immunity in injury-induced inflammation and the tumor microenvironment of primary and metastatic liver malignancies. Tsung, who directed the Liver Cancer Program at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, brings a prolific research laboratory to Ohio State.
Philip Tsichlis, MD, was recruited as a professor in the Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics at Ohio State and as co-leader of the Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program at the OSUCCC – James. He came from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, where he was a professor of hematology and oncology and also served as executive director of the Molecular Oncology Research Institute. His lab focuses on using insertional mutagenesis and other genetic strategies to identify genes involved in causing cancer or regulating phenotypic changes in tumor cells.
Jing “Jenny” Wang, PhD, a professor in the Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics at Ohio State and member of the Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program at the OSUCCC – James, studies molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets of colon cancer metastasis and drug resistance. Wang was recruited from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she was a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases. One of her many research aims is understanding molecular mechanisms of colorectal cancer metastasis, recurrence, tumor dormancy and drug resistance.
Yiping Yang, MD, PhD, an expert in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, serves as professor and director of the Division of Hematology at Ohio State. Yang, who was recruited from the Duke Cancer Institute and Duke University School of Medicine, specializes in the treatment of lymphoma, leukemia and virus-associated malignancies. He will be in the Leukemia Research Program at the OSUCCC – James. He also will be a collaborator in the new Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology (PIIO) directed by Zihai Li, MD, PhD.
Theodore Wagener, PhD, was recruited from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to become an associate professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State. He also co-leads the Cancer Control Program and directs the Center for Tobacco Research at the OSUCCC – James. Wagener’s research focuses on tobacco regulatory science, with an emphasis on evaluating the pharmacological effects and behavioral use patterns of cigarette and non-cigarette tobacco products, such as electronic cigarettes and hookah.
Blake Peterson, PhD, was recruited from the University of Kansas as professor and chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in Ohio State’s College of Pharmacy. He also will be in the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James. Peterson’s laboratory pursues interdisciplinary research in bio-organic/medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. His team creates and studies anticancer agents, antiviral agents, molecular probes, tools for target identification and systems for drug delivery.
Junran Zhang, MD, PhD, was recruited from Harvard Medical School to Ohio State as an associate professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, and as a member of the Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program at the OSUCCC – James. Her expertise is in DNA damage response (DDR) and replication stress response (RSR), and their impact on human genomic stability, tumorigenesis and cancer therapy. Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling DDR and RSR is a central topic in cancer biology and therapy.