COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) announces the following awards, honors, grants and more that were recently given to the organization, teams or individuals: NCI grant will support study of immune cell clusters in pancreatic cancer The OSUCCC – James will use a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to examine how clusters of immune cells function in pancreatic tumors. Principal Investigator Andrew Gunderson, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Ohio State and member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, says understanding how these clusters work may help scientists devise therapies to promote immune response and improve outcomes in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).The study will further Gunderson’s work to determine why patients with PDAC typically do not respond well to immunotherapy, which is designed to boost the body’s immune response to cancer. Researchers gain NCI grant to study race-related survival disparities among colorectal cancer patients A five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute will help researchers at the OSUCCC – James and Baylor University shed light on differences in the body’s immune-mediated mechanisms so they can better understand disparities in survival outcomes between African American and white patients with colorectal cancer. This project is led by principal investigators Mark Rubinstein, PhD, (project leader) of the OSUCCC – James and Ernest Camp, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, and the goal is to understand why African American patients with colorectal cancer have a substantially higher mortality than white patients. Specifically, the proposed studies will address whether differences in immune responses influence the disparities in outcome so medical scientists can use this information to develop more effective therapies for African American colorectal cancer patients. NCI grant to help researchers develop a novel therapy for patients with MCL Researchers at the OSUCCC – James will use a five-year, $2.03 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop a novel therapy for improving outcomes in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a currently incurable form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Principal investigator is Lalit Sehgal, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology at Ohio State and member of the Leukemia Research Program at OSUCCC – James. In their project abstract, Dr. Sehgal and colleagues state that their study will examine the role of the fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) gene in the biology of MCL and develop therapeutic strategies for this disease, which has a median progression-free survival of only four years after first-line treatment. NHLBI awards grant to study adverse cardiac events in patients treated for blood cancers The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a five-year, $3.49 million grant to help OSUCCC – James researchers determine whether certain drugs that treat blood cancers lead to adverse cardiac events and to gain insight about ways to remedy this problem. Principal investigator for this project is Daniel Addison, MD, associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Ohio State and member of Cancer Control Program at the OSUCCC – James, where he leads the cardio-oncology program. The project focuses on a protein called Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) that is essential for growth and proliferation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. In their project abstract, the researchers state that orally administered drugs call BTK inhibitors are linked to dramatically improved survival for patients with CLL or other blood cancers. However, these drugs also are associated with a high risk of serious or fatal cardiac arrhythmias, and little is known about what drives these events or who will develop them. Scientist lands mentored career development award for bladder cancer research A five-year, $1.32 million NCI Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award will enable Katharine Collier, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State, to further her studies of urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer) with the support of an experienced mentorship team. In her project abstract, Collier states that urothelial carcinoma is a common and aggressive disease that is understudied despite being the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Collier, a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, will be supported in her work by mentors Amir Mortazavi, MD; Zihai Li, MD, PhD; Daniel Stover, MD; and Steven Clinton, MD, PhD, all of whom are also members of the OSUCCC – James. NCI-funded study will gauge effects of synthetic cooling agents on vaping Researchers at Ohio State’s Center for Tobacco Research (CTR) will use a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the NCI to conduct the first study that will systematically investigate the effects of synthetic cooling agents on the appeal, puffing behavior and toxicity of vaping. Study findings will help inform FDA rule-making on synthetic cooling additives in e-cigarette (e-cig) products. The researchers – led by principal investigator Alayna Tackett, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State and a researcher at the CTR – state in their project abstract that synthetic agents recently have been detected in e-cigs and are marketed with “ice” as part of the flavor name (e.g., watermelon ice). These agents, which impart a cooling sensation without a mint flavor, “can be added at very high concentrations to e-liquids, allowing users to get extreme cooling/anesthetic properties during vaping without menthol’s unappealing properties (eye-watering, harshness).” However, the scientists say synthetic cooling agents also “have the potential to increase direct and indirect harm to e-cig users.” NCI grant will fund study to gauge use of tobacco discrete choice experiments for predicting impact of FDA regulation Ce Shang, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at Ohio State and member of the Cancer Control Program at the OSUCCC – James, received a one-year, $226,777 NCI grant to aid her study of using tobacco discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to predict population impacts of FDA regulatory policies. In her project abstract, Shang explains that, as the state-of-the-art method to assess consumers’ preferences for new products, DCEs have been increasingly applied to study the impacts of potential policies on tobacco use behaviors, particularly in product standards and messaging development (e.g., warnings and campaigns). “Compared to observational survey data, DCEs have the advantage of providing evidence on emerging products with low prevalence and predicting the impacts of potential policies on behaviors before they are implemented in the real world,” she writes. “However, their potential in guiding and defending FDA policies has not been fully realized due to several methodological challenges,” such as a lack of consistency in tobacco DCE design and reporting. This project, she says, will review and synthesize DCE evidence on product standards and messaging development, further combining existing DCEs with Nielsen Retail Scanner data and nationally representative surveys to improve the accuracy of policy impact prediction by mitigating hypothetical bias in DCEs. Verschraegen named Fellow of American Society of Clinical Oncology Claire Verschraegen, MD, professor and director of the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State, where she also serves as associate director for translational research at the OSUCCC – James, was named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO). This distinction honors members who have shown extraordinary dedication to society, the specialty of oncology and patients with cancer. Verschraegen specializes in studying and treating rare cancers, including cutaneous cancers, mesothelioma, metastatic melanoma, sarcomas and gynecologic malignancies. Her research also focuses on developing anticancer drugs and treatments for solid tumors. Addison selected to serve on NIH study section Daniel Addison, MD, associate professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Ohio State and member of Cancer Control Program at the OSUCCC – James, was chosen as a standing member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Basic Biology of Blood, Heart and Vascular (BBHV) Study Section. His term will extend through June 2029. The BBHV study section reviews applications focused on basic molecular and cellular mechanisms and physiology of blood, heart and vascular cells and tissues in normal and pathologic conditions. Dr. Addison also leads the cardio-oncology program at the OSUCCC – James. Quiroga takes part in 2023 Society for Translational Oncology Fellows Forum Dionisia Quiroga, DO, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State and member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, was selected to participate in the Society for Translational Oncology Fellows Forum (STOFF) for 2023. The three-day forum, which enabled oncology fellows and emerging cancer research scientists to connect with professionals engaged in multidisciplinary and interprofessional translational research, provided an immersive curriculum of presentations, interactive roundtable discussions and networking opportunities, facilitated by a panel of distinguished STO faculty members. This year’s participants have joined over 655 physicians and scientists as STOFF alumni. Schmitt selected as a fellow for nursing government advocacy The Ohio State Nursing Government Affairs Advocates (NGAA) has selected Jacob Schmitt, nurse manager for The James Cutaneous Clinic, Voice and Swallow Disorders Clinic, as the 2023-24 Fellow for Nursing Government Advocacy. Introduced at the Dec. 6 NGAA Town Hall, Schmitt spent more than 10 years at Ohio State East Hospital as a bedside nurse before joining The James several years ago in nurse management. The Office of Government Affairs will mentor and guide him for 13 months (December 2023-December 2024) of educational programming, shadowing opportunities and projects such as working on legislation, initiating community health programs and informing legislators through various forums. He will be exposed to the administrative and legislative branches of the federal, state and local levels of government, where he’ll engage with appointed and elected officials. Eisfeld is 2023 Pelotonia Researcher of the Year Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology at Ohio State at the OSUCCC – James, has been named 2023 Researcher of the Year by Pelotonia, the annual grassroots cycling movement that raises millions of dollars for cancer research at Ohio State. Eisfeld is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) genetics, and on how age-, gender- and race-associated differences impact patients with cancer. She also serves as director of the Clara D. Bloomfield Center for Leukemia Outcomes Research, which leads large-scale AML correlative studies to discover associations between patient outcomes, genetic/genomic features and clinical/demographic characteristics. Eisfeld first received Pelotonia funding in 2011 as a postdoctoral scholar, followed by four Pelotonia Idea Grants to support her research. With the help of this funding, she attracted over $15 million in extramural research funding, including three R01 grants from the National Cancer Institute and grants from the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Leukemia Research Foundation in the past three years. She is also mentoring her third Pelotonia Undergraduate Scholar; all three have contributed significantly to her ongoing work. Dr. Eisfeld is a champion of Pelotonia throughout the community, as well as a respected mentor, colleague, researcher and physician. Registration for Pelotonia 2024 will open Feb. 29. This year’s signature events will include an Opening Ceremony on Aug. 2, Ride Weekend on Aug. 3-4 and Gravel Day on Sept. 28. Ramaswamy gains national award at 2023 Women in Medicine Summit Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, MD, a breast medical oncologist and member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, received the 2023 Women in Medicine (WIM) Summit’s #IStandWithHer Resilience Award, which recognizes individuals who have faced significant hurdles and persisted. The award honors “strength, grit, tenacity and grace in the setting of difficult circumstances.” Ramaswamy is a 13-year survivor of metastatic breast cancer and founder of the Living Well With Advanced Breast Cancer at Clinic at the OSUCCC – James, where her lab team focuses on breast cancer prevention and management while also addressing disparities in breast cancer incidence and outcomes. WIM is a national non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in health care. Sukrithan receives poster award for work in neuroendocrine neoplasms Vineeth Sukrithan, MBBS, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at Ohio State and member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, received the 2023 North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) poster award for an entry titled “Transcriptomic Profiling of the BCL-2 Pathway in Neuroendocrine Neoplasms.” Sukrithan specializes in studying and treating neuroendocrine, thyroid and adrenocortical cancers. He previously was the 2022 recipient of the NANETS Clinical Investigator Scholarship for his study titled “The Role of LAG-3 and its Ligands in Neuroendocrine Tumors Treated With Immunotherapy.” NANETS is a society of over 400 medical professionals who support the medical community in treating patients with neuroendocrine cancers and in furthering neuroendocrine cancer science and education. 4 physicians named 2023 Distinguished CHEST Educators Four physicians in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Ohio State were named 2023 Distinguished CHEST Educators by the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), an organization of more than 22,000 professionals that works to advance health outcomes for patients with lung diseases (including cancer) and disorders through education, advocacy, research and philanthropy. Receiving this honor were Megan Conroy, MD, Aneesa Das, MD, Jasleen Pannu, MBBS, and Nicholas Pastis, MD. This distinction places these physicians within the top 4% of CHEST faculty worldwide. To read more about OSUCCC – James awards, honors, accreditations and more, visit cancer.osu.edu. For others news about the OSUCCC – James, visit our News & Media site or read our latest publication. ### Media Contact: Amanda Harper Associate Director, Media Relations 614-685-5420, Amanda.Harper2@osumc.edu