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 help scientist study strategies for overcoming immune resistance to lung cancer

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently awarded a five-year, $1.4 million research career-development (K08) grant to an OSUCCC – James scientist who is pursuing strategies to help certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) overcome resistance to immunotherapy.

Principal investigator Jacob Kaufman, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Oncology, says despite advances in immuno-oncology (IO) treatments, patients with NSCLC that contains loss-of-function mutations in the STK11 tumor-suppressor gene tend to resist IO therapy and have poor prognoses.

Dr. Kaufman, who also is a member of both the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology (PIIO) and the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, says his team will study the interaction between different tumor types and immune-resistance pathways associated with STK11-deficient NSCLC. They’ve found that differing tumor types strongly influence both the immune composition of the tumor microenvironment (or TME, the area surrounding the tumor) and patient response to a form of IO therapy known as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy.

OSUCCC – James once again wins Press Ganey Human Experience (HX) Award

For the ninth consecutive year, the OSUCCC – James has received the Press Ganey HX Guardian of Excellence Award® for Patient Experience in Inpatient Care, which recognizes the top 5% of health care facilities in the nation for sustained patient experience excellence during a single year.

The HX Guardian of Excellence Award for Patient Experience goes to organizations that have achieved the 95th percentile or higher for any of a set of designated Healthcare Providers and System (HCAHPS) measures, including likelihood to recommend, overall rating and/or teamwork.

Roberts elected to National Academies of Practice

Kristen Roberts, PhD, RDN, LD, a member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program at the OSUCCC – James, was one of four Ohio State College of Medicine (COM) faculty named as 2025 Professional Members of the National Academies of Practice (NAP), a non-profit organization that advises governmental bodies on the nation’s health care system. Members are elected by their peers from multiple health professions.

Dr. Roberts, a clinical associate professor in the COM School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Division of Medical Dietetics, focuses her research on dietary patterns and phytochemical exposure, and on the relationship to inflammation as seen in numerous inflammatory conditions such as chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. One of her studies aimed to measure polyphenol exposure in people with and without chronic pancreatitis to inform potential interventions in this population. Previously, her doctoral work under the mentorship of Steven Clinton, MD, PhD, focused on feeding a black raspberry food product to men undergoing an elective prostatectomy for curative treatment of prostate cancer to show the effects of intervention diets involving polyphenols. Also elected as Professional Members of the NAP were Chirag Patel, MD; Samar Long, EdD, AT, ATC.

Black receives presidential honor

Sylvester Black, MD, PhD, professor in the Division of Transplantation Surgery at Ohio State, is one of two Ohio State faculty recipients of the Presidential Early-Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding, early-career scientists and engineers.

Nominated by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Black joins nearly 400 other federally funded scientists and engineers recognized in 2024 for their innovative and far-reaching research developments in science. Also receiving the award was Kymberly Gowdy, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, who leads a research program studying how the inhalation of air pollutants can lead to respiratory infections and heart problems.

Dr. Black is surgical director of Ohio State’s Liver Transplant Program and co-director of the COPPER Laboratory dedicated to the development of extended ex-vivo donor organ perfusion. His work is transforming transplant medicine – offering hope to patients and setting new standards in organ preservation and transplantation. His cancer-related research interests include management and outcomes of hepatocellular (liver) carcinoma and management of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).