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 novel therapeutic approach to colorectal cancer lung metastasis A five-year, $2.48 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will help researchers at the OSUCCC – James and other institutions study a method of silencing a genetic mutation in colorectal cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the lungs. The project leader is Peixuan Guo, PhD, endowed chair professor and director of the Center for RNA Nanobiotechnology and Nanomedicine in Ohio State’s colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. Guo, who also is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and is in the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James, is one of three principal investigators for this multi-institutional grant. Researchers gain grant to study treatment resistance in patients with non-small cell lung cancer With help from a NCI grant, OSUCCC – James scientists will study the biological causes of resistance to immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Principal investigator for the three-year, $564,408 Transitional Career Development Award is Martin Benej, PhD, a research scientist in the Cancer Biology Program at the OSUCCC – James with a pending appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Ohio State College of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics. NCI grant will help Ohio State researchers explore potential treatment target for patiets with glioblastoma A research team at the OSUCCC – James is probing a novel approach to treatment of glioblastoma, one of the most lethal cancers. Glioblastoma is the most common brain cancer in the United States and has a poor prognosis. The median length of survival following diagnosis is 15-18 months, and the five-year survival rate is only 10%. Cancer biologists Matthew Summers, PhD, and Monica Venere, PhD, are working under a two-year, $405,000 National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to investigate a potential treatment target that may help change a dismal landscape for patients and their providers. This target is KIF20A, a protein (kinesin) that is essential in cytokinesis, the final step of mitosis (cell division). Ohio State ranks among national leaders in clinical trials enrollment The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Consortium, known as NRG Oncology, has ranked Ohio State No. 3 in the country in NCI-NRG-Clinical Trials Evaluation Program (CTEP) clinical trials activity through the NCI Consortium in 2023-24. NRG Oncology is the world’s largest, oldest and most respected NCI-based consortium in radiation oncology, breast cancer and gynecologic-oncology. Arnab Chakravarti, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State, who also serves as the university’s institutional principal investigator of NRG Oncology, especially commended the cancer program’s CNS Radiation Oncology, Breast Radiation Oncology, Head and Neck Radiation Oncology and Gynecologic-Oncology teams, “which had the lion’s share contribution in that order.” He also reported that Ohio State ranked No. 1 for national accruals on NRG Brain Tumor Radiation Oncology trials in 2024. David O’Malley, MD, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Ohio State,congratulated the Radiation Oncology and other teams contributing to this success, and he also noted that the gyn-onc division was honored at the GOG Foundation dinner meeting as the No. 1 clinical trials enroller in the nation for both the past year and three-year metrics. He recognized Floor Backes, MD, gyn-onc disease group leader, and Molly Herman, disease group manager, for their leadership. Chakravarti and O’Malley also lauded the Clinical Trials Office (CTO) at the OSUCCC – James for its important role in achieving these high enrollment numbers. Maddocks elected to Lymphoma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board Kami Maddocks, MD, professor in the Division of Hematology at Ohio State and member of the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program at the OSUCCC – James, was elected to a five-year term (until July 1, 2029) on the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s volunteer Scientific Advisory Board. The board, which consists of 45 world-renowned lymphoma experts, guides the foundation’s research activities, seeking out innovative and promising lymphoma research projects for support. Maddocks treats patients with B-cell malignancies such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Fleming is recipient of 2024 ASTRO Annual Meeting Resident Recognition Award Jessica Fleming, PhD, a radiobiologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State, is the recipient of a 2024 Annual Meeting Resident Recognition Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). She is one of only 12 recipients of the award, which will highlight her work among her peers at the 2024 ASTRO Annual Meeting to be held Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes the highest-rated abstracts submitted by a resident author in the biology, clinical practice or physics categories. Her winning abstract is titled “Clinical Endpoints Correlation With Molecular Features in the NRG Oncology/RTOG 9802 Low-Grade Glioma, Low-Risk Observation Arm.” Fleming works in the lab of Department of Radiation Oncology Chair Arnab Chakravarti, MD, where she and her colleagues identify prognostic and predictive molecular biomarkers that can help improve patient outcomes. Cetnar selected to receive Karen Doppke Award for Women in Medical Physics Ashley Cetnar, PhD, associate professor and medical physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State, has been selected to receive the 2024 Karen Doppke Award for Women in Medical Physics, an international award presented each year by the Division of Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. The award honors mid-career, female-identifying physicists from all areas of medical physics for their contributions to the discipline in clinical practice and innovation, education, mentorship, leadership and professional community service, such as with local and national organizations. Cetnar, who also has developed clinical and educational initiatives and currently serves in many leadership roles within the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, will visit MGH this fall to accept the award and deliver a lecture about her work. Ranganathan serves on faculty for national Laboratory Science Training Course Parvathi Ranganathan, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Hematology at Ohio State and member of the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program at the OSUCCC – James, was a faculty mentor for the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy’s Laboratory Science Training Course held in Park City, Utah, from July 14-17. The course is for young researchers involved in bench and translational science in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy. At Ohio State, Ranganathan focuses her research on the immunobiology of acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD) with the goal of developing immune suppression strategies that abrogate aGVHD while maintaining T-cell responses needed to preserve the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect. She also studies the immunomodulatory role of cellular and circulating non-coding RNAs and develops targeted therapies for acute myeloid leukemia. ASH honors Ohio State medical student with competitive national award The American Society of Hematology (ASH) selected Cara Noel, a second-year student in Ohio State’s College of Medicine, to receive the 2024 Hematology Opportunities Next Generation of Research Scientists (HONORS) Award. Noel was among 33 recipients of the award, which supports talented medical students and residents from across the nation who are interested in hematology but haven’t yet entered a hematology-related training program. Recipients receive funds to conduct hematology research projects and work with an ASH mentor who assists with and oversees their work and progress. Noel is interested in exploring how viruses interact with their hosts. Her continued work focuses on adapting an assay to easily and cost-effectively determine the methylation status of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) epigenome. She will be mentored by Robert Baiocchi, MD, PhD, a professor in the Division of Hematology at Ohio State and member of the Leukemia and Hematologic Malignancies Program at the OSUCCC – James. 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 | 614-685-5420 | amanda.harper2@osumc.edu