ACC Events Bulletin

Upcoming Events November 5, 2018

 For ACC event infor- ACC Receives $10.7 Million to Study CAR T Cells in Solid Tumors mation, go to https:// cancer. pennmedi- A new program project grant from the National for supporting our efforts to expand this approach cine.org/about/events Cancer Institute (NCI) will fund research by the to more patients around the world.” Translational Center of Excellence for Lung Can- cer Immunology at the Abramson Cancer Center The overall grant will include three interrelated of the University of to improve the projects, all of which will focus on exploring the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T ability of CAR T cells to stimulate other immune cell therapy at fighting solid tumors. Specifically, cells like dendritic cells and T cells to respond the program will evaluate approaches in lung can- against the tumor – known the “bystander effect” cer and mesothelioma. The $10.7 million grant will – in non-small cell (NSCLC) and ma- Inside this support the research for the next five years. lignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). issue: “Although CAR T cells have been revolutionized The first project is a clinical trial with newly de- ACC Translational 2 the treatment of leukemia and bone marrow can- signed, highly potent anti-mesothelin CAR T cells. Center of Excel- cers, we have not yet had the same success in This project will also include a future trial to eval- lence in GBM treating solid tumors like lung cancer,” said the uate the safety and activity of CAR T cells engi- principal investigator of the grant, Steven M. Al- neered to engage the tumor “support structure” Male Fertility After 3 belda, MD, the William Maul Measey Professor of by targeting a protein called fibroblast activation Childhood Cancer Medicine at Penn and a member of the Center for protein (FAP), which is present on the supportive Treatment Cellular Immunotherapies in the Abramson Cancer fibroblasts in the tumor. The results of the first Center. “The goal of this program project is to two trials will also be used to design a third trial in solve this problem, and we’re grateful to the NCI the future, which will also be supported by this Cancer Patients 4 (Continued on page 2) Can Use Skin Creams During Two ACC Members Elected to National Academy of Medicine Radiation Therapy Two members of the Abramson Cancer Center Cancer Institute Physician Data Query in breast ACS 5 have been elected to the National Academy of cancer genetics, the Scientific Advisory Board for 2018 Cancer Medicine (NAM), one of the nation's highest hon- the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, as well as Control Award ors in biomedicine. They are among 75 new U.S. on several committees for the American Society and 10 international members elected by their of Clinical Oncology and the Susan G. Komen for New ACC Re- 6 peers for accomplishments and contributions to the Cure. Domchek has received numerous search Program the advancement of the medical sciences, health awards for her research, including the William Leaders care, and public health. Osler Patient Oriented Research Award, the Dupont Guerry Award for Outstanding Leader- Martin Carroll, 6 Susan M. Domchek, MD, is the Basser Professor in ship, and the Potomkin Award for Excellence in MD, ACC Chief Oncology, executive director of the Basser Center Research. for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center, direc- tor of the MacDonald Women's Cancer Risk Eval- Marie Celeste Simon, PhD, is the Arthur H. Ru- Physician uation Center, a member of the ACC’s Breast benstein, MBBCh Professor in the department of Cancer Research Program, and a senior fellow at Cell and Developmental Biology, the scientific Seminars and So 5 the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. director of Abramson Family Cancer Research Forth She is a nationally recognized breast and ovarian Institute, and the associate director of the Abram- cancer expert whose research interests include son Cancer Center Core Facilities. Her laboratory Philanthropy and 6 further understanding cancer susceptibility genes studies cancer cell metabolism, tumor immunolo- Development and how to target such genetic mutations for im- gy, metastasis, and cellular responses to oxygen proved risk assessment, screening, prevention, and deprivation. In 2017, she received a National Can- Funding 6 treatment. She has served on the editorial board Opportunities for the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the National (Continued on page 3) Page 2

ACC Receives $10.7 Million to Study CAR T Cells in Solid Tumors

(Continued from page 1) ger a patient’s own immune system to also attack grant. Initial trials were conducted in collabora- the tumor cells the CARs will miss, another facet tion with Novartis, but future trials with the anti of the “bystander effect”. This project will also -mesothelin CAR T cells will be conducted sole- explore ways in which CARs can be combined ly by Penn. with other therapies to enhance efficacy. The second project will involve tracking CAR T “The stakes of these projects are incredibly high. cells and their effects in patients. It will attempt Achieving the success rates for CAR T therapy in to answer the question of how long these CAR solid tumors that we’ve already seen in leukemia T cells persist and where they go, as well as and lymphoma would be a major paradigm shift whether they can activate other T cell respons- in the treatment of these cancers,” Albelda said. es. Grant Details: 1P01CA217805-01A1 Extending The third project will study ways to improve the Chimeric Antigen (CAR) T Cell Therapy to Thoracic effectiveness of CARs in animal models. Since Cancer not all the tumor cells will have the target of the Source: Penn Medicine Communications CARs, it will be important to find ways to trig-

ACC Translational Center of Excellence in Glioblastoma Multiforme Penn Medicine has announced the newest Trans- sive forms of cancer and Penn is the only institu- lational Center of Excellence (TCE) in the tion in the United States researching this kind of Abramson Cancer Center, focused on Glioblas- combined CAR-T and checkpoint inhibitor thera- toma Multiforme, the most common and lethal py for glioblastoma right now.” form of brain cancer. The team will investigate The TCE, a partnership of the Abramson Cancer new immune therapies for glioblastoma and, in Center and the department of Neurosurgery, is particular, design and test new CAR T cell thera- led by O’Rourke, and brings together multidisci- pies. This involvesengineering patients’ T cells plinary teams across Penn, including investigators (the cells that act on behalf of the immune sys- from Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Sys- tem) to attack tumor cells. The world’s first gene tems Pharmacology and Translational Medicine, -based cancer therapy, immunotherapy – or CAR Medicine, Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, T cell therapy – was pioneered at Penn Medicine, and Medicine and Pathobiology at the School of and it became the nation’s first FDA-approved personalized cellular therapy for cancer in Au- Veterinary Medicine. gust 2017. In addition to novel treatment options like im- munotherapy, the Abramson Cancer Center and Roughly 15,000 people are diagnosed with glio- Penn Brain Tumor Center have a full arsenal of blastoma each year, with a median survival rate medical and surgical approaches for treating of only 15 months. Recently, and most notably, glioblastoma. These include more traditional Senator John McCain died 13 months after his methods such as radiation therapy, chemothera- glioblastoma diagnosis. Penn Medicine is on the py, and surgical resection, as well as new innova- frontlines in the fight against brain tumors like glioblastoma, with the Penn Brain Tumor Cen- tions such as TumorGlow and proton therapy. ter performing the most brain tumor surgeries in “The real cutting-edge breakthroughs are coming Pennsylvania. from immunotherapy,” said M. Sean Grady, MD, chairman of the department of Neurosurgery. “Penn Medicine is at the cutting-edge of research “Getting to a cure is going to be difficult, there is and clinical care for patients with glioblastoma, no way around that. However, in the 32 years I and our TCE will help accelerate this mission- have been a neurosurgeon, this is the first time critical work,” said Donald M. O’Rourke, I’ve thought ‘yes, we can actually beat brain can- MD, John Templeton, Jr., MD Associate Profes- sor in Neurosurgery in the Perelman School of cer.’” Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Source: Penn Medicine Communications “Immunotherapy is a game-changer for aggres- Page 3

Male Fertility After Childhood Cancer Treatment Researchers have discovered a way to grow ilized after treatment with the chemotherapeutic human stem cells destined to become mature agent busulfan by injecting immature sperm cells sperm in an effort to provide fertility options from a donor into their seminiferous tubules— later in life to males who are diagnosed with located in the testes. From this, oncologists sug- cancer and undergo chemotherapy and radiation gested that SSCs might be harvested from boys as children. The findings are published last before the start of chemotherapy and reintro- month in Nature Communications from a team duced into their testes when treatment was led by Sandra Ryeom, PhD, an associate profes- complete. However, the testes of prepubescent sor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of boys contain such a small number of SSCs that, Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and in order for this approach to be successful, the co-leader of the Tumor Biology Program at cells would need to be grown and multiplied in the Abramson Cancer Center. the lab prior to subsequent reinjection. “For years researchers have been trying to find Given these challenges, the team identified testic- ways to grow and expand these cells from tes- ular endothelial cells as a critical niche population ticular biopsies donated by young patients prior for the maintenance and expansion of human to their cancer treatment, but until now, there SSCs in the lab. More importantly, they also has not been a consistently successful ap- identified five growth factors produced by testic- proach,” said Ryeom. ular endothelial cells that are necessary for keep- ing human and mouse SSC cultures alive over the According to the American Cancer Society, long term. Eventually patient samples could be about 1 in 530 young adults between the ages of expanded then frozen until needed. 20 and 39 years is a survivor of childhood can- cer. Cancer treatments leave a majority of boys Mouse cells in long-term culture restored the infertile, as chemotherapy and radiation often ability of mice after chemotherapy-induced infer- kill sperm-producing stem cells (SSCs). While tility to produce sperm. Ultimately the SSCs there are ways to preserve fertility for boys were functional as demonstrated by the birth of diagnosed with cancer after puberty, no such live pups after being fathered by mice with the options exist for prepubescent boys. transplanted SSCs and growth factors. “We have never had any fertility preservation “Our next step is to determine whether we can options for prepubescent boys,” said study co- re-inject or engraft the expanded SSCs into pa- author Jill Ginsberg, MD, a pediatric oncologist tients after they are cancer free,” Ryeom said. and director of the Cancer Survivorship Pro- gram at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The Journal Article: Bhang DH et al. Testicu- findings in this work are a great first step for- lar endothelial cells are a critical population in ward for our youngest patients.” the germline stem cell niche. Nat Commun. 2018 Oct 22;9(1):4379 Researchers have known that the production of sperm could be restored in mice that were ster- Source: Penn Medicine Communications

ACC Members Elected to NAM

(Continued from page 1) In addition to Drs. Domchek and Simon, two cer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award, more Penn faculty were elected to NAM: which funds her basic biomedical research on Daniel E. Polsky, PhD, is a professor of Medicine, cancer metabolism, specifically renal cancer. She the executive director of the Leonard Davis was also a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Institute of Health Economics, and the Robert D. from 1994–2014 and elected to serve on the Eilers Professor of Health Care Management in board of directors of the American Association the Wharton School. for Cancer Research for the 2014 - 2017 term. She also serves on the Wistar Institute External Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD, is a professor of Advisory Board, a group of world-renowned Medicine, of Health Care Management in the scientists with broad scientific expertise. Simon Wharton School, director of Health Policy and has received numerous awards for her research, Outcomes Research in the department of Medi- including the Cancer Research Foundation Young cine, and associate chief for research in the divi- Investigator Award and the Stanley Cohen Bio- sion of General Internal Medicine. medical Research Award. Source: Penn Medicine Communications Page 4

Cancer Patients Can Use Skin Creams During Radiation Therapy Contrary to the advice most cancer patients oped a survey to find out what percentage of receive when they go through radiation treat- providers advise their patients to avoid topical ment, topical skin treatments, unless applied very agents just before radiation treatments and what heavily, do not increase the radiation dose to the percentage of patients say they received that skin and can be used in moderation before daily advice. Of the 105 doctors and nurses who said radiation treatments. A new study from they regularly manage radiation dermatitis for the Perelman School of Medicine at the Universi- their patients, 96 of them (91 percent) said they ty of Pennsylvania found that while 91 percent of regularly tell patients not to use skin creams clinicians surveyed said they advised patients to during the hours before radiation treatment. On avoid these skin treatments and 83 percent of the patient side, 111 out of 133 respondents (83 patients surveyed said they’d received this guid- percent) said they received the advice from their ance from their doctors, testing showed there healthcare providers. was no difference in the radiation skin dose with Baumann notes that while the survey size is rela- or without these creams. Researchers published tively small, the percentage of providers who say their findings in JAMA Oncology on October 18. they give this advice and the percentage of pa- Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients in the tients who say they received it are both very United States will undergo radiation therapy as high. part of their treatment, and as many as 90 per- “These results suggest the recommendation is cent of those patients will experience radiation still widespread among patients undergoing radia- dermatitis – a rash or burn on the skin. Both tion therapy,” Baumann said. prescription and over-the-counter topical treat- ments are commonly used to give patients relief, To address the question of whether these topical some of which – such as silver sulfadiazine cream agents really do increase the dose of radiation to – contain heavy metals. However, patients have the skin, Researchers used optically stimulated historically been advised to avoid using these luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs) – a common treatments in the hours before radiation therapy device for measuring the amount of surface radi- to avoid increasing the amount of radiation ab- ation absorbed with each dose. They used three sorbed by the skin. squares of paper: one with nothing on it, one with a layer of the petroleum-based over-the- “This recommendation is a holdover from the counter ointment Aquaphor, and one with silver early days of radiation therapy, but with the use sulfadiazine cream, which is only available by of modern radiation treatments that can reduce prescription. They placed the squares of paper in dose to the skin, we hypothesized that it may no the beam’s path and measured the absorbed longer be relevant,” said the study’s lead au- radiation dose with OSLDs. They ran the experi- thor Brian C. Baumann, MD, an adjunct assistant ment with varying degrees of thickness for both professor of Radiation Oncology at Penn. He is products. While the surface dose did increase also currently an assistant professor of Radiation when a very thick layer of the topical agent was Oncology at Washington University in St. Lou- applied, researchers found no increase in the is. James M Metz, MD, the chair of Radiation surface dose with a moderately thick layer. Oncology and member of the ACC’s Radiobiolo- gy and imaging Program was the study’s senior “Based on the results of this study, the use of author. topical agents just before radiation therapy can be safely liberalized, which may improve quality The study tackled two key areas. First, it estab- of life for patients undergoing radiation therapy, lished that it’s still common practice for physi- but very thick applications of topical agents just cians to advise patients to avoid applying skin before radiation therapy should still be avoided,” care products prior to daily radiotherapy. Sec- Baumann said. ond, it largely debunked the myth that their use increases the amount of radiation the skin re- Journal Article: Baumann BC, Verginadis II, Zeng C, ceives, thus causing more damage to the skin – Bell B, Koduri S, Vachani C, MacArthur KM, Solberg unless an extremely thick layer of cream is used. TD, Koumenis C, Metz JM. Assessing the Validity of Clinician Advice That Patients Avoid Use of Topical For the first part of the study, researchers uti- Agents Before Daily Radiotherapy Treatments. JAMA lized OncoLink, an online cancer service dedicat- Oncol. 2018 Oct 18 ed to patient and provider education that is run by Penn’s Radiation Oncology unit. They devel- Source: Penn Medicine Communications Page 5

Justin Bekelman, MD Receives ACS Philadelphia 2018 Cancer Control Award Penn Medicine Oncologist and Leonard David ACS judging documents characterize him as "one Institute of Health Economics Senior Fel- of the most consequential cancer health services low Justin Bekelman, MD has been named winner researchers in the United States (who) has of the 2018 Cancer Control Award from the achieved international distinction for his path- Philadelphia Market of the American Cancer breaking scientific leadership in cancer compara- Society (ACS). tive effectiveness and delivery system reform The award was presented at the organization's research." Annual Awards Dinner on November 1 in the Targeted cancer drugs King of Prussia Crown Plaza Hotel. Established in In recent years, Bekelman led a multidisciplinary 1995, the annual honor recognizes an individual group of experts from cancer medicine, patient "who has made a major and unique contribution advocacy, insurance and pharmaceutical compa- to cancer control." nies, health care economics, policy, law and regu- Justin Bekelman, MD lation that proposed a comprehensive set of 'Really making an impact' recommendations for maximizing the clinical "This award and event celebrates people who benefit and affordability of "targeted" cancer are doing something different and really making drugs -- some of which have been as miraculous- an impact," said Erik McGaughey, Director of Community Development for ACS and staff co- ly effective as they are astronomically expensive. ordinator of the awards program. That market Earlier this year as a keynote speaker, Bekelman chapter encompasses Philadelphia, Bucks, Dela- presented those recommendations to 22,600 ware, Chester and Montgomery counties where attendees at the Annual Meeting of the American thousands of volunteers and medical profession- Association for Cancer Research at the same als are engaged in cancer control efforts. time they were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). "Cancer control" describes a wide range of activ- pickup of that JAMA article, according to the ities aimed at reducing the cancer burden in a ACS, "reached over 700,000 readers" while the given population through dissemination and de- Altmetric system that measures readership of livery of evidence‐based interventions focused on academic literature rated the article as one of its prevention, early detection, or treatment. highest ranked. New Cancer Care Innovation Center High-profile dissemination Bekelman, is Associate Professor in the Depart- ACS's McGaughey noted that both the unusually ments of Radiation Oncology and Medical Ethics wide and high-profile dissemination of Bekelman and Health Policy at the Perelman School of work and its tight focus on improving the costs, Medicine, Director of the newly established Penn quality and integrity of cancer care at the point Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) at the of delivery makes the Penn physician-scientist "a Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) anda member of the ACC’s Cancer Control Research Pro- great partner to the American Cancer Society." gram, a faculty member at the Center for Health Journal Article: Bekelman JE, Joffe S. Three Steps Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE), a Toward a More Sustainable Path for Targeted Senior Fellow at the Penn Center for Precision Cancer Drugs. JAMA. 2018 Jun 5;319(21):2167- Medicine (PCPM) and the Leonard Davis Insti- 2168. tute for Health Economics (LDI), all at the Uni- Source: Penn LDI versity of Pennsylvania.

Three ACC Members Receive PSOM Awards of Excellence Three ACC members received PSOM Awards of Fisher Horowitz Professor In Leukemia Care Excellence at a ceremony on October 30, 2018. Excellence (Medicine), and a member of the AC- Patient Oriented Research Award C’s Hematologic Malignancies Program. Stephan A. Grupp, MD, PhD is the Yetta Dietch Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award Novotny Professor of Pediatrics and co-Leader Roger A. Greenberg, MD, PhD is a Professor of of the ACC’s Pediatric Oncology Research Pro- Cancer Biology and a member of the ACC’s gram (see p. 4). David L. Porter, MD is the Jodi Breast Cancer Research Program. Page 6

New ACC Research Program Leaders We are delighted to announce three new Re- the use of engineered cell therapies in high-risk search Program co-Leaders for the Abramson pediatric cancers. His primary laboratory interest Cancer Center. is the molecular control of leukemic cell growth and the development of new cell therapy treat- Daniel Pryma, MD ments for pediatric cancers. Dr. Grupp is also Co-Leader, Radiobiology and Imaging Program the immediate past national Chair for Stem Cell Dr. Pryma is Associate Professor and Chief of Transplantation for the Children's Oncology the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Group. Dr. Grupp was the lead investigator for Molecular Imaging in the Department of Radiolo- the global trial for CART19 therapy in ALL, gy at Penn. He is a nuclear medicine physician which led to the FDA approval of this drug last with a particular interest in developing novel year. Dr. Grupp has been Penn faculty and an radiolabeled targeted agents to detect and treat ACC member of the Pediatric Oncology Pro- malignancies. Dr. Pryma has been involved in the gram since 1996. Dr. Grupp was named a 2018 design and execution of numerous clinical trials recipient of the William Osler Patient Oriented of both diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharma- Research Award from the Perelman School of ceuticals for more than 10 years with a particular Medicine. focus on multi-center and cooperative group Kai Tan, PhD trials. Recently, the FDA approved the first ever Co-Leader, Pediatric Oncology Program non-surgical treatment for the rare neuroendo- crine cancers pheochromocytoma and paragan- Dr. Tan is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, glioma. The approval was based on a multi- Genetics, and Cell and Developmental biology, a center trial led by researchers at the ACC and member of the Pediatric Oncology Program at was granted to Progenics Pharmaceuticals for the ACC, and a world-class expert on computa- AZEDRA (iobenguane I131). Dr. Pryma was the tional biology. Dr. Tan uses systems biology ap- trial's overall lead investigator as well as Principal proaches to identify and characterize gene path- Investigator at Penn. Dr. Pryma has been a ways underpinning tumorigenesis and normal longstanding member of the Radiobiology and development. The ultimate goal is to use infor- Imaging Program at the ACC and will join Dr. mation from patient-specific, integrated gene Amit Maity as co-Leader. networks to improve the diagnosis and treat- ment of cancer patients. Dr. Tan is the contact PI Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD for the NCI’s new $12.5M Center for Pediatric Co-Leader, Pediatric Oncology Program Tumor Cell Atlas, which will map molecular and Dr. Grupp is the Yetta Dietch Novotny Profes- cellular changes in tumor cells, microenviron- sor of Pediatrics, Director of the Cancer Immu- ment and the immune system using comprehen- notherapy Program, and Director of Translation- sive multi-dimensional single-cell and in situ tech- al Research for the Center for Childhood Can- nologies associated with two critical transitions: cer Research. He is Medical Director of the Stem initial response, and emergence of resistant dis- Cell Laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Phila- ease – both high-priority transitions. The focus is delphia. His primary area of clinical research is on gliomas, neuroblastomas, and ALL.

Martin Carroll, MD, ACC Chief Oncogenomics Physician

We are very pleased to announce the appoint- worked closely with the Penn Center for Per- ment of Martin Carroll, MD, as the ACC’s Chief sonalized Diagnostics to implement next genera- Oncogenomics Physician tion sequencing based methods for genomic fingerprinting of blood cancers and worked with Dr. Carroll is Associate Professor of Medicine the leukemia clinical team to incorporate these (Hem-Onc) and Attending Physician at the West Philadelphia Veteran’s Administration Hospital. tests into risk assessment and therapy decisions. He is Co-Leader of the ACC’s Hematologic Ma- In his new role, Dr. Carroll will centralize and lignancies TCE. Dr. Carroll’s research laboratory facilitate activities around Precision Oncology in is broadly interested in the molecular biology of the ACC. He will work closely with the Center Martin Carroll, MD leukemia, and his clinical expertise is in leukemia for Personalized Diagnostics and Penn Center and myelodysplastic syndromes. Dr. Carroll’s for Precision Medicine, among others, to ensure laboratory has focused on using molecular un- that we remain on the cutting edge in this ar- derstanding of leukemia to develop novel ap- ea. Further, he will be involved in physician edu- proaches to therapy and on studies of leukemic cation, work with the TCEs, and coordinate with stem cells. In recent years, Dr. Carroll has the inherited cancer genetics program,. Page 7

Seminars and So Forth Tuesday 11/06/18 12:00 pm Wednesday 11/14/18 12:00 pm Distinguished Lecture in Cancer Research CT3N Seminar Series “Glycosylation: Linking metabolism and signaling in “Novel Nanoprobes for the Detection and Treatment cancer and beyond.” Mauricio Reginato, PhD, of Gliomas.” J. Manuel Perez, PhD, Principal In- Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; vestigator, Nanomedicine Research Center, De- Director, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology, partment of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Drexel University College of Medicine Center BRB II/III Gaulton Auditorium SCTR 10-146AB

Wednesday 11/7/18 5:00 pm Wednesday 11/14/18 12:00 pm 6th Annual David K. Ginsberg, MD Lectureship Distinguished Lecture in Cancer Research “Role of endoscopy in early pancreatic cancer.” Note this week’s change to Wednesday! Douglas O. Faigel, MD, Professor of Medicine; “Effects of mitochondrial genetics on tumor cells, the Chair, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepa- microenvironment and metastasis.” Danny R. tology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Welch, PhD, Professor, Cancer Biology, Univer- Clinic sity of Kansas Medical Center CRB Austrian Auditorium Wistar Institute, Caplan Auditorium

Thursday 11/8/18 9:00 am Thursday 11/15/18 9:00 am Cancer Biology Special Seminar CCEB Seminar Series “Integrative analyses of expression and function of “Analysis of Prostate Cancer Imaging Data with epigenetic regulator EZH2 in cancer.” Soor- Measurement Error.” Grace Y. Yi, PhD, Professor yanarayana Varambally, PhD, Associate Profes- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, sor, Director of Translational Oncologic Pathol- University of Waterloo ogy Research, University of Alabama CRB Austrian Auditorium 601 BRB II/III Thursday 11/15/18 12:00 pm Thursday 11/8/18 12:00 pm CFAR Seminar Series / HIV Grand Rounds Gastroenterology Seminar Series TBD. Scott Kitchen, PhD, Associate Professor of “Calcium addiction of cancer cells.” J. Kevin Foskett, Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology; PhD, Isaac Ott Professor of Physiology, PSOM Director, UCLA Humanized Mouse Core Labor- 901 BRB II/III atory, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA JMB Class of ‘62 Thursday 11/8/18 4:00 pm Mari Lowe Comparative Oncology Seminar Friday 11/16/18 8:00 am—5:00 pm “Modeling telomere-driven pathologies to find new Tobacco Control Science Evidence Academy therapeutic approaches.” F. Bradley Johnson, MD, Presenting the latest evidence and research PhD, Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medi- about new tobacco products, tobacco regulation, cine, PSOM and smoking cessation efforts. Sponsored by 131 Hill Pavilion, School of Veterinary Medicine Penn Prevention Research Center. Register here. Study @ University City, 20 South 33rd Street Friday 11/9/18 12:00 pm IFI-ACC Research in Progress Seminar Friday 11/16/18 11:15 am –3:00 pm Sara Cherry, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, 16th Wallace H. Clark JR., MD Lectureship in PSOM Cutaneous Oncology and Melanoma Symposium John Morgan Building, Reunion Auditorium Updating participants on important topics in melanoma and related pigmented lesions of the Monday 11/12/18 1:00 pm skin. (CME) CHOP Normal & Malignant Hematopoesis RAG Info and registration Seminar Series SCTR Auditorium and Commons “mTor Targeting: New Pathways, on/off Target Ef- fects, and Resistance Mechanisms Learned from Friday 11/16/18 12:00 pm Unexpected Biology.” Yi Zheng, PhD, Professor of IFI-ACC Research in Progress Seminar Pediatrics; Director, Experimental Hematology Andrew Tsourkas, PhD, Professor of Bioengi- and Cancer Biology; Institute Co-Director, Can- neering, Penn SEAS cer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Chil- BRB II/III Gaulton Auditorium dren's Hospital CTRB 1100A (CHOP) Philanthropy & Development Corner

Do you have a story illustrating Funding Opportunities the power of collaboration? PAR-18-947 Integrating Biospecimen Sci- and storage procedures. The overall goal is to Whether it was across depart- ence Approaches into Clinical Assay De- expedite biomarker clinical assay development ments or divisions, or schools velopment (NCI U01) through evidence-based standardization of biop- and institutes, the Abramson sy handling practices. LOI Due Date: 30 days before application due Cancer Center Development date Details: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa- Office is always looking for files/PAR-18-947.html stories of collaboration to Application Due Date: November 28, 2018; utilize in our newsletter and e- March 14, 2019 communications. PAR-19-018/PAR-19-019 Mechanisms of This FOA will support extramural research to Disparities in Etiology and Outcomes of If you have a story to share, investigate and mitigate challenges facing clinical Lung Cancer in the U.S.: The Role of Risk assay development and subsequent analytical please get in touch with and Protective Factors (NIMHD/NCI R01/ Michal Greenberg at validation due to preanalytical variability in tumor R21) tissue biopsies and blood biospecimens utilized as [email protected] or “liquid biopsies.” Extramural research funded LOI Due Date: 30 days before application due 215-573-2480. under this FOA may include investigations of date

preanalytical variability associated with the pro- Application Due Date: March 4, 2019 curement and study of small biopsies (core biop- sies, small excision samples), pleural aspirates, This initiative will support multidisciplinary re- and blood utilized for liquid biopsies. Investigator search to understand the underlying causal fac- -designed experiments will explore how different tors and mechanisms that result in lung cancer biospecimen preanalytical conditions affect disparities in U.S. health disparity populations. emerging and clinically relevant biomarkers quan- tified by a variety of testing platforms. The re- R01: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/ sults from this research program will improve par-19-018.html the understanding of how analytical quantification R21: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/ of clinically relevant biomarkers is affected by par-19-019.html variation in biospecimen collection, processing,

PCAM, 3400 Civic Center Blvd. Abramson Cancer Center Phone: 215-349-8386 South Pavilion Extension, 12-140 Events Bulletin Fax: 215-615-4181 Philadelphia, PA 19104 Jennifer R. McGuire, Editor E-mail: [email protected]