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Stephen Gottschalk Joins St . Jude Children ’ s Research Hospital
Stephen Gottschalk , MD , was named chair of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at St . Jude Children ’ s Research Hospital in
Stephen Gottschalk , MD
Memphis , Tennessee . He will join St . Jude in August . In this position , Dr . Gottschalk will manage the department ’ s clinical , research , and educational activities .
Dr . Gottschalk is currently director of the Basic and Translational Research Division at Texas Children ’ s Cancer Center and has been with the Center of Cell and Gene Therapy and Texas Children ’ s Cancer Center since 2001 .
Source : St . Jude Children ’ s Research Hospital press release , January 30 , 2017 .
Jaroslaw Maciejewski Receives Outstanding Investigator Award from National Institutes of Health
Jaroslaw Maciejewski , MD , PhD , from the Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio , received an Outstanding
Jaroslaw Maciejewski , MD , PhD
Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health , an award that provides longterm support to scientists achieving medical breakthroughs . Dr . Maciejewski will receive more than $ 5.5 million over the next seven years from the National Heart , Lung , and Blood Institute to support his work on translating scientific advances in bone marrow failure syndromes into improved patient care .
“ The translation of scientific advances into improved patient care and cures has been the primary goal of my team ’ s work ,” said Dr . Maciejewski . “ This award supports our belief that now is the time to advance translational findings to make progress in medical care , including diagnostics and therapeutics for bone marrow failure syndromes .”
Source : Cleveland Clinic press release , January 20 , 2017 .
Richard Pazdur Named Director of Oncology Center of Excellence
Richard Pazdur , MD , was confirmed as the director of the U . S . Food and Drug Administration ’ s ( FDA ) Oncology Center of Excellence ( OCE ), having served
Richard Pazdur , MD as its interim director since June 2016 .
Dr . Pazdur previously served as the director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA ’ s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research .
The OCE was established as part of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative , with a goal of expediting the development of oncology-related medical products through a coordinated clinical review of treatment options .
“ The FDA is taking important steps to formalize the structure and implementation of the OCE as part of its overarching effort to better address the needs of cancer patients , through reorganization within the FDA ’ s Office of Medical Products and Tobacco ,” former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf , MD , said in a statement . “ In addition , the FDA ’ s OCE will improve the agency ’ s ability to advance oncology-related regulatory science and policy and streamline stakeholder engagement .”
Source : U . S . Food and Drug Administration press release , January 19 , 2017 .
Be The Match Foundation ® Receives $ 1.25 Million Donation to Support Clinical Trials
The Be The Match Foundation received a $ 1.25 million donation to create and promote the Jason Carter Clinical Trials Program , which will help patients with hematologic cancers identify and enroll in clinical trials more efficiently . The donation was given by Robert and Diana Carter in memory of their son , Jason , who died of leukemia four years after being diagnosed ; the family believes that participating in clinical trials extended his life .
The new program will include the following initiatives :
• creating a centralized resource website where patients can learn about clinical trials , including a suite of multimedia tools and a searchable system with summary snapshots to help them find relevant trials
• hiring a clinical trials education specialist to provide one-on-one support for patients and families
• promoting physician awareness and education about potential treatment options and clinical trials
Source : Be The Match Foundation news release , January 17 , 2017 .
Yvonne J . Paterson , PhD
Nicholas Lawrence , PhD
Cancer Researchers Elected to the National Academy of Inventors
Yvonne J . Paterson , PhD , professor of microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania , and Nicholas Lawrence , PhD , senior research faculty at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa , Florida , were elected as fellows of the National Academy of Inventors .
Academic inventors are elected to the National Academy of Inventors if they have “ demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life , economic development , and the welfare of society .”
Dr . Paterson was selected in recognition of her work with a cancer vaccine that exploits the common bacteria Listeria monocytogenes to provoke an immune response to eradicate cancer cells . Dr . Paterson has been issued 32 U . S . patents and numerous foreign patents ; 12 possible U . S . patents are under review .
Dr . Lawrence was recognized for his contributions to the field of chemical biology , including the design and synthesis of organic molecules to act as selective anticancer agents targeting a range of processes important in cancer cell biology ( signal transduction , tumor angiogenesis , epigenetic gene regulation , and cell cycle control ).
Source : Penn Medicine press release , December 19 , 2016 ; Moffitt Cancer Center press release , December 19 , 2016 .
American Association for Cancer Research Receives Grant to Continue Clinical Trials Workshop
The National Cancer Institute awarded the American Association for Cancer Research a $ 1.125 million grant to continue providing its Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop , a program that offers clinical fellow and junior faculty clinical researchers the opportunity to learn the essentials of effective oncology clinical trial design .
Nearly 2,100 clinical fellow and junior faculty clinical researchers have attended the workshop over the past 21 years , and the new grant will fund the program over the next five years . ●
Source : American Association for Cancer Research news release , December 12 , 2016 .
8 ASH Clinical News March 2017