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SEPTEMBER 2024
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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
- From the Cancer Consortium
- Please Join Us in Celebrating Another Successful CCSG Renewal!
- In the Spotlight
- Current Funding Opportunities
- Save the Date - Upcoming Events
- From the Office of Faculty Affairs & Development
- Call for Volunteers
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FROM THE CANCER CONSORTIUM
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Please Join Us in Celebrating Another Successful CCSG Renewal!
The Cancer Consortium is pleased to report that after many months of waiting, we were recently notified of the successful renewal of our Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) with an overall score in the “exceptional” range! The renewal of this CCSG signifies our continued status as an NCI-designated comprehensive consortium cancer center.
We are extremely proud of the hard work that went into this competing renewal, and would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of the groups and individuals who supported this effort. Now, with two consecutive overall scores in the “exceptional” range, we will be eligible for an extension, shifting the next CCSG competing renewal to seven years away rather than five years away. This is a tremendous achievement that only a small subset of cancer centers (~6 centers) have earned.
Moving forward, we look forward to addressing the critiques reviewers provided in our summary statement and continuing our pursuit of excellence in our research and clinical endeavors.
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In the Spotlight
The following interinstitutional collaborations by Cancer Consortium members were featured in the most recent edition of Fred Hutch's Science Spotlight:
- "Let’s give these CAR(T cell)s some pedals!" involved collaborative work by Drs. Jacob Appelbaum (Hematologic Malignancies) and Adam Lamble (Hematologic Malignancies).
- "The exclusion of immunocompromised patients in clinical trials and how we can do better" involved collaborative work by Drs. Michael Boeckh (Cancer Immunology), Joshua Hill (Hematologic Malignancies), Steven Pergam (Hematologic Malignancies), Larry Corey (Cancer Immunology), and Janet Englund (Hematologic Malignancies).
- "Repping Epstein-Barr virus: RNA vaccine protects against cancer in mice" involved collaborative work by Drs. Andrew McGuire (Pathogen Associated Malignancies), James Olson (Cancer Basic Biology), and M. Juliana McElrath (Pathogen Associated Malignancies).
- "Cell free DNA profiling may unlock the key to studying small cell lung cancer" involved collaborative work by Drs. Rafael Santana-Davila (Non-Programmatically Aligned), Keith Eaton (Non-Programmatically Aligned), McGarry Houghton (Cancer Immunology), Gavin Ha (Biostatistics & Computational Biology), and David MacPherson (Cancer Basic Biology).
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CURRENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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Administrative Supplements to Support Cancer Disparity Collaborative Research (Clinical Trial Optional)
The purpose of this NOFO is to promote new cancer disparities research among investigators who do not normally conduct it and to encourage the partnership of experienced cancer research investigators with cancer disparities-focused researchers that is intended to accelerate and strengthen multi-disciplinary cancer disparities research in wide ranging areas. Proposed collaborations should focus on achieving research objectives that by necessity rely on diverse and complementary expertise, technical capabilities, and resource sets. Importantly, the supplemental proposal is required to be within the scope of the parent award and should expand the original aims to include a cancer disparity component and possible inclusion of international comparator cohorts.
Upcoming Application Receipt Due Dates: September 6th, 2024; January 23rd, 2025
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Survivorship Pilot Award
The Cancer Consortium Survivorship Program invites proposals of high impact and innovation that will promote new research directions focused on cancer survivors. The goal of this award is to stimulate cross-institutional collaborations (Fred Hutch, UW, Seattle Children’s) and/or new collaborations between Consortium investigators who have not previously worked together.
According to the National Cancer Institute, "Survivorship focuses on the health and well-being of a person with cancer from the time of diagnosis until the end of life. This includes the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial effects of cancer that begin at diagnosis and continue through treatment and beyond. The survivorship experience also includes issues related to follow-up care (including regular health and wellness checkups), late effects of treatment, cancer recurrence, second cancers, and quality of life. Family members, friends, and caregivers are also considered part of the survivorship experience." However, for the purposes of this application, projects that focus on timepoints at time of cancer diagnosis and treatment will be accepted only if they are clearly linked to a long-term health or psychosocial outcome. Health services research proposals otherwise meeting these criteria are also welcome.
Funding details: Up to $50,000 direct costs over 1 year, to begin June 1, 2025. Payment of indirect costs is not allowed for this award.
Click here to view the RFA with additional details, including application instructions.
Eligibility Criteria:
2) Priority will be given to applications that involve cross-institutional collaborations (investigators with primary appointments at different Consortium partners) and/or new collaborations (which can be among investigators based at the same Consortium partner but who have no previously co-funded work and no significant non-funded prior collaborations).
3) Priority will be given to investigators who have not previously received a Survivorship Pilot Award.
4) A member of the application team will be asked to pitch their proposal at the "Late Effects & Survivorship Seminar" on January 9, 2025 (1-3pm).
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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» [Ongoing]: IIRC Seminars
Please see below for a list of upcoming seminars hosted by the Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center:
Talk Title: Functional identification and therapeutic targeting of cancer neoantigens
Details: Pelton Auditorium (Fred Hutch Campus) or Zoom ( click here)
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» September 25, 2024: Save the Date for the Beverly Torok-Storb Symposium: A Lifetime of Science and Mentorship
Fred Hutch is pleased to present the Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb Symposium: A Lifetime of Science and Mentorship. The one-day symposium will feature scientific presentations on the advances in hematopoietic stem cell research, as well as highlighting “Dr. Bev’s” extraordinary impact on the future generation of researchers in the field. This one-day event will take place on Wednesday, September 25 th, 2024.
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» September 26-27, 2024: Save the Date for the E. Donnall Thomas Symposium
The 2nd bi-annual E. Donnall Thomas Symposium will be held from September 26-27 th, 2024. This two-day event will feature leading researchers from around the world sharing their current research on improving survival after hematopoietic transplantation, adoptive cell therapy, gene therapy and hybrid therapies.
Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his colleagues discovered a way to treat advanced leukemia by eradicating malignant white blood cells in the bone marrow using high doses of chemotherapy and radiation, and then replacing them with healthy donor cells. This revolutionary approach was the first definitive and reproducible example of the human immune system’s potential to eliminate cancer, and it earned Thomas a Nobel Prize in 1990. Today, cell-based therapies have become a standard of care for many patients with cancer and other diseases.
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» November 14, 2024: Save the Date for the Joint BOC + CEPC Program Retreat!
Please save the date for a joint retreat hosted by the Consortium's Breast & Ovary Cancers (BOC) and Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention & Control (CEPC) Programs. The retreat will take place from 8:00am-3:00pm on Thursday, November 14th, in the O’Mack Symposium Suite in the Steam Plant Building (Fred Hutch campus).
The theme for this retreat is "Understanding disparities contributing to oncogenesis and cancer outcomes." This is a unique opportunity to learn from leading minds in the field, alongside basic scientists, epidemiologists, and clinicians involved in developing genetic tests for predicting patient outcomes and response to therapy.
We are especially thrilled to announce that our keynote speaker for this year's retreat is the esteemed Professor Melissa Davis from the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Davis’s pioneering research is leveraging high-throughput genomics technologies to uncover how genetic underpinnings interplay with social factors to drive health disparities. A testament to her original and highly rigorous research program is that her team was just awarded a Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge Award.
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FROM THE OFFICE OF FACULTY AFFAIRS & DEVELOPMENT
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In Case You Missed It - URM Faculty & Family Dinner
In early August, all Consortium faculty who identify as belonging to underrepresented minorities were invited, along with their families, to attend a dinner on the lawns of the Fred Hutch campus. The event was hosted by the Fred Hutch Office of Faculty Affairs, with mouthwatering catering from Chef Kristi Brown’s That Brown Girl Cooks!. We look forward to making this dinner an annual event, where faculty can bring their families for a chance to visit with colleagues, own your kids at cornhole (looking at you, Wendy), and enjoy a wonderful meal together.
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CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
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Call for Volunteers for the Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb and Dr. E. Donnall Thomas Symposia
The Fred Hutch Research Administration team is recruiting staff to welcome attendees and support the social events and presentations at the Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb and Dr. E. Donnall Thomas Symposia. If you are interested, please be sure to clear it with your supervisor and/or team. Roles include registration, room monitoring, and speaker support. Please note that all roles require you to be on-campus at Fred Hutch.
Click here to see all the different roles and sign up. For every hour that you help, you will receive one entry to win a VERY special prize in a raffle drawing!
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FRED HUTCH/UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON/SEATTLE CHILDREN'S CANCER CONSORTIUM
1100 FAIRVIEW AVE. N., SEATTLE, WA 98109
Award number P30 CA015704-49
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