Dr. Weiner’s blog will return in the New Year.

Happy holidays!

Read past blog posts.



All Are Invited To Attend the Georgetown Lombardi Holiday Party

All faculty and staff are invited to attend the Georgetown Lombardi Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 20, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Leavey Center, Salon G and H. Enjoy a drink reception and buffet dinner. Watch for more details later today.

MoU Delivers Access to Shared Resources at George Washington University

Georgetown and George Washington University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that grants faculty access to shared resources for the purposes of conducting research. Under the terms of the MoU, faculty will be charged reduced “internal” fees-for-service for use of the shared resources, independent of their home institution. Resources include the GW Nanofabrication and Imaging Center and the GW Biorepository. Contact Stephen Byers (byerss@georgetown.edu) for more information.

‘Georgetown Faces’ Series Highlights New Research Building Custodian

Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that highlights outstanding individuals, unsung heroes and beloved figures on campus, recently featured Joseph Neequaye, an evening custodian who works in the New Research Building. When he’s not keeping the building’s hallways and laboratories clean and ready for use, Joseph can be found cheering on his favorite soccer teams and cooking dishes from his native Ghana. Read more.

2024 MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research & Education Symposium: Abstract Submissions Open Jan. 10

The 2024 symposium takes place Monday, April 29, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. It will feature research posters for peer-reviewed projects from across the academic health system. All MedStar Health and Georgetown University physicians, nurses, researchers, staff, residents, and fellows are encouraged to submit. Visit the Symposium portal for complete submission guidelines as well as resources on preparing an abstract. Abstract submissions will be accepted January 10 - February 5.

THIS WEEK:

CDI Seminar: “Leveraging Digital Technologies to Enhance Medical Decision-Making for Patients with Cancer”

Tuesday, December 19

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Presented by Ilona Fridman, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Join this seminar via Zoom (Meeting ID: 868 3399 8735).

IN THE NEW YEAR:

Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series

Thursday, January 11

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Presented by Manu Platt, PhD, distinguished scholar and senior investigator, NIBIB, director, Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (βETA), chief, Mechanics and Tissue Remodeling In Computational & Experimental Systems (MATRICES), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH. Held in-person in the New Research Building Auditorium with Zoom option.

Survivorship Research Initiative Seminar Series

Friday, January 12

Talk: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Meet the Professor: 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Presented by Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD, chief medical officer, The Tisch Cancer Hospital, vice president for cancer clinical services, The Mount Sinai Health System, professor for the departments of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Join this seminar via Zoom.

Oncology Grand Rounds Lecture Series: “Synthetic Lethal Therapy for HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer”

Friday, January 19

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

Presented by Barbara Burtness, MD, Anthony N. Brady Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology); chief translational research officer, Yale Cancer Center; chief, head and neck cancers/sarcoma; co-leader, developmental therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center; associate cancer center director for translational research, Yale Cancer Center. Held in-person in the New Research Building Auditorium with Zoom option.

Beauty Beware: Associations between Perceptions of Harm and Safer Hair-Product-Purchasing Behaviors in a Cross-Sectional Study of Adults Affiliated with a University in the Northeast

Pilot Trial of Streamlined Genetic Education and Traceback Genetic Testing in Prostate Cancer Survivors

ENDS, Cigarettes, and Respiratory Illness: Longitudinal Associations Among US Youth

Protein Signaling and Drug Target Activation Signatures to Guide Therapy Prioritization: Therapeutic Resistance and Sensitivity in the I-SPY 2 Trial

Moving Beyond Policy Adoption-The Necessity of Understanding the Whys and Hows

ZDHHC5-mediated NLRP3 Palmitoylation Promotes NLRP3-NEK7 Interaction and Inflammasome Activation

USP13 Drives Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma By Switching Lung Club Cell Lineage Plasticity

Atezolizumab in Combination With Carboplatin and Survival Outcomes in Patients With Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: The TBCRC 043 Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial



Optimal Adjuvant Therapy in Older (≥70 years of age) Women with Low-Risk Early-Stage Breast Cancer

NEW Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK)

The Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK) is a one-year research opportunity open to current college seniors and those who have graduated with a bachelor’s degree within the last 36 months who are:

• From a racial, ethnic, or other group underrepresented in biomedical fields, including first-generation college students, those from economically and/or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds as defined by the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity, and those with disabilities
• A U.S. citizen, permanent legal resident, or DACA recipient who is eligible to legally work in the United States 
• Strongly committed to a future career in research, with a curiosity for cancer research, and planning to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD degree following completion of post-baccalaureate research

The program will provide students who have the potential to become leaders in cancer research with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond. The award includes a stipend and expense allowances for the recipient. Application deadline: Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. View more details and application guidelines.

Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards to Promote Diversity and Inclusion represent a focused effort to encourage and support investigators from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in cancer research and to foster their career advancement. Proposed projects must be basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, population health, and/or community-based cancer research projects designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer. Research that aims to advance the science of understanding cancer health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities that has relevance to breast cancer will also be considered. The grants provide $150,000 over two years for expenses related to the research project. View more information, eligibility criteria and application instructions. Application Deadline: 1:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 9, 2024.

Ruesch Center Announces GI Program Funds Award

The Ruesch Center is soliciting research proposals for 2024. Funding will be available to Georgetown Lombardi, John Theurer and MedStar Health scientists and clinicians with a GI cancer-relevant research focus — basic, clinical, or translational. This funding is intended to foster translational collaborations and generate new hypotheses and results to prove them, leading to jointly authored publications and externally funded grants. New one-year pilot collaborative project funding awards and repeat one-year funding to the previous year’s awardees whose pilot projects have generated encouraging data are available. Up to four multi-investigator-initiated projects will be funded up to $50,000 each.

There is dedicated funding available for the following:

• A pancreatic cancer research project
• An immunotherapy-related project
• Projects on any promising GI cancer-related topic. Areas of GI cancer research interest include the microbiome, liver metastasis, liver and biliary cancers, and CRC (early onset)

View more information and application procedure details. Submit a letter of intent to marshalj@georgetown.edu. LOI Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

Mary Kay Ash Foundation Innovative/Translational Cancer Research Grant

The Mary Kay Ash Foundation, a funding source for cancer research, is currently accepting applications for innovative grants for translational research for cancers affecting women, including but not limited to ovarian, uterine, breast and/or cervical cancer. Principal Investigator must be appointed a full-time assistant professor or higher at the time of application submission and commit a minimum 5% effort. Grants will be awarded in the amount of $100,000 over a two-year period. View more information. Please submit grant documentation to Sharon Levy (sgl5@georgetown.edu) by Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.

Federal Grants Digest: Colleges & Universities Edition



A weekly curated digest of federal funding opportunities of interest to colleges and universities to support programming, research, infrastructure and other efforts, provided by Thorn Run Partners. View current issue (for Dec. 13, 2023).

8:00 AM | Division Weekly Update Meeting | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

8:30 AM | Monday Morning Oncology Report | Inpatient Oncology Fellow | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

9:00 AM | Breast Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 528 212 194)

11:00 AM | GU/Melanoma Research Meeting | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 796 253 566)

4:00 PM | GU Tumor Board (on 1st/3rd Mondays of the month) | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 869 742 463)

9:00 AM | Hematology Path Conference - Inpatient Heme fellows + Outpatient Heme + BMT fellow | Podium A / Microsoft Teams (CME code: 80737; phone: 202-796-7323)

4:00 PM | Liver Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams

5:00 PM | Breast Tumor Board | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 937 7707 3374; CME code: 80044)

8:00 AM | Thoracic Tumor Board | Podium A / Zoom (dial 646-558-8656; Meeting ID: 993 7680 5192; Passcode: 4231; CME 86693)

12:00 PM | Melanoma Tumor Board | Podium A / Microsoft Teams (CME: 80988)

5:00 PM | GI Tumor Board | Podium A / Microsoft Teams

9:00 AM | Cancer Research Data Meeting - none | W302 New Research Building or Zoom

9:30 AM | Head and Neck Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams

12:30 PM | GI Research Meeting | WebEx (dial 844-302-0362, Meeting Number (access code): 712527865, HOST PIN: 5514)

5:00 PM | Lymphoma Tumor Board - every other week | Microsoft Teams

5:00 PM | Myeloma Tumor Board - every other week | Microsoft Teams

7:00 AM | CNS Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 298 285 483 265, Passcode: rJWpmU)

12:00 PM | Oncology Grand Rounds Lecture Series | none | New Research Building Auditorium / Zoom

12:00 PM | Stella Chou, MD - Transfusion in Sickle Cell Patients (tentative) | Marietta or Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)

1:00 PM | Craig Kessler - Pre-lecture viewing assigned & optional reading. Bleeding Cases | Marietta or Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)

1:00 PM | Pancreas Tumor Board | Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 299 996 740 910, Passcode: z7j7Rc)

2:00 PM | Craig Kessler - Pre-lecture viewing assigned & optional reading. Hemophilia Cases | Marietta or Podium A | Teams Conference Link (Text In Code: 81202 or 81203 / Text In Telephone: 202-796-7323)