UVA Cancer Center

Chongzhi Zang, PhD, Associate Professor of Genome Sciences, has been named the Cancer Center’s inaugural Director of Computational Genomics! Computational genomics is a field that develops tools and applies data science to characterize the genome - the complete set of DNA in an organism - to study how they function in normal cells and malfunction in diseases like cancer. A highly collaborative researcher and dedicated mentor, Dr. Zang believes this is “an ideal time to collect, analyze and interpret massive genomics data using advanced computational approaches to understand cancer, with the ultimate goal of curing cancer.” In his own research, Dr. Zang has developed many novel methods and made groundbreaking discoveries in gene regulatory mechanisms in various biological systems and human cancers. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and received multiple The National Institutes of Health grants. He has been honored with numerous awards including a UVA Research Excellence Award in 2020 and a Vivian Pinn Scholar Award in 2024. In his new role, Dr. Zang aims “to bring together data scientists and cancer researchers, especially junior faculty and trainees, across the Cancer Center and Grounds.” He will also work to improve the utilization of the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN), a nationwide research partnership bringing together the country’s top cancer centers. #datascience #cancerresearch #NIH #genomesciences #genomics #computation #UVA

Virginia LeBaron, PhD, APRN, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing, is dedicated to alleviating the suffering of patients with serious illnesses and providing comprehensive support to those who care for them through her research. Dr. LeBaron's career began at The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center as an oncology nurse. She “found it incredibly rewarding to get to know patients and their families over months of treatment and a privilege to make a difficult time a little easier.” As her career progressed, Dr. LeBaron gravitated “towards applied research with relevance to my clinical experiences and training as an oncology nurse and palliative care nurse practitioner,” especially concerning battling health inequities. With a focus on reducing health and pain disparities for patients with advanced cancer, Dr. LeBaron seeks to optimize safe and effective pain management for patients through technology. Her research with The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) focuses on testing a system for pain management called BESI-C (Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention for Cancer). BESI-C is a smart health home-monitoring system consisting of environmental and wearable sensors used by cancer patients and family caregivers. Outside of the lab, Dr. LeBaron is an avid writer. She recently published a non-fiction book about her work with oncology nurses in India (Caring in Context, Routledge Press).  She is also working on a full-length poetry collection, Care, about the multifaceted dimensions of caring, both professionally as a nurse and personally as a daughter, sister, wife, and stepmom. #NIH #NIHNR #NIHCC #canerresearch #palliativecareawareness #palliativecare #nursung #nursesofLinkedIn #nursepracticioner

UVACCC spotlights Elizabeth Mulcahy, PhD, Director of the Partners in Discovery Program! Elizabeth is passionate about cancer research at the University of Virginia. Through Partners in Discovery, her team connects researchers with data vital to their work fighting cancer. Thank you, Elizabeth, for your contributions to research at #UVA and cancer centers across the country! #cancerresearch #nationalcancerinstitute #Spotlight #uva 

Congratulations to the University of Virginia School of Medicine Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BIMS) 2024 Wagner Fellows! Robert R. Wagner, MD, was UVA Cancer Center’s first Director and the first Chair of the Department of Microbiology, serving on the School of Medicine faculty from 1967 to 1994. Prior to their passing, he and his wife Mary Wagner established the Robert R. Wagner Fellowship Fund to support students in the basic sciences. The 2024 awardees include six members of Cancer Center labs: Luke Vass from the Fox and Loughran Labs, Rachel Clements from the Bayliss Lab, Jennifer Korchak from the Sheynkman Lab, Aleksandra (Ola) Cwiek of the Hirschi Lab, and Sarah Lynch from the Hui Li Lab. In their labs, #UVACCC members lead rigorous research and facilitate BIMS students’ study and training. They are proud to advise and support the next generation of cancer researchers! #CancerResearch #UVA #Cancer

John Bushweller, PhD, and Dan Gioeli, PhD, have been awarded a 5-year, $3.3 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant for research offering hope for #prostatecancer patients who develop resistance to current treatments. Their work targets ERG transcription factor, a protein that affects gene activity in almost half of prostate cancers. Collaborating with Michael Hageman, PhD, of The University of Kansas, they will evaluate and enhance a small-molecule inhibitor of ERG binding to DNA that was developed by the Bushweller Lab. Drs. Bushweller and Gioeli lead UVA’s NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Cancer Biology Research Program, which studies the mechanisms that drive cancer, identifies and validates cancer vulnerabilities, and develops small molecules and imaging modalities to modulate and detect cancer targets. This grant makes it possible to do the testing necessary to move this ERG inhibitor forward toward usage in patients. Congratulations Dr. Bushweller and Dr. Gioeli! #UVA #UVACCC #CancerResearch #NationalCancerInstitute #NCI #ProstateCancer https://lnkd.in/eThBVr3g

UVA is part of ResearchMatch! ResearchMatch is an online tool that helps pair volunteers who wish to participate in #studies, #surveys, and #clinicaltrials with researchers that best fit the needs of both. ResearchMatch makes signing up as a volunteer participant easy, quick and hassle-free. Research is essential for scientific progress, especially for #cancer treatments. With your help, cancer can be conquered. Consider signing up today! For more information and to join, click here: https://lnkd.in/e-GXbEW6 

Anuradha Illendula, PhD, combines chemistry, pharmacology and biology to fight cancer at the molecular level. 🔬 Dr. Illendula, Director of Nanochemistry at the Translational Orphan Blood Cancer Research Center, UVACCC, uses #nanotechnology to develop new drug delivery methods. She creates #nanomedicine “carriers” smaller than 200 nanometers, or two ten-thousandths of a millimeter. Despite their size, she describes each carrier as “a FedEx truck for medicine,” encapsulating the molecules of a medication. Together the carrier and the drug within it target cancer cells directly, offering safer, more effective and more personalized treatments, potentially limiting the side effects associated with some therapies Dr. Illendula is proud to be part of the next generation of cancer nanomedicine discovery. Outside of the lab, Dr. Illendula loves cooking and volunteering with youth in her community of faith! #UVA #UVACCC #Cancerresearch #Nanochemistry #Nanomedicine #Nanotechnology

Gastrointestinal Research Coordinators at UVACCC’s Office of Clinical Research (OCR) help patients participate in therapeutic clinical trials and researchers as they evaluate new treatments. A unique trial for patients with bile duct cancer is currently underway, testing the use of a new drug. Paul Kunk, MD, the trial’s Principal Investigator, is optimistic about the possibilities this trial offers for participants. Bile duct cancer is complex and patients with advanced bile duct cancer with specific protein mutations, such as FGFR2, have limited options after progression on targeted therapy. Most of these patients undergo cytotoxic chemotherapy, but this trial provides a much better option of additional oral targeted therapy. OCR’s GI team brings new hope to patients through their work on clinical trials. To learn more about this clinical trial or others, click here: https://bit.ly/4bF0OSG #UVA #CancerResearch #ClinicalTrials #GastrointestinalCancer #GastrointestinalCancerAwareness