Meet the 2024 PACELINE Grant Recipients
These brilliant researchers are working hard to uncover better ways to treat and prevent cancer. Here's what their projects are all about in plain language:
Dr. Mina Tsai – Finding Better Ways to Catch Colon Cancer Early
In some parts of Georgia, colon cancer is more deadly, especially when it's found late, like during emergency room visits. Dr. Tsai is studying how and where people are first diagnosed to figure out how we can help doctors catch this cancer earlier and save more lives.
Dr. Patricia Schoenlein – Making Breast Cancer Treatments Work Better
Some breast cancers stop responding to treatment, which makes them harder to fight. Dr. Schoenlein is testing a new medicine that kills cancer cells and helps the body's immune system fight back. This could give hope to patients whose cancer has come back or stopped responding to current drugs.
Elayne Benson – How the "Smell Receptors" in Immune Cells Affect Cancer
Believe it or not, cells that usually help us smell things also exist in our immune system! Elayne Benson is studying how one of these smell receptors Olfr2) helps specific immune cells fight or help cancer. If we understand how it works, we might be able to turn those cells into stronger cancer fighters.
Dr. Shilpa Sharma – A Supercharged Treatment for Colon Cancer
Dr. Sharma is designing a new kind of medicine that combines two powerful tools: one blocks something cancer needs to grow, and the other helps the immune system fight harder. This could lead to a safer, more targeted way to treat colon cancer without as many side effects.
Dr. Chunhong Yan – Using an Old Drug in a New Way to Fight Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is tricky to treat once it stops responding to common therapies. Dr. Yan is testing a medicine usually used for stomach bugs to see if it can make these tough cancer cells easier to kill. This could help men with advanced prostate cancer who don't have many other options.
Dr. Kebin Liu – Waking Up the Immune System to Fight Colon Cancer
Most colon cancers don't respond to current immunotherapy treatments. Dr. Liu has found a protein (OPN) that seems to turn off the immune system in these cancers. He's working on a special antibody that blocks OPN and helps the body's T cells attack the cancer again.
Dr. Gang Zhou – Turning Salmonella Into a Cancer-Fighting Ally
You've heard of Salmonella as something that makes you sick, but what if it could help cure cancer? Dr. Zhou is using a safe, engineered version of this bacteria to make immune cells work harder and help CAR-T therapy work even better.