Head and neck cancer researchers in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine have recently attracted $1.3 million in new funding to support their groundbreaking research.
The Division of Head and Neck Surgery is rapidly becoming a global force in many areas of cancer research, including HPV, genomics, diagnosis, outcomes disparities, and treatment de-intensification, says Jose Zevallos, MD, MPH, chief of the division.
“It’s exciting to see the hard work of our researchers result in such outstanding funding,” he says. “We certainly want to thank the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center for their ongoing support, as well as the many new partners that have joined us to fight these devastating cancers.”
Some of the recently funded research projects include:
An inducible molecular memory system to unravel the mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in oncology
Principal Investigator: Sid Puram, MD, PhD
Agency: Cancer Research Institute
Total award: $200,000
Understanding transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of metastasis and treatment response in head and neck cancer
Principal Investigator: Sid Puram, MD, PhD
Total award: $240,000
Postoperative drain fluid as a novel biomarker for residual disease in thyroid cancer
Principal Investigator: Jose Zevallos, MD
Agency: National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Total award: $231,000
Understanding heterogeneity in HPV expression and its influence on therapeutic response in head and neck cancers
Principal Investigator: Sid Puram, MD, PhD
Agency: Rising Tide Foundation and Weizmann Institute of Science
Total award: $200,000
Neoantigens arising from genomic dark matters
Principal Investigator: Sid Puram, MD, PhD
Agency: Emerson Collective Research Fund
Total award: $300,000
Targeting NRF2 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Principal Investigator: Paul Zolkind, MD
Agency: Washington University Dean’s Scholar Award
Total award: $100,000