UF Health Cancer Center

As a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, the UF Health Cancer Center is accelerating cancer research by leveraging how data is harnessed, organized and analyzed across disciplines. On April 29, data experts in fields from biostatistics to biomedical engineering to health informatics to surgery gathered for the inaugural Cancer Computational Biology Mini-Symposium at the Cancer and Genetics Research Complex. The event, presented by the center’s Biostatistics and Computational Biology Shared Resource, featured rapid-fire research presentations by nearly a dozen University of Florida experts working in this innovative space.  “Our mission is to advance cancer research across the University of Florida by ensuring high-quality data analysis is applied to all studies, whether that’s large language models or small case studies,” said Ji-Hyun Lee, DrPH, associate director for cancer quantitative sciences at the Cancer Center.  The event also provided an opportunity for the new co-leaders of the Cancer AI Working Group — Ali Zarrinpar, M.D., Ph.D., Muxuan Liang, Ph.D., and Qianqian Song, Ph.D., — to introduce their research. The expanded leadership is part of the center’s broader enhancement of data infrastructure to propel cancer research to new heights.  Read more 👉 https://go.ufl.edu/lq64iwl #UFHealthCancerCenter #AIatUF

We are deep in to faculty recruitment season here in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at University of Florida College of Medicine, and it’s so fun to show off the division and the UF Health Cancer Center. Sometimes our candidates who are visiting even get to see new-to-them flora and fauna. It’s great to be a #floridagator. Come join us at University of Florida! 😍

With a $3.4 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), UF Health Cancer Center researchers will study how a novel small-molecule drug could be used to enhance immunotherapy treatments for melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer. The new project is co-led by Zhang Weizhou, Ph.D., the Dr. and Mrs. James Robert Spencer Professor of Pathology in the department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine in the University of Florida College of Medicine, Guangrong Zheng, Ph.D., a professor in the department of medicinal chemistry in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, and Keiran Smalley, Ph.D., a professor and director of the Donald A. Adam Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence at Moffitt Cancer Center. Read more: https://go.ufl.edu/22dwgbz #UFHealthCancerCenter #CancerResearch #Melanoma

University of Florida researchers have developed a new mRNA cancer vaccine, described in research published last week in Cell, that can deliver treatments more effectively in children who have brain cancer and teach their immune systems to fight back. In a piece in The Conversation US, UF Health Cancer Center members John Ligon, M.D., and Christina von Roemeling, Ph.D., discuss how cancer vaccines work and the implications of this breakthrough. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eVwzWKH4 #UFHealthCancerCenter #mRNA #Glioblastoma #CancerResearch

“Oncology nursing is one of the more challenging nursing specialties and is often perceived to be sad and depressing. Yes, there are hard days, but with all the advancements in oncology treatments, we are achieving more wins than losses, and we love to celebrate those wins with the patients, no matter how big or small. I consider it an honor and a privilege to navigate care for this patient population, being their guiding light in times of uncertainty, as they are likely facing one of their most vulnerable and fearful times," said Melissa Lynn, M.S.N., R.N., C.C.M., O.C.N., coordinator of the UF Health oncology nurse navigation team. This week is National Nurses Week and we are shining a spotlight on our outstanding team of oncology nurse navigators. When patients begin their cancer treatment journeys at UF Health, an oncology nurse navigator coordinates all aspects of care. Navigators also act as excellent resources for community physicians when they are seeking information about care plans for their patients. The multidisciplinary teams at the UF Health Cancer Center meet weekly to discuss the details of each patient’s case. This approach leads to a personalized plan created to help patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The plan also includes formulating an approach to guiding patients who need several different therapies to their ideal cancer treatment plan – customized for the specific type of cancer, the disease’s stage and a patient’s needs and overall health. Please join us in thanking these exceptional nurses for their commitment to our patients with cancer: • Melissa Lynn, M.S.N., R.N., C.C.M., O.C.N. (Coordinator, Oncology Nurse Navigation) • Stephanie Provost, R.N., B.S. (Breast Cancer) • taylor Fradella, R.N. (Gastrointestinal Cancer) • Sarah Graciani, R.N., B.S.N. (Lung Cancer) • Anne Pesantez MPH, BSN, RN, OCN (Breast, GI and Lung Cancer) • Brandi Nunn, R.N., B.S.N. (Orthopaedic Oncology) • Lindsey Rountree, R.N. (Urologic Cancer) • Imelda Bunoy, M.S.N.-N.E., B.S.N., R.N. (Head and Neck Cancer) • Carol Hubbard, R.N., B.S.N. (Gynecologic Cancer) • Jennifer West, R.N., B.S.N., O.N.N.-C.G. (Clinical Trials Navigator) • Pam Clevenger, R.N. (Radiology Women's Imaging) #ThankaNurse #NursesWeek #UFHealthCancerCenter #Oncology #Nurses

News update! Construction is well underway on our mobile mammography unit, which is expected to launch this fall. With $1.5 million from University of Florida President Ben Sasse’s Strategic Funding Initiative and matching funds from the UF Health Cancer Center, the mobile unit will bring cancer screening services directly to the community. The vehicle chassis arrived in late March, paving the way for vehicle flooring and walls to be installed next. Tesco, an Ohio-based company, is building the unit and anticipates completion in July. After fine tuning, the vehicle will get a specially designed wrap. Read our full update to get the inside scoop on the progress, vehicle features, all the services it will offer and more 👉 https://go.ufl.edu/y3knujh #UFHealthCancerCenter #Mammography #CancerScreening

Congratulations to Ji-Hyun Lee, DrPH, associate director for cancer quantitative sciences at the UF Health Cancer Center, who has been named a chief statistical advisor on the Statistical Advisory Panel of Nature Medicine, part of the prestigious Nature Portfolio. Lee, a professor in department of biostatistics in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, will serve as one of three chief statistical advisors on the advisory board, part of a partnership between the journal and the American Statistical Association - ASA to facilitate the timely, consistent and thorough statistical peer review of clinical trials. It is the first official statistical editorial advisory group for the Nature journals. Read more: https://go.ufl.edu/yzscoty #UFHealthCancerCenter #Statistics #CancerResearch

In a first-ever human clinical trial of four adult patients, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida quickly reprogrammed the immune system to attack glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal brain tumor. The results mirror those in 10 pet dog patients suffering from naturally occurring brain tumors whose owners approved of their participation, as they had no other treatment options, as well as results from preclinical mouse models. The breakthrough by UF Health Cancer Center researchers now will be tested in a Phase 1 pediatric clinical trial for brain cancer. Investments and research infrastructure provided by the UF Health Cancer Center, the McKnight Brain Institute, the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy, and the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery in the University of Florida College of Medicine made the breakthrough possible, providing the support needed for the researchers to translate the homegrown discovery directly from a UF laboratory to patients in clinical trials at UF Health. Reported May 1 in the Cell Press journal Cell, the discovery represents a potential new way to recruit the immune system to fight notoriously treatment-resistant cancers using an iteration of mRNA technology and lipid nanoparticles, similar to COVID-19 vaccines, but with two key differences: use of a patient’s own tumor cells to create a personalized vaccine, and a newly engineered complex delivery mechanism within the vaccine. “The UF Health Cancer Center is delighted to see this outcome of a highly fruitful collaboration with the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy to bring basic discoveries in immuno-biology and immunotherapy to the bedside on behalf of our patients,” said Jonathan Licht, M.D., director of the UF Health Cancer Center. Read more: go.ufl.edu/fklivvp #UFHealthCancerCenter #CancerResearch #BrainCancer #mRNA

Harnessing the power of CRISPR gene-editing technology in a new way, University of Florida researchers have created a one-tube testing method targeting DNA from body fluids that has the potential to dramatically increase access to the diagnosis of viral diseases such as cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is among the most preventable cancers through vaccines or early detection tests. Early diagnosis significantly increases the chances that treatment of cancer will be successful or that irregular cells are found before they develop into cancer. Although effective vaccines that can prevent HPV infection are available, low vaccination rates persist, especially in Florida. The simple platform uses a protein called Cas12a to analyze DNA in viruses such as HPV, which causes almost all cervical cancers. It can be paired with inexpensive devices using smartphones that test samples of body fluids such as blood or saliva, paving the way for new diagnostic tools that could have a major benefit in resource-limited areas or be used for at-home testing. “Our assay is very promising to advance point-of-care testing for cervical cancer with minimal use of complex reagents and instruments,” said Yong Zeng, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of chemistry and a member of the UF Health Cancer Center. “We developed a way to combine all processes into one material, making our method faster, simpler and more sensitive.” Read more: https://go.ufl.edu/ml71cj6 #UFHealthCancerCenter #CancerResearch #CervicalCancer #CRISPR

A group of University of Florida medical students will be hosting a virtual symposium this spring for hair stylists and barbers in Alachua County, Duval County and Miami-Dade County to elevate awareness about common signs of skin cancers and how to refer their clients to dermatologists early if they suspect cancer. To reserve a spot at the symposium, please scan the QR code in the attached flyer or visit https://lnkd.in/eSkG3RMs For more information, please email kristagaiegrant@ufl.edu.