The University of Illinois Cancer Center proudly announces the 2025 grant awardees for its innovative Hope Leaders program, which pairs community partners and cancer biologists to build genuine bidirectional relationships between scientists and communities.
The community organizations and Cancer Center researchers making up the program’s third cohort are: the Salvation Army Adele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center, paired with researcher Natalia Nieto, PharmD, PhD, and the Cancer Support Team of Illinois, paired with researcher John Nitiss, PhD. The pairs will each work together over the next two years.
The Hope Leaders program, run by the Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity, empowers community organizations to communicate the health needs of the communities they represent directly to Cancer Center researchers. Additionally, it allows researchers and their labs to engage community partners about projects that may ultimately benefit local populations, while giving community partners opportunities to provide input.
Each community partner receives a $20,000 grant ($10,000 in the first year; $10,000 in the second year, dependent on study progress), and each cancer biologist receives $30,000 ($20,000 in the first year; $10,000 in the second year, dependent on study progress).
New Hope Leaders
- Salvation Army Adele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center: Located in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, the center provides a variety of services to respond to community needs. “By building bridges between researchers and residents, we can ensure that science is shaped by real-world concerns and reaches the people who need it most,” the organization wrote in its Hope Leaders application.
- Natalia Nieto, PharmD, PhD, Professor of Pathology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at UIC, and Trainee Sai Santosh Babu Komakula, PhD, in the Nieto lab: “Dendritic cell vaccines show promise in overcoming disparities in liver cancer outcomes—this collaboration allows us to deliver science where it matters most, in the hands of communities facing the highest burden,” Nieto’s Lab wrote in its application.
- Cancer Support Team of Illinois: Founded by cancer survivor and patient advocate Karen Hall, this group is dedicated to providing free aftercare support for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and their families. “Through this partnership, we will foster direct dialogue between researchers and our community—ensuring the people most affected by cancer are also helping shape the science that addresses it,” the group wrote in its application.
- John Nitiss, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and the Assistant Dean for Research in the Retzky College of Pharmacy at UIC on the Rockford campus, and Trainee Maureen McCoy, a PharmD/PhD Candidate, in the Nitiss lab: “Our goal in community involvement is to communicate how current basic research can improve medical decision-making, to demonstrate how genetic research can impact individual health outcomes, and to learn how community members can contribute to basic research questions,” the lab’s application said.
Other Hope Leaders
The inaugural 2023 Hope Leaders cohort is wrapping up its two-year grant cycle with the community partners and cancer biologists sharing their work at community events.
- Equal Hope was paired with the lab of Cancer Center member Ekrem Emrah Er, PhD, and the group shared their work at a Health and Beauty for Women Brunch and Learn on May 7. The presentation was in English and Spanish.
- Advocates for Community Wellness was paired with the lab Cancer Center member Jun Sun, PhD, and they will present their work on May 19 at a Community Wellness Workshope focused on Vitamin D deficiency and breast cancer risk in African Americans.
The 2024 cohort paired the lab of Cancer Center member Andrei Karginov, PhD with community partner Peer Plus Education and Training Advocates, and the lab of Cancer Center member Constance Jeffery, PhD, with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. They are in the first year of their Hope Leaders grant.