The University of Illinois Cancer Center awarded three American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) pilot projects plus an additional diversity pilot project from an applicant belonging to a population underrepresented in science.
The awardees are:
- Noah Birch, MD, PhD, who practices in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UI Health, for the project “Investigating Co-Mutation Interactions in Poor-Risk, ASXL1-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).”
- Cancer Center member Carlos Murga-Zamalloa, MD, for the project “The Actin Cytoskeleton Function During Transcriptional Heterogeneity in T-Cell Lymphomas.” Awarded the diversity pilot project, he is part of the Translational Oncology Program at the Cancer Center and a clinician-scientist in the Department of Pathology at UI Health.
- Cancer Center member Frank Weinberg, MD, PhD, for the project “Identification of Immunometabolic Biomarkers in Underrepresented Lung Cancer Screening Patients who Develop Lung Cancer. He is part of the Cancer Center Translational Oncology Program and a UI Health oncologist focused on the care of patients with lung cancer.
- Cancer Center member Preetish Kadur Lakshminarasimha Murthy, PhD, for the project “Tumor Suppressor Genes and Subtypes of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.” He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine at UIC.
The Cancer Center is the recipient of the ACS IRG, which is awarded to institutions as block grants to provide seed money for newly independent investigators to initiate cancer research projects. The intent is to support junior faculty in initiating cancer research projects so they can obtain preliminary results that will enable them to compete successfully for national research grants.
Funding for each pilot is up to $50,000 for a one-year project.