UW pediatrics faculty were recognized in the Andy Hill CARE Fund publication for their various research efforts. The CARE fund was established in 2022 by the Washington State legislature to support cancer research and enhance the quality of life for Washingtonians.
The grant includes three programs: the Population Health Program, Inclusion and Diversity in Clinical Trials, Shared Resources and Infrastructure, and Life Science Start-up and Development.
The Population Health Program supports cancer research projects that address cancer disparities for population groups in Washington State. The program contributes to understanding how biological, behavioral, environmental, social, and structural factors affect cancer-related health, especially among populations with the most prevalent cancer disparities. The findings are translated into innovative interventions to improve the health of populations and eliminate cancer disparities. Among the awardees is the UW's Principal Investigator: Yaw Nyame, MD, MS, MBA.
Dr. Yaw's work focuses on Black men, who are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer, reflecting a complex relationship among structural, social, health, and biological factors. Investigators in Dr. Yaw's group first demonstrated that men with very aggressive prostate cancers were more likely to have inherited genetic mutations in DNA damage repair genes, impacting both screening and treatment of men with inherited prostate cancers. While the group continues to lead in the study of inherited and acquired genetic mutations in lethal prostate cancers, little is known about the effect these biological and non-biologic factors have on racial inequities. The Andy Hill CARE Fund grant built a community-based infrastructure involving Black men in research design and implementation of prostate cancer.
Inclusion and Diversity in Clinical Trials support projects that enhance clinical trial site capacity or infrastructure to conduct cancer clinical trials or address patients' barriers to participation. Many barriers exist to clinical trial participation, including but not limited to initial screening and diagnosis, the capacity and infrastructure at clinical trial sites, and understanding and addressing the needs of potential clinical trial participants. As such, this grant may support projects that enhance clinical trial site capacity or infrastructure to conduct cancer clinical trials or address patients' barriers to participation.
Awardees include; Seattle Children's Research Institute Principal Investigator: Sarah Leary, MD, for the topic 'Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Therapeutic Studies for Children with Cancer in Washington State' and UW's Principal Investigator: Shaveta Vinayak, MD, awarded for the research topic 'Adapting Research Design & Systems to Improve Inclusion & Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials.' The Shared Resources and Infrastructure bolster Washington State's cancer research ecosystem by supporting efforts to plan, develop, or support shared resources that will advance cancer research in Washington State. Shared resources are research tools, materials, and services, providing access to multiple cancer research projects or institutions, including and not limited to population-based databases, biospecimen acquisition programs, and animal models. Infrastructure is broadly defined as essential to support a shared resource.
Awardees include Seattle Children's Research Institute Principal Investigator: Mignon Loh, MD, for their work on 'Optimizing Precision Medicine Approaches for Pediatric Cancer: From Diagnosis to Therapy Through Comprehensive Sequencing and Database Development' and UW Principal Investigator: Allison Webel, PhD, RN, FAAN, for their research topic 'Planning of a Digital Health Innovation Hub: A Shared Resource to Develop Equitable Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Interventions for All Washingtonians.'
Life Science Start-Up and Development support early-stage companies and innovative researchers to translate promising research into the development of tools, devices, or therapeutics related to cancer. Awardees from UW include Principal Investigator: Dayong Gao, PhD, for their work on the 'Development of Novel Electromagnetic Rewarming Technology for Urgent and Unmet Needs in the Cryopreservation of Therapeutic Cells.' Other awardees include UW's Principal Investigator: John Gore, MD, MS, who was awarded for the 'Development of Pathology Translator to Automate Creation of Patient-Centered Pathology Reports for Cancer Care,' UW's Principal Investigator: Daniel Leotta, PhD, for the topic 'A 3D Ultrasound System for Breast Cancer Detection in Low-Resource Settings.'
Furthermore, UW's Principal Investigator: John Liao, MD, PhD, for their research on the 'Tumor Burden and Peripheral T-Cell Exhaustion in Ovarian Cancer,' and UW's Principal Investigator: Raymond Yeung, MD, on the topic 'MetaboCore: A Novel Drug Sensitivity Assay for Human Cancer.'
The cancer research investment has the potential to significantly enhance the living standards of those residing in Washington State. We look forward to the research outcomes and their impact on the community.