SEATTLE – August 4, 2020 – Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news with links for additional background and media contacts.
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COVID-19
Fred Hutch joins international COVID-19 vaccine effort
Fred Hutch has been named the coordinating center for vaccine clinical trials of the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The network will evaluate vaccines and antibodies to prevent COVID-19. People interested in volunteering for a trial can learn more on the CoVPN website.
Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org
The latest on how COVID-19 affects cancer patients
New data just released by the CCC19 Consortium, a nationally crowdsourced cohort of cancer patients with COVID-19, showed an overall increase in the mortality rate for these patients. It also highlighted racial disparities with regard to access to clinical trial drugs like Remdesivir. The Hutch’s Dr. Gary Lyman, who helped launch the effort, weighs in.
Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org
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Clinical oncology and cancer prevention
Improving apps to help cancer patients quit smoking
Smoking cessation expert Dr. Jonathan Bricker will run a randomized trial of two smartphone apps to see which is better at helping cancer patients to stop smoking.
Media contact: Tom Kim, tomkim@fredhutch.org
Trio of studies to evaluate metastatic breast cancer care Dr. Poorni Manohar, a health services researcher with the Hutch’s HICOR institute was recently awarded three grants to fund research designed to ensure patients with metastatic, or stage 4 breast cancer, are consistently getting the current standard of care.
Media contact: Claire Hudson, crhudson@fredhutch.org
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Cell biology
New study shows cancer-causing ‘Frankengene’ mutation could be target for new drugs
Fred Hutch scientists show that a gene fused to others in many different kinds of tumors causes cancer. By comparing different fusions, they were able to narrow down the common cancer-causing functions of the fusions that should be targeted with drugs.
Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org
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Diversity, equity and inclusion
‘It is time to call out structural racism in medicine and work fervently to dismantle it’
Dr. Rachel Issaka shares personal experiences with racism and calls on the medical field to take antiracist action to dismantle the structural racism that harms Black medical professionals, patients and the U.S. overall in an essay in JAMA.
Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org
Fred Hutch’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Fred Hutch stands with the victims and families of police brutality and systemic racism inherent in the United States. We believe that Black Lives Matter. While our efforts to address these realities are ongoing, based on what we heard, we are taking action now to promote change at our organization and in the community — and end racial injustice.
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Precision medicine
$3.4 million grant to find safer, more effective leukemia treatments
Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the most common — and aggressive — types of blood cancer that strike adults. Dr. Johnnie Orozco will use a new research grant to develop safer, more targeted therapies in bone marrow transplantation to treat people with AML.
Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org
A path opens for precise analyses of breast cancer proteins
For more than 16 years, Fred Hutch oncologist Dr. Amanda Paulovich has been refining a technology to match proteins on the surfaces of tumors with drugs that can precisely target cells carrying those telltale signatures. Now her lab is poised for human trials matching new precision drugs to a protein called HER2 in breast tumors.
Media contact: Molly McElroy, mwmcelro@fredhutch.org
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Other notable news
After 20 years, Wakefield retires from HIV Vaccine Trials Network
Riding out the pandemic with Obliteride
Dr. Rob Bradley named new McIlwain Family Endowed Chair in Data Science
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At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch’s pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation’s first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women’s Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
Original post https://alertarticles.info
