Lung cancer experts provide knowledge on treatment innovations, tips for successful smoking cessation and more

With Lung Cancer Awareness Month upon us, Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s scientists, physician-scientists, and staff are available to offer expertise in treatment innovations, the biology of lung cancers, research initiatives, and tips for successful smoking cessation.

Greg Durm, M.D., focuses his research on the development of novel approaches to the treatment of lung cancer, especially immunotherapy-based approaches. He is looking at ways to improve the early detection of cancer cells in patients who have undergone curative therapy, and he collaborates with colleagues at IU and other centers to improve translational research and bring new therapies and tests from the bench to the bedside.

Nasser Hanna, M.D., a hematologist/oncologist specializing in thoracic oncology, leads several clinical trials for first-line treatments and for metastatic disease. He can discuss the epidemiology of lung cancer in smokers and non-smokers, inflammation and lung cancer, treatment strategies and the future of lung cancer therapies.

Deborah Hudson Buckles, director of the Tobacco Treatment Program at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, offers expertise on smoking cessation, quitting smoking, tobacco, nicotine, vaping, and e-cigarettes. She also can talk about the health benefits associated with quitting smoking, which include a lowered risk of lung cancer and other types of cancer and reduced risk for heart disease and respiratory illnesses.

Shadia Jalal, M.D., a thoracic oncologist, focuses on management on all forms of lung cancer. Her research interest is focused on the study of DNA repair capacity and its impact on patient response to chemotherapy.

Catherine Sears, M.D., has a unique perspective on the burden of lung cancer, especially for smokers, because of her training in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Her research involves investigating the impact of DNA damage and repair on the pathogenesis and treatment response of lung cancer.

John Turchi, Ph.D., studies DNA damage and repair pathways and is developing novel drugs to treat lung cancer. He is the founder and chief scientific officer of NERx Biosciences Inc,  an IU biotechnology company that develops and commercializes the cancer therapeutics discovered in his lab.