March 21, 2019 - 10:30am
Single-cell Analysis Reframes the Role of Rare Epithelial Types in Airways Disease
Adam Haber, PhD
(Broad Institute )News
Announcement
Dr. Cory Abate-Shen Named Chair of Pharmacology at Columbia
Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, known for her leading work in the development of innovative mouse models for translational research in prostate and bladder cancers, has been named chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her appointment will be effective April 1, 2019. Dr. Abate-Shen is the Michael and Stella Chernow Professor of Urologic Sciences at Columbia and holds joint appointments in the Departments of Systems Biology, Medicine and Pathology & Cell Biology, and is former interim director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Research News
Why Some Brain Tumors Respond to Immunotherapy
Fewer than 1 in 10 patients with glioblastoma respond to immunotherapy, which has shown remarkable success in the past few years in treating a variety of aggressive cancers. But there has been no way to know in advance which glioblastoma patients will respond. In a study, led by Raul Rabadan, PhD, researches have learned why some glioblastomas—the most common type of brain cancer—respond to immunotherapy. The findings could help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment with immunotherapy drugs and lead to the development of more broadly effective treatments.
Research News
Prostate Cancer Grant Spotlights Columbia’s Aim to Deliver Precision Cancer Medicine
Columbia University Irving Medical Center experts in prostate cancer will lead a new team research project that tests a novel approach for personalized cancer treatment. The two-year project, funded by a $1 million Challenge Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, combines computational methods for targeted drug therapy, single-cell RNA sequencing and novel cancer immunotherapy. The combined approaches are behind a proof-of-concept clinical trial for patients at Bronx VA with lethal metastatic prostate cancer.
Awards and Grants
The Gates Foundation Funds the Wang Lab’s Efforts in Global Health Study
Dr. Harris Wang and systems biology graduate student, Ravi Sheth, have been awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help advance a global health project aimed at reducing childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The project incorporates Dr. Wang’s innovative microbiome research techniques to study the antibiotic, Azithromycin, and understanding its role as an intervention for improving childhood survival rates in low-resource settings.
Awards and Grants
Advancing the Use of Single-Cell Technology for Novel Brain Cancer Treatment
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded Dr. Peter Sims an Emerging Leader Award and will support his work to advance a novel use of single-cell RNA sequencing to develop brain cancer treatments. Dr. Sims, an early contributor to the emerging field of single-cell RNA sequencing, is one of just eight recipients of the inaugural grant, given to promising early career scientists for projects aimed at unmet needs in cancer risk prediction, prevention and treatment.