Newswise — NEW YORK, NY — July 15, 2015 — The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fueling the discovery and development of immunotherapies for all forms of cancer, announced that it has committed more than $29.3 million in new funds to accelerate cancer immunology research and cancer immunotherapy clinical development in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. The grants will provide critical support for clinical and translational studies by leading investigators aimed at testing and improving cancer immunotherapies for patients, as well as for research and training of promising postdoctoral fellows seeking to understand the basic biology of the immune system and cancer.

The awards include:

  • 26 postdoctoral fellowships for young scientists who are bringing creative new insights and perspectives to the fields of immunology and tumor immunology
  • 13 Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) grants, which provide two years of support for translational laboratory investigation
  • 7 Clinical Strategy Team grants that will fund preclinical research necessary to generate innovative new combination immunotherapy clinical trial concepts
  • 4 Clinical Accelerator trial grants, including:
    • A phase I/II trial of intratumoral immunotherapy and checkpoint blockade in a variety of cancers
    • A phase I/II trial of a small molecule inhibitor or a vaccine, in combination with checkpoint blockade, in lung cancer
    • A clinical trial of immunotherapy following autologous stem cell therapy in multiple myeloma
    • An addendum to the phase I/II trial of an anti-PD-L1 antibody and a novel TLR8 agonist in ovarian cancer

With this support, CRI scientists are shedding light on some of the most important questions in cancer immunology, including the targeting of new immune checkpoints, imaging of the tumor immune microenvironment, immunosuppression and its part in the cancer immunity cycle, macrophages and their role in cancer immunotherapy, and the role of the microbiome in cancer development and progression.

“The Cancer Research Institute funds cutting-edge cancer immunology and immunotherapy research from basic laboratory investigation to translational science to clinical trials, and these grant review sessions were no different,” says James P. Allison, Ph.D., director of the CRI Scientific Advisory Council. “The work, which spans almost every type of cancer, will play a critical role in bringing cancer immunotherapies to patients faster, and the Cancer Research Institute is excited and proud to support such promising scientists and their research.”

  • $29.3 million
  • 14 states
  • 7 countries
  • 41 institutions
  • Cancers include bladder, brain, breast, cervical, colorectal, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, head and neck, kidney, leukemia, lung, lymphoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, skin, sarcoma, and uterine

About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is the world’s only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes three Nobel laureates and 27 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested $311 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world’s leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more, go to www.cancerresearch.org.

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FY15 CRI Grantees

CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowships

Najla Arshad, Ph.D., with Peter Cresswell, Ph.D.Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CTThe effect of tumor-associated mutant calreticulin on antigen presentation and tumorigenesisCancer(s): Multiple myeloma, leukemia

Will H. Bailis, Ph.D., with Richard A. Flavell, Ph.D., FRSYale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CTIdentification and characterization of immune escape mechanisms in leukemiaCancer(s): Leukemia

Jennifer K. Bando, Ph.D., with Marco Colonna, M.D.Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MOImmune modulation of dormant skin tumor development and persistenceCancer(s): Skin cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, all cancers

Michael G. Constantinides, Ph.D., with Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MDRole of the microbiome in lung cancerCancer(s): Lung cancer

Leticia Corrales, Ph.D., with Thomas F. Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D.University of Chicago, Chicago, ILStudy of the regulation of the STING/IFN- pathway by the inflammasome/IL-1 pathway and its effect in the anti-tumor T cell responseCancer(s): Melanoma, all cancers

Guoliang Cui, Ph.D., with Susan M. Kaech, Ph.D.Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CTThe influence of nutrient availability in the tumor microenvironment on CD8+ T cell survival and functionCancer(s): Melanoma

Rony Dahan, Ph.D., with Jeffrey V. Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D.The Rockefeller University, New York, NYEnhancing monoclonal antibodies-mediated immune responses within the tumor microenvironmentCancer(s): Melanoma, colorectal cancer, lymphoma, all cancers

P.C. Dave P. Dingal, Ph.D., with Lei Stanley Qi, Ph.D.Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CAProgrammable cancer recognition using a chimeric system of Notch and CRISPRCancer(s): All cancers

Sascha H. Duttke, Ph.D., with Christopher K. Glass, M.D., Ph.D.University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CAReprogramming macrophage phenotypes during immunosurveillance and neoplastic progressionCancer(s): Pancreatic cancer, lung cancer

Ruth A. Franklin, Ph.D., with Ruslan Medzhitov, Ph.D.Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CTThe role of macrophages in tissue homeostasis and tumor progressionCancer(s): Colon cancer

Yang Eric Guo, Ph.D., with Richard A. Young, Ph.D.Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MABiogenesis and regulatory functions of super-enhancer RNAs in cancer cells of the immune systemCancer(s): Multiple myeloma, T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Wei Hu, Ph.D., with Alexander Y. Rudensky, Ph.D.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NYTissue repair function of regulatory T cells during infection and cancer progressionCancer(s): Breast cancer, lung cancer

Priya Darshinee A. Issuree, Ph.D., with Dan R. Littman, M.D., Ph.D.New York University School of Medicine, New York, NYRoles of Runx3 in inflammatory T cells and colorectal cancerCancer(s): Colorectal cancer

Julia Kennedy-Darling, Ph.D., with Garry P. Nolan, Ph.D.Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Spatially defined immune cell distribution within tumor microenvironments before and after PD-L1 inhibitor treatmentCancer(s): Non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, all cancers

Tuo Li, Ph.D., with Zhijian James Chen, Ph.D.The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TXRoles of mammalian cyclic dinucleotide signaling in cancer therapiesCancer(s): All cancers, AIDS/HIV, HPV

Adam J. Litterman, Ph.D., with K. Mark Ansel, Ph.D.University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CAA global map of mRNA regulatory elements in CD8+ T cellsCancer(s): All cancers

Olivia Majer, Ph.D., with Gregory M. Barton, Ph.D.University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CADysregulated Toll-like receptor responses as an oncogenic driverCancer(s): Lymphoma, all cancers

Kathleen L. McGuire, Ph.D., with Arlene H. Sharpe, M.D., Ph.D.Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAThe role of the PD-1/PD-ligand pathway in anti-tumor immunityCancer(s): Colorectal cancer, melanoma

Claudia Ouyang, Ph.D., with Richard M. Siegel, M.D., Ph.D.National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MDNon-apoptotic functions of the TNF-family receptor Fas: Mechanisms and implications for autoimmunity and tumor immunotherapyCancer(s): Melanoma, all cancers

Davalyn R. Powell, Ph.D., with Anna Huttenlocher, M.D.University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WIThe role of neutrophils and CXCL8-CXCR1/2 signaling in glioblastoma cell invasionCancer(s): Brain cancer

Mohammad Rashidian, Ph.D., with Hidde L. Ploegh, Ph.D.Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MANon-invasive imaging of immune responses for early detection of cancer and to monitor immunotherapyCancer(s): Melanoma, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, all cancers

Vanessa K. Ridaura, Ph.D., with Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MDUnderstanding the contributions of the skin microbiota to efficacy of melanoma immunotherapyCancer(s): Melanoma, skin cancers

Heng Ru, Ph.D., with Hao Wu, Ph.D.Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MAStructural and biochemical studies of the antigen receptor gene recombination machineryCancer(s): Leukemia, colorectal cancer

Shabnam Shalapour, Ph.D., with Michael Karin, Ph.D.University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CADevelopment of immunosuppressive plasma cells that interfere with T cell-dependent immunogenic cancer chemotherapyCancer(s): Prostate cancer, solid tumors

Fella Tamzalit, Ph.D., with Morgan Huse, Ph.D.Lloyd J. Old Memorial FellowMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NYThe role of the centrosome in cytotoxic T cell functionCancer(s): Leukemia, lymphoma, all cancers

Maria K. Traver, Ph.D., with Brian C. Schaefer, Ph.D.Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MDMacroautophagic control of lymphocyte activation and proliferationCancer(s): Lymphoma, all cancers

Clinic and Laboratory Investigation Program (CLIP) Grants

Joshua Brody, M.D.Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYUnderstanding a novel in situ lymphoma vaccine: Neoantigen discovery with whole exome sequencing and neo-antigen-reactive T cell checkpoint molecule profiling with CyTOFCancer(s): Lymphoma

John Carucci, M.D., Ph.D.New York University School of Medicine, New York, NYTargeting the immune system to treat aggressive squamous cell carcinomaCancer(s): Skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)

Haidong Dong, M.D., Ph.D.Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MNMonitoring T cell responses during anti-PD-1 therapyCancer(s): Melanoma

Nir Hacohen, Ph.D.Broad Institute, Cambridge, MAUnbiased single cell analysis of the lung tumor microenvironment to understand failure modes of checkpoint blockade inhibitorsCancer(s): Lung cancer

Holbrook Edwin Kohrt, M.D., Ph.D.Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CAT cell biomarker development for effective immunotherapy for recurrent non-Hodgkin B cell lymphomaCancer(s): Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Roland S. Liblau, M.D., Ph.D.INSERM UMR1043 - CNRS UMR5282 - Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, FranceEVER proteins: Immune control of skin infection by beta-human papillomaviruses and skin cancerCancer(s): HPV, cervical cancer, skin cancer

Amanda Lund, Ph.D.Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, ORFasL expressing lymphatic vessels in melanomaCancer(s): Melanoma

Ferry A. Ossendorp, Ph.D.Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The NetherlandsNovel vaccine nanoformulations for clinical mutanome-based cancer immunotherapyCancer(s): Ovarian cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, solid tumors

David M. Owens, Ph.D.Columbia University, New York, NYTherapeutic targeting of intrinsic T cell suppression during anti-tumor immunityCancer(s): Solid tumors, skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)

Stephen P. Schoenberger, Ph.D.La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CAExome-guided neoantigen discovery and validation in HNSCCCancer(s): Head and neck cancer

Craig L. Slingluff Jr., M.D.University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA Retention integrins: Induction and function on cancer-reactive T lymphocytesCancer(s): Melanoma

Daniel E. Speiser, M.D.University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandIdentification and validation of new targets for cancer immunotherapy in “exhausted” anti-cancer CD8+ T cells from mice and humansCancer(s): Melanoma

Jose A. Villadangos, Ph.D.University of Melbourne, Parkville, AustraliaCharacterization and prevention of “stunning,” a cytotoxic T lymphocyte inactivating program that impairs adoptive cell therapy against cancerCancer(s): Lymphoma, leukemia

Clinical Accelerator—Clinical Strategy Teams

Team Leads: Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D., and Sacha Gnjatic, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYThe mutation-derived tumor landscape of advanced bladder cancer: A platform to optimize cancer immunotherapyCancer(s): Bladder cancer

Team Lead: John Herr, Ph.D., University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VAInvestigator(s): Robert H. Vonderheide, M.D., D.Phil., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Jamal Zweit, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VAImmunotherapeutic targeting cell surface neoantigen SAS1B (Ovastacin, ASTL)Cancer(s): Ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, uterine cancer, breast cancer

Team Leads: Hideho Okado, M.D., Ph.D., and Lawrence Fong, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CAInvestigator(s): Carl H. June, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Pawel Kalinski, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D., Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NYEnhancing T cell homing to solid cancers by stimulating proper chemokinesCancer(s): Brain cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer

Team Lead: Andrew Sikora, M.D., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TXInvestigator(s): Sacha Gnjatic, Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; Christine Chung, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; Nham Tran, Ph.D., University of Technology, Sydney, AustraliaTargeting the tumor immune microenvironment to enhance immune-stimulating effects of chemoradiotherapyCancer(s): Head and neck cancer

Team Lead: Mark Smyth, Ph.D., QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, AustraliaInvestigator(s): Scott J. Antonia, M.D., Ph.D., Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; Georgina V. Long, Ph.D., M.B.B.S., and Richard Scolyer, M.B.B.S., M.D., Melanoma Institute of Australia and University of Sydney, Australia; John Stagg, Ph.D., University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada Targeting adenosine in the tumor microenvironmentCancer(s): Melanoma, triple-negative breast cancer, prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, urothelial cancers, lung cancer

Team Leads: Hassane Zarour, M.D., and John M. Kirkwood, M.D., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PATargeting multiple inhibitory receptors in cancer patientsCancer(s): Melanoma, colon cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer

Team Lead: Lei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDTipping the balance in the tumor microenvironment as a next generation platform for pancreatic cancer immunotherapyCancer(s): Pancreatic cancer

Clinical Accelerator—Clinical Trials

Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D., and Craig L. Slingluff Jr., M.D.Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA A phase I/II trial of intratumoral immunotherapy and checkpoint blockade in certain cancers (90 patients)Cancer(s): Head and neck cancer, breast cancer, sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, melanoma, genitourinary cancers (bladder/kidney/prostate)

Leena Gandhi, M.D., Ph.D.Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA A phase I/II trial of a small molecule inhibitor or a vaccine, in combination with checkpoint blockade, in lung cancer (162 patients)Cancer(s): Non-small cell lung cancer

George Coukos, M.D., Ph.D.University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandA phase I/II study of chemo-immunotherapy with Toll-like receptor 8 agonist VTX-2337, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, and PD-L1 antibody MEDI4736 in recurrent, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian or primary peritoneal cancer (addendum to original award made in fiscal 2014)Cancer(s): Ovarian cancer

Alexander M. Lesokhin, M.D., and Hearn J. Cho, M.D., Ph.D.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYA clinical trial of immunotherapy following autologous stem cell therapy in multiple myeloma (24 patients)Cancer(s): Multiple myeloma

Designated Grants

George Klein, M.D.Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, SwedenSupported jointly by the Concern FoundationStudies on Epstein-Barr virus, oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, tumor immunology, and inhibition of tumor cell growth by stroma cellsCancer(s): All cancers

Malcolm A.S. Moore, D.Phil.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NYSupported by the Gar Reichman Fund of the Cancer Research InstituteThe study of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor populations in normal and cancer cellsCancer(s): Leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, sarcoma

Timothy N.J. Bullock, Ph.D.University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VASupported jointly by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and Melanoma Research AllianceEnhancing immune therapy for brain metastases with focused ultrasoundCancer(s): Melanoma, brain metastases

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