Showing posts with label cancer research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer research. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Morehouse School of Medicine Researcher’s Global Team Wins $25 Million Cancer Grand Challenges Award

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)  announced Team SAMBAI, a global team led by Melissa B. Davis, PhD, director of the MSM Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine, has been awarded a $25 million grant funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute, through Cancer Grand Challenges, to address cancer disparities in populations of African ancestry, becoming the first Cancer Grand Challenge awardee to focus on cancer inequities.

Called Team SAMBAI (Societal, Ancestry, Molecular and Biological Analyses of Inequalities), Dr. Davis is leading an interdisciplinary research group from the United States, Ghana, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The award not only marks the first one to focus on health disparities and to be led by an African American woman, but it is also the first one awarded to a researcher at a Historically Black Medical School and is the first one given to a host institution in MSM’s home state of Georgia.

“We are so incredibly proud of Dr. Davis’ leadership in directing the effort to create a truly historic and precedent setting winning proposal to Cancer Grand Challenges that holds the potential to have a tremendous impact on how we treat cancer for people with African ancestry,” said MSM President and CEO Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice. “For nearly 50 years, the driving mission of Morehouse School of Medicine has been to address health inequities for communities of color, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to carry that mission forward in partnership with Cancer Grand Challenges.”

“I want to extend my appreciation to Cancer Research UK, the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges, my Team SAMBAI colleagues around the world, and my Morehouse School of Medicine family on being selected one of five world-class global research teams to win this award,” said Dr. Davis. “We are looking forward to engaging into what we hope will be groundbreaking research that will shift the paradigm for cancer inequity amongst people of African descent and hopefully helping to save lives in the future.”

Team SAMBAI Members:

  • Melissa Davis, Team Lead, Morehouse School of Medicine, United States
  • Yaw Bediako, Yemaachi Biotech, Ghana
  • Tiffany Carson, Moffitt Cancer Center, United States
  • Isidro Cortes Ciriano, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, United Kingdom
  • Zodwa Dlamini, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Olivier Elemento, Cornell University, United States
  • Rick Fairley, TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance, United States
  • Fieke Froeling, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Marcin Imielinski, New York University, United States
  • Sheeba Irshad, King’s College London, United Kingdom
  • Lauren McCullough, Emory University, United States
  • Gary Miller, Columbia University, United States
  • Nigel Mongan, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • Nicolas Robine, New York Genome Center, United States
  • Clayton Yates, John Hopkins University, United States

The Team SAMBAI proposal integrates social determinants of health, environmental exposures, genetic contributions, and tumor biology to understand the complex interactions between genetics, environment, and social factors in cancer outcomes. The proposal also highlights the importance of patient partnership, advocacy, and support in addressing cancer disparities.

The proposal also focuses on breast cancer, particularly among Black women. While Black women have a slightly lower incidence rate of breast cancer compared to White women, they are more frequently diagnosed with advanced disease and have a higher incidence of aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as estrogen receptor (ER) negative (Triple-Negative) disease. This contributes to racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes.

“Together with our network of visionary partners and research leaders, Cancer Grand Challenges unites the world's brightest minds across boundaries and disciplines and aims to overcome cancer’s toughest problems,” said Dr. David Scott, Director of Cancer Grand Challenges. “With this investment, our largest to date, we continue to grow our global research community, and fund new teams that have the potential to surface discoveries that could positively impact cancer outcomes.”

Now in its fourth funding round, this year Cancer Grand Challenges funded five global teams providing up to $25 million in grants per team over five years for a wide range of research projects including cancer inequities, early-onset cancers, solid tumors in children and T-cell receptors.

For more information on Team SAMBAI, its members, and their approach to tackling the cancer inequities challenge, visit https://cancergrandchallenges.org/.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Tuskegee University develops new breast cancer test

A team led by Tuskegee University researchers have developed a new way to detect the most aggressive and fatal form of breast cancer.

The university and researchers hope the new method may hold the potential for earlier detection and more informed treatment decisions.

The breakthrough was detailed in an article in PLOS ONE,a publication tied to the Public Library of Science. The article, “AR Negative Triple Negative or ‘Quadruple Negative’ Breast Cancers in African-American Women Have an Enriched Basal and Immune Signature,” shows researchers have developed a fourth testing marker to complement the other three biomarker-based methods.

Dr. Clayton Yates, a professor of biology and director of Tuskegee University’s multidisciplinary Center for Biomedical Research, published the team's findings. Support for the research come through the National Cancer Institute’s Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity program, otherwise known as the U54 program.

“Scientifically speaking, our research suggests that the expression of the androgen receptor (the receptor for testosterone), should be added to the current set of prognostic markers — estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 — used to test for classify and determine the aggressiveness of breast cancer,” Yates said.

“As with any fight, you have to know your enemy. Imagine going into battle not knowing if you needed a BB gun, a shotgun, or a bazooka,” Yates said. “With this additional testing option, physicians will be able to better define the enemy and develop a more precise treatment plan. This, in turn, promises to be more effective for the patient — not to mention safer and less expensive — in the long run.”

Breast cancer currently is the second-most common cancer among females. The new testing method shows significant promise for detecting the most aggressive types of breast cancer, especially among black women. Black women are more likely than white women to be diagnosed at later stages in life and are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer after initial diagnosis.

Read more: Tuskegee University develops new breast cancer test