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Katherine Unger Baillie
Senior Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu
Cancer Research
Understanding the needs of cancer care partners
Understanding the needs of cancer care partners
Through the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program, undergrads Abi Ocholi and Akin Adio deepened their understanding of qualitative research and of the experiences of caregivers.
$55M gift creates new ‘Cancer Interception’ Institute at Penn’s Basser Center for BRCA to stop hereditary cancers at the earliest stages
$55M gift creates new ‘Cancer Interception’ Institute at Penn’s Basser Center for BRCA to stop hereditary cancers at the earliest stages
Funding for the Institute from Mindy and Jon Gray will propel early detection and prevention of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response
T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response
Blocking this process, known as trogocytosis, improved the ability of a CAR T cell therapy to treat cancer in mice, according to research led by School of Veterinary Medicine scientists.
Potential new therapeutic targets to treat melanoma
Potential new therapeutic targets to treat melanoma
Penn Medicine research shows that a relative lack of DOPA, and not simply susceptibility to sun damage, helps explain why melanoma is much more common in people with light skin tones.
Losing mom to brain cancer fuels an expert’s mission for breakthrough
Losing mom to brain cancer fuels an expert’s mission for breakthrough
Research by Gregory L. Beatty, who lost his mother to glioblastoma, and colleagues have found that immunotherapy might have some activity in patients with relapsed tumors, and a potential target location for immunotherapy in glioblastoma tumors.
Cancer cells selectively load ‘drones’ to keep T cells from infiltrating tumors
Cancer cells selectively load ‘drones’ to keep T cells from infiltrating tumors
Biologist Wei Guo and colleagues elucidate the process of sorting and loading cargo for these biological drones with implications for a more targeted and effective use of checkpoint inhibitor drugs in cancer treatment.
Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease
Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease
A new understanding of how mechanical features of bone marrow affect resident immune cells in a fibrotic cancer points to future therapeutic strategies for cancers and fibrotic diseases.
One protein’s role in genomic intermingling and T cell development
One protein’s role in genomic intermingling and T cell development
The findings, from a team led by Golnaz Vahedi of Penn Medicine, could have implications for T-cell based immunotherapies for cancer and other conditions.
Stress protein in fibroblasts may be a good target for future cancer drugs
Stress protein in fibroblasts may be a good target for future cancer drugs
A Penn study finds the ATF4 protein is overactive in many types of tumor cells and tumor-supporting fibroblasts to promote tumor survival, and may be a good target for future cancer treatments.
Promising results for chemo immunotherapy combination against pancreatic cancer
Promising results for chemo immunotherapy combination against pancreatic cancer
Penn Medicine researchers find a combination of chemotherapy with an immunotherapy meant to unleash the anticancer capacity of the immune system is effective against pancreatic cancer. The findings also include the identification of immune system biomarkers associated with better outcomes.
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The Scientist
Armored CAR T cells break through immune suppression in solid tumors
A study by Joseph Fraietta of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues found a way to “armor” CAR T cells, enabling them to get past immunosuppressors in prostate cancer.
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Forbes
University of Pennsylvania receives $55 million gift to study, treat hereditary cancers
The $55 million gift from alumni Mindy and Jon Gray will be used to establish the Basser Cancer Interception Institute, featuring a statement from President Liz Magill.
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Bloomberg
Blackstone’s Gray gives UPenn $55 million for cancer prevention
Alums Mindy and Jon Gray are funding the Basser Institute for Cancer Interception to focus on early detection and prevention of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
$55 million gift to Penn is aimed at stopping breast cancer before it starts
Mindy and Jon Gray’s new Basser Institute is a spinoff of their previously funded Basser Center for BRCA, named for Mindy’s late sister Faith Basser and led by Susan Domchek of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Science
Cell-killing cancer therapy shows promise for a devastating autoimmune disorder
Aimee Payne of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg’s new CAR-T therapy lupus research represents a landmark study in the treatment of autoimmunity.
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Philadelphia Business Journal
Penn spinout Capstan Therapeutics launches with $165M and an all-star lineup of founders
Capstan Therapeutics, a Penn spinout whose founders include Carl June, Bruce Levine, and Drew Weissman of the Perelman School of Medicine, has launched with $165 million raised to develop a new type of CAR therapy that incorporates mRNA.
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