News and Events

iCURE helps a first-generation American reach her goal

Anaisa Quintanilla-Arteaga’s ultimate goal is to be the Latina scientist she wishes she had seen when she was younger, and “hopefully help younger generations of Latinas realize that they belong and can thrive in STEM, too.” An iCURE fellowship is helping her achieve that dream.

Majority of patients with advanced multiple myeloma respond to CAR T-cell therapy targeting an anti-B-cell maturation antigen in a phase I trial

A phase I clinical trial of 33 patients infused with a CAR T-cell therapy using T cells genetically engineered to express an anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) CAR showed that 85 percent of patients had the burden of their advanced multiple myeloma cut by half or more.

Heritable mutations may indicate responsiveness to platinum chemotherapy in malignant mesothelioma

In a genetic analysis of 434 patients with malignant mesothelioma who had undergone platinum chemotherapy, those who carried heritable mutations in BAP1and other DNA repair genes had significantly longer overall survival than those without these mutations. The findings hint at personalized approaches to the disease.

Undergraduate Research Scholar Program fellow continues her pursuit of science

Megan Andres is an NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) fellow with Beverly Mock, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of the Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics. The UGSP program offers competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral and social science health-related research. She is hoping to make a difference in possible treatment options for children with Burkitt lymphoma.

New clinical trial tests radiotracer for improved imaging of metastatic prostate cancer

Most forms of prostate cancer have receptors for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a protein that helps fuel the development of prostate cancer cells. Investigators are studying if a radiotracer that binds to PSMA may improve imaging methods to find sites of metastatic prostate cancer.

Clinical trial tests a PARP inhibitor in urothelial cancer with DNA-repair defects

Urothelial carcinoma (UC), or bladder cancer, is the most common cancer of the urinary tract with limited treatment options. A new clinical trial aims to see how this type of cancer reacts to olaparib, a drug designed to target cancers that have defective DNA-repair mechanisms in their cells by inhibiting the action of PARP, an enzyme that can repair breaks in DNA.

African Postdoctoral Training Initiative fellow looks forward to collaborating within NCI

Rania Labib, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the NIH African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI) working in the lab of Beverly Mock, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of the Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics. As part of the fellowship, she will spend two years at NCI conducting initial experiments in Dr. Mock’s lab, where she hopes to make a difference in possible treatment options for children with Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Three-dimensional structure of HIV infected and uninfected T cells interacting

Envelope glycoprotein mutations allow HIV-1 to escape antiretroviral therapy in a lab-based study

CCR investigators have discovered that HIV-1 can compensate for a variety of mutations that block its replication by acquiring mutations in the envelope glycoprotein. Because antiretroviral therapies work by inhibiting viral replication, these findings may have implications for HIV-1 drug resistance.

MEK inhibitor selumetinib granted breakthrough designation by FDA to treat neurofibromatosis type 1 in pediatric patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week granted breakthrough therapy designation for the MEK 1/2 inhibitor selumetinib. The designation is for the treatment of pediatric patients aged three years and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) symptomatic and/or progressive, inoperable plexiform neurofibromas (PN), a rare, incurable genetic condition.

Elaine Jaffe receives the 2019 USCAP Board’s Distinguished Pathologist award

Elaine Jaffe, M.D., Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Pathology, has received the 2019 United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) Board’s Distinguished Pathologist award. The award recognizes an individual for making major contributions to pathology over the years.

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