Through The Lens: SU2C Science Newsletter
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THROUGH THE LENS: SU2C SCIENCE NEWSLETTER
As we reflect on the past year and look forward to 2025, all of us at Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) have one mission: continue to raise awareness and fund research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients.
The SU2C Science Programs: Year End Review demonstrates the commitment which we share with you. We are grateful to the advisors, researchers, patient advocates, and our scientific partner the American Association for Cancer Research, who work tirelessly with us towards fulfilling our mission.
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SAC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Levine has been a member of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee since the inception of SU2C in 2008, and the driving force behind the SU2C Convergence® program, which brings together quantitative scientists from theoretical physics, computer science, and mathematics, with biologists and clinicians, to develop novel approaches to solve important problems in cancer research. Dr. Levine received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. In 1979, Dr. Levine and others discovered the p53 tumor suppressor protein, a molecule that inhibits tumor development. He established the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute, concentrating on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences: on genetics and genomics, polymorphisms and molecular aspects of evolution, signal transduction pathways and networks, stress responses, and pharmacogenomics in cancer biology. His research explores the linkage between theoretical and experimental biology, developing algorithms that have led to the discovery of correlations and signals that are characteristic of viruses, diseases such as cancer, and traits such as embryonic development and longevity. Dr. Levine was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991 and to its Institute of Medicine in 1995. In April 2001, he received the first Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the largest annual prize in science or medicine offered in the United States.
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EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS SPOTLIGHT
KATHERINE TOSSAS, PHD
Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., joined the Stand Up To Cancer Scientific Community as an Early Career Investigator on the SU2C Lung Cancer Health Equity Research Team lead by Dr. Robert Winn. Dr. Tossas was also awarded with the Health Equity Poster Award at the SU2C Scientific Summit 2024 for a poster entitled “Decoding the Vaginal Microbiome’s Role in Race-Specific Cervical Cancer Risks.” She is a cancer epidemiologist and an assistant professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Public Health (VCU) and is also a member of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center (Cancer Prevention and Control research program) where she is the founding director for the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics. Dr. Tossas’ research is grounded in health equity, focused on elucidating the role of the microbiome on cancer interceptions specifically on the progression of precancerous lesions of the the cervix and lung.
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EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS SPOTLIGHT
ALEXANDER PEARSON, MD, PHD
Dr. Pearson is an Early Career Investigator associated with the SU2C-Fanconi Anemia Research Fund-Farrah Fawcett Foundation Head and Neck Cancer Research Team. He was also awarded the 2023 SU2C Maverick Award for a project entitled “Artificial Intelligence for Targeting Undefined Molecular Subtypes of Head/Neck Cancer.” Dr. Pearson is a medical oncologist who cares for adults with head and neck cancer and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. His research combines laboratory experiments and mathematical models to more fully understand how head and neck cancers form and how to better design treatments for these cancers. During his open session presentation at the SU2C Scientific Summit 2024, Dr. Pearson disclosed that he was working on a 3D printed microscope at a price point of approximately $200 that could make advanced microscopy available to a wider audience.
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WHAT IS COMING FROM SU2C SCIENCE?
Sign up to receive information about new grant opportunities here.
Link to SU2C Scientific Summit 2024 Program Guide with portfolio information.
Link to patient stories survey.
Link to publications survey.
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