UVA Cancer Center

We invite UVA faculty, staff, clinicians and students to join us on Fridays this fall for our annual Cancer Center Seminar Series! These seminars are designed to offer state-of-the-art knowledge on advances in cancer research and care. Topics include new clinical and laboratory investigations, techniques and practices with the goal of facilitating new initiatives in translational and clinical research in oncology. For an up-to-date schedule with details on each week’s speaker, check the Seminar page on the Cancer Center website: https://lnkd.in/ef27UyRw We can’t wait to see you there! 🤩 #UVA #cancerresearch #cancercare #oncology

UVA Cancer Center Seeks Community Members for Community Cancer Research Fellowship The Community Cancer Research Fellows Program is a paid 10-month program for community members to gain skills to enhance community engagement in research. Fellows will gain professional experience, work hands-on with cancer researchers, and provide a community perspective to research. Applications due September 27. Program begins in October 2024. Full details are available in the press release: https://lnkd.in/e3kEB_9N Apply here: https://lnkd.in/erQqbDZi

“During National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, let us resolve to doing all we can together to provide patients, survivors, and their families the treatments, care, and support they need and deserve. Let us rededicate ourselves to the urgent work of increasing awareness about ovarian cancer so that we can save more lives more quickly. And let us never lose hope or waver in our resolve to ending cancer as we know it — for all the lives lost and all those we can still save.” https://lnkd.in/g4-8Vaje At UVA Health, you'll find the most innovative treatment for all ovarian cancer stages. Our physicians are some of the nation’s top doctors in gynecologic oncology (cancer care focused on women's reproductive organs). They're widely recognized in their field for not only treating cancer but preventing it as well. They're a big reason we're an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Visit our website to learn more about Ovarian Cancer stages & treatment for all types https://lnkd.in/ex7txDfr

Prostate cancer is a challenge we can face together! We're kicking off a new community-led initiative, Stay in the Game, to raise awareness, provide education, and promote early detection of prostate cancer. We’re looking for community champions to join us in tackling prostate cancer as a team. Sign up for one of our upcoming virtual kick off events on September 24th and 25th today!   Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eG9i_yJw

This week, the Leaders Lab of Greater Charlottesville begins its third-year training local leaders in collaborative community problem-solving. “The goal of Leaders Lab is to build local leadership capacity for positive change,” said Leaders Lab Director Ann Marie Hohenberger, Director of Community Engagement for the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to an impactful year of growing individual leadership skills, building community networks, and inspiring action.” Two of our very own will take part in meeting monthly for nine months to build leadership skills, learn about local issues, and practice cross-sector collaboration in a diverse group representing local businesses, nonprofits and institutions. Leon Henry MSW, LCSW - UVA Health | Chloe Clark, MA- UVA Cancer Center Learn more about the class of 2025: https://lnkd.in/emNGFZz8

In its fourth year, the Weber Symposium was established to honor the life and accomplishments of the late renowned scientist and UVA Cancer Center Director Dr. Michael Weber by bringing together internationally distinguished researchers and clinicians to present findings on relevant timely areas of cancer research. This year’s event will be held on Oct. 11 at the University of Virginia School of Medicine with the theme “RNA and Cancer,” and presenters including Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Vinod Balachandran, MD of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Natasha Caplen, PhD of the National Cancer Institute (NCI); Steve Cole, PhD of UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Yi Xing, PhD of Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System Abramson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Click here to learn more about this event, Dr. Michael J. Weber, and to register: https://lnkd.in/eAkmUNNk #cancerresearch #cancersupport #UVA #MIT #memorialsloankettering #nationalcancerinstitute #UCLA #UPenn

Firas El Chaer, MD, Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology and Medical Director of Cancer Service Line Infusion Centers, specializes in caring for patients with acute leukemias and bone marrow disorders. Dr. El Chaer investigates new avenues of treatment for patients with leukemia. He researches methods to reduce disease progression and measurable residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia patients in remission to help them live longer after treatment. Through therapeutic clinical trials, Dr. El Chaer evaluates the combination of immunotherapies with traditional treatments like chemotherapy to fight cancer by targeting its cells directly. He calls clinical trials “the cornerstone of medicine because so much progress in recent decades has come from trials that have improved patient outcomes, and led to the development of groundbreaking therapies.” Dr. El Chaer is proud to be part of the pioneering hematology-oncology team at UVA, which is now moving CAR T-cell therapy and similar immunotherapies from inpatient to outpatient settings, providing patients treatment in more familiar, safe, and comfortable settings. He is also excited that UVA is implementing these targeted immunotherapies to attack and eradicate cancer cells not only for blood cancers, but also for solid tumors. Outside of work, Dr. El Chaer loves CrossFit and horseback riding! Click here to learn more about Dr. El Chaer: https://lnkd.in/gkKEBVa9 #Cancer #cancerresearch #cancertreatment #leukemia #ClinicalTrials #clinicalresearch

Kim Underwood, Quality Assurance and Data Manager for UVACCC’s Office of Clinical Research (OCR) has been dedicated to cancer research at UVA for 16 years. Originally conducting clinical research about viruses, Kim moved to clinical research coordination in 2007, where she assisted with data collection for multi-site clinical trials and quality assurance and education for OCR’s Hematologic Malignancy team. In 2019, she became Quality Assurance and Data Manager. In her role, Kim helps maintain the integrity, accuracy and reliability of data collected during clinical trials. Kim makes sure a study is conducted correctly and ethically, with trustworthy, valid results so it can help advance medical knowledge and patient care. Kim is proud to be part of the OCR team. She loves her work, she said, because clinical trials at UVA “give patients access to the most novel treatments, offering hope, and paving the way for future therapies.” But, she remarked, it isn’t just work because “oncology research is deeply personal” and she is “grateful to be part of patient journeys” at UVA. Outside of work, Kim loves reading, watching movies and spending time with her family! Kim is an alumna of Virginia Tech but loves being “a Hokie in Hooville!” Thank you, Kim, for all you do! #Spotlight #StaffSpotlight #cancerresearch #CancerClinicalTrials #UVA

UVA Cancer Center Community Grants deadline extended to September 11th! Apply today at https://lnkd.in/e5ZGxVTq

UVA Cancer Center is leading the way in cancer care as the first in Virginia to offer tarlatamab, a newly approved immunotherapy treatment for small cell lung cancer. With early studies showing extended lifespans for patients, UVA's thoracic oncology team continues to push the boundaries of cancer care, offering new hope for those who have exhausted other treatments. https://lnkd.in/euQK8zmv #CancerCare