The IDPF Research Innovation Challenge Fund is a $1 million commitment to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University through a competitive RFA process, granted over the course of five years. These grants were created to support research scientists that are committed to working together to address pressing questions about different varieties of cancer. Each year, seed grants are given to a small group of research scientists to provide the catalytic capital that is needed to lead to development and progress in their field. This year, six scientists were chosen based on their ingenuity and ambition for tackling new research questions.

Congratulations to all of the following 2018 IDP Foundation Research Innovation Challenge Grant Recipients:

Dr. Guang-Yu Yang, Department of Pathology:

Dr. Yang is a research scientist in the Hematology and Oncology department and is working on a project that targets a mutation gene (TP53) that leads to the progression of invasive cancer. The goal is to treat and prevent oral cancer in high-risk populations by using the cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor.

Dr. Daniel Foltz, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics:

Dr. Foltz and his team are focusing on anomalies in chromosome segregation and have the potential to uncover new therapeutic strategies that can affect a broad range of cancers.

Dr. David Gius, Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology:

Dr. Gius is establishing a research group of three principal investigators that are recognized and accomplished breast cancer researchers that will share resources and breast cancer expertise. The team will be working on identifying cancer stem cell properties and overcoming therapy resistance.

Dr. Daniela Matei, Hematology & Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology:

Dr. Matei will bring together three doctors that will collaborate to define the metabolic landscape of ovarian cancer. Their joint efforts will strengthen the integration of three independent research projects that will lead to further understanding and preliminary data.

Dr. Karl Sheidt, Pharmacology:

Dr. Scheidt and his team will investigate anti-metastatic drugs, an important knowledge gap in cancer metastasis. Even though nearly all cancer deaths result from the formation of metastases (the distant spread of tumors) no anti-metastatic drugs have been approved before.

Dr. Bharat Mittal, Radiation Oncology:

Dr. Mittal will be looking at HPV positive and HPV negative Oropharyngeal cancers to enhance their radiation response. Oropharyngeal cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissue of the oropharynx.

We look forward to seeing what results these transformational research projects yield over the course of the next year!