Research Database

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Pierre Massion Early Detection Award
Lawrence Benjamin, MD
University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Benjamin’s research focuses on improving the rates of lung cancer screening. Currently, there is interest in “centralizing” lung cancer screening into self-contained programs or one-stop shops, with dedicated support staff and clinical personnel to coordinate shared decision-making, scheduling imaging, and arranging appropriate follow-up care. However, it is poorly understood how these centralized programs compare to “decentralized” screening that is coordinated by primary care physicians directly with their patients. Dr. Benjamin seeks to utilize nationwide longitudinal data from multiple lung cancer screening programs from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System to evaluate and compare the performance of centralized versus decentralized screening programs, with particular focus on highlighting their effectiveness within various racial and income groups.

Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award
Elliott Brea, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

This project proposes to develop novel therapeutic approaches to treat advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC. CAR-T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy treatment that uses genetically altered T cells to find and destroy cancer cells more effectively.  TROP2 is a protein that is over expressed on the surface of NSCLC and is a target of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), sacitizumab-govitecan, which is FDA-approved to treat other solid tumors. Dr. Brea hypothesizes that TROP2-directed CAR-T targeting of EGFR-mutant NSCLC will be superior to standard Osimertinib treatment.

Career Development Award
Noura Choudhury, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is difficult to treat, and most patients diagnosed have a poor prognosis. Most patients with SCLC treated with first line chemoimmunotherapy progress within months of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) maintenance therapy. Previous studies in mice have revealed that SCLC treated with iadademstat and maintenance ICI shows enhanced tumor response compared to ICI alone. Dr. Choudhury will conduct a phase II randomized trial investigating this combination in patients with SCLC versus standard of care ICI alone to evaluate progression free survival.

Early Detection Award
Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD
Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the US because it is often found only after it has spread to other organs in the body, decreasing the likelihood of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis.  Only 21% of patients are diagnosed then their lung cancer is early stage, when it is most treatable.  The goal of this project is to create a new way to screen for lung cancer using a blood sample that can find early stage disease when patients can still be treated and/or cured.  In preliminary work, Dr. Diehn has developed a blood test that can identify tiny amounts of DNA from lung cancer cells and in this study he will improve this test and apply it to patients and healthy controls.  If successful, Dr. Diehn’s work has the potential to significantly improve early detection of lung cancer and improve outcomes for patients.

EGFR Resisters / LUNGevity Research Award
Susumu Kobayashi, MD, PhD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
EGFR Resisters

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) are a class of drugs that are used to treat EGFR NSCLC. These drugs eventually stop working and some cancer cells called drug-tolerant persisters (DTPs) are implicated in this resistance.  Dr. Kobayashi and his team have found that a protein called CD74 plays a role in developing a resistance to osimertinib.  In this project, he will investigate whether CD74-expressing cells allow for the development of DTPs and if inhibition of CD74 by combining an antibody-drug conjugate (CD74-MMAE) with osimertinib, prevents resistance. If successful, this has the potential to significantly impact the survival of EGFR patients by allowing them to stay on osimertinib for a longer duration.

Career Development Award
Jaclyn LoPiccolo, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
This grant was funded in part by Lung Cancer Initiative

Although the average age at diagnosis is 70, thousands of new patients under 45 are diagnosed with lung cancer every year, most of whom have never smoked.  Dr. LoPiccolo hypothesizes that these patients may share inherited genetic changes that predispose them to developing lung cancer at a younger age.  In a preliminary analysis of young-onset lung cancer patients, Dr. LoPiccolo has found that approximately 30% of these patients carry rare mutations in known cancer-associated genes.  In this study, Dr. LoPiccolo will investigate whether these mutations affect response to targeted or immune-based therapies.  This insight is likely to identify risk factors among young lung cancer patients, which could lead to improved screening and treatment options for this population.

VA Research Scholar Award
Neelima Navuluri, MD, MPH
Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC

The veteran population is disproportionately affected by lung cancer and relatively few patients that are eligible participate in lung cancer screening. This low participation is due to barriers such as provider bias, structural racism, patient mistrust, and fear of diagnosis. In this project, Dr. Navuluri proposes to develop and test an electronic shared decision-making aid and referral tool to improve equity in lung cancer screening (LCS).  She will pilot test the aid to assess its feasibility and usability among patients and providers within the Durham VA system.

EGFR Resisters / LUNGevity Research Award
Alexandre Reuben, PhD
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
EGFR Resisters

In this project, Dr. Reuben and colleagues aim to develop a novel therapeutic strategy harnessing immune response in EGFR-mutant NSCLC.  He will use engineered T cells with receptors targeting EGFR antigens to eradicate drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells, preventing the emergence of resistance following treatment by osimertinib.  This work lays the foundation for use of TCR-engineered T cells in treating patients with EGFR mutations.

Pierre Massion Early Detection Award
Ramon Ocadiz Ruiz, PhD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Dr. Ocadiz Ruiz proposes to develop a bioengineered scaffolding and test it in mouse models.  If successful, this research could progress to a phase 1 clinical trial and lay the groundwork for a new technology to be used in individuals with increased risk of lung cancer. This technology has to potential to make biopsies and consequently, early detection, easier.

Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award
Maria Trovero, PhD
Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

In this project, Dr. Trovero will study the role of METTL3, an RNA modifying protein that is thought to promote tumor initiation and progression.   She will evaluate the function of METTL3 by increasing or decreasing its activity in vivo.  Results from this study will help establish METTL3 as a possible therapeutic target for lung cancer, and pave the way for understanding the relationship between RNA modifiers and cancer biology.

Career Development Award
Diane Tseng, MD, PhD
University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA

Checkpoint immunotherapy has advanced treatment of NSCLC, but the majority of patients do not experience long-term disease control and are at risk for autoimmune-related side effects.  In this study, Dr. Tseng will examine specialized cells called CD8+ T that express receptors (KIR+) that suppress autoimmunity to understand how these cells regulate the immune system’s cancer-fighting ability during checkpoint immunotherapy treatment.  Insights gained from this study could result in better strategies for improving efficacy while decreasing immune-related side effects.

ASTRO-LUNGevity Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Seed Grant
Kailin Yang, MD, PhD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)

Radiation therapy remains a cornerstone treatment for patients with locally advanced lung cancer, however knowing which patients will respond and which will not respond is still poorly understood.  The goal of this project is to analyze genomic and radiomic data from patients with NSCLC to understand how tumors change during therapy and create models to predict therapeutic response that will assist with clinical decision making.

ALK Positive
Trever Bivona, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Currently available ALK inhibitors are an effective treatment for lung cancer, but tumors can development treatment resistance. In this project, Dr. Bivona will explore a novel way to treat ALK-positive lung cancer by targeting “membraneless cytoplasmic protein granules,” a new mechanism of signaling in ALK-positive lung cancer. His team will use precision medicine approaches that are complementary to current ALK inhibitors and that could improve their efficacy as well as quality of life for patients. 

VA Research Scholar Award
Alex Bryant, MD
University of Michigan/VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI

This study will use data from the Veterans Affairs system to develop statistical models to predict response to immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer. While immunotherapy has improved outcomes for many patients, it is still not well understood why some respond well and others do not.  If successful, this work will produce a comprehensive prediction model of immunotherapy benefit in lung cancer that could be used to counsel patients, inform patient-physician decision making, and identify patients who need more- or less-aggressive treatment.

ALK Positive
Roberto Chiarle, MD
Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

In this project, Dr. Chiarle and his team will generate T cells that have engineered receptors, called TCR receptors (TCR-T cells), that will selectively target and attack the ALK protein that is expressed by tumor cells. Generation of such cells could be a powerful tool to eradicate ALK+ lung cancer cells and form the basis of a TCR-T cell-based clinical trial for patients with TKI-resistant ALK+ NSCLC.

Health Equity and Inclusiveness Junior Investigator Award
Narjust Florez, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Dr. Florez will study the psychosocial and financial impact of lung cancer in young patients (< 50 years of age).  This patient population has seen an increase in incidence in recent years, but little is known about their specific needs.  The study will include administration of a survey and focus groups to understand unmet needs of this group of patients.  The information gathered from this study will be used to identify challenges unique to this population and develop the first clinical and research program of its kind for young lung cancer patients.

Career Development Award
Kristen Marrone, MD
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Around one in three patients with non-small cell lung cancer are diagnosed with early-stage disease, where surgery is offered as curative therapy. Unfortunately, the cancer can recur in 50%-60% of patients. The rate of recurrence is higher in patients whose tumors have certain mutations, such as mutations in the KRAS gene. Dr. Marrone and her team will be conducting a phase 2 trial to test whether treatment with a KRAS G12C blocking drug, adagrasib, given as a single drug or in combination with an immunotherapy drug, nivolumab, before a patient undergoes surgery can delay or prevent recurrence in patients whose tumors have a KRAS G12C mutation.

Career Development Award
Michael Offin, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Alterations in the BRAF gene can lead to the development of non-small cell lung cancer. BRAF fusions are a type of BRAF gene alterations. These fusions are powerful growth stimulators of lung cancer. Currently, no treatment exists for cancers that harbor these BRAF fusions. Dr. Offin will be testing a series of new drugs in preclinical cell line and animal models of lung cancer. The ultimate goal of his project is to identify new drugs that can be tested in clinical trials.

Health Equity and Inclusiveness Junior Investigator Award
Coral Olazagasti, MD
University of Miami, Miami, FL

In addition to tobacco use, having a previous malignancy is a risk factor for developing lung cancer. Head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors with a history of smoking have up to a 13% risk of developing lung cancer. Dr. Olazagasti’s study will assess the awareness and eligibility of lung cancer screening in Hispanic/LatinX HNC survivors via a survey questionnaire and understand the barriers to screening via qualitative interviews. The goal of her research is to create the first lung cancer screening program tailored for and focused exclusively on Hispanic/LatinX HNC survivors.

ALK Positive
Angel Qin, MD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Lorlatinib is currently the only approved treatment for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC whose cancers have progressed on prior ALK drugs, and for those whose tumors develop resistance, there is a lack of other treatment options other than chemotherapy. In this study, Dr. Qin will evaluate a novel drug called gilteritinib as a treatment in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC whose tumors have developed a resistance to lorlatinib.