Headlines
News + Announcements
cancer headlines
UF cancer drug receives FDA clearance for clinical trials
An anticancer drug developed by researchers from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy has become the first drug of its kind allowed to proceed to clinical trial by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The drug, DT2216, targets leukemia, lymphoma, and breast and lung cancers. The researchers expect it will available for patients, in a clinical trial setting, in April or May this year. READ MORE
Dr. Carla Fisher: Helping Mothers, Daughters and Families Communicate About Cancer
CJC Advertising Associate Professor Carla Fisher, a member of the UF Health Cancer Center and faculty affiliate in the Center for Arts in Medicine, was interviewed on Feb. 26, 2021 about her research on helping families and clinicians more effectively communicate about cancer. READ MORE
Male allies challenge systemic bias against female oncologists
For Thomas J. George, M.D., FACP, being an ally to his female colleagues means challenging the status quo.
“I have pledged ‘he for she’ as a professional priority,” George, director of the gastrointestinal oncology and phase 1 program at University of Florida, said in an interview with Healio. “I use my voice to counter those who argue that the processes and policies that systematically disadvantage my female colleagues, like the promotion and tenure clock, are just fine the way they are.” READ MORE
UF researchers discover marine natural product off Florida’s coast that could help fight cancer
From cyanobacteria blooms found off the Florida coast near Fort Lauderdale, University of Florida researchers have discovered a novel marine natural product that binds to a new site of tubulin, an important target for cancer drugs.
“Tubulin is among the most successfully targeted proteins related to cancer chemotherapy, and there is tremendous interest in discovering new molecules that bind to tubulin,” said Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., a professor and chair of medicinal chemistry and the Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Natural Products Drug Discovery and Development in the UF College of Pharmacy and a member of UF Health Cancer Center. READ MORE
Announcements
COVID-19 REFLECTIONS ONE YEAR: A LOOK BACK
To reflect on that change and see just how far we’ve come, we’re looking back on our journey — to honor loved ones we’ve lost, celebrate our front-line heroes and prepare for the continued trek ahead until the virus is defeated. From developing masks made from existing hospital materials when demand was critically high at the start of the pandemic to designing low-cost, open-source ventilators, from launching the UF Health Screen, Test & Protect program to help reopen campus to administering the first vaccine dose in Florida, see how we’ve come together as a campus to help serve each other, the community and the state of Florida. READ MORE
Going Virtual: The 51st Annual Research Seminar
The 2021 UF Radiation Oncology Spring Seminar is virtual! Access the latest research from the UF Department of Radiation Oncology, wherever you are, Feb. 19 through June 30. READ MORE
Recommendations for UF Cancer Clinicians using Telemedicine
Click to enlarge.
UF Health Cancer Center members Carma Bylund, Ph.D., Martina Murphy, M.D., and Merry Jennifer Markham, M.D., FACP, FASCO, to help to improve communication via telemedicine between cancer patients and doctors. The corresponding flyer was developed as a part of this project and includes best communication practices, tips and tech to-dos.
ReMission Summit for Brain Tumors goes virtual
The UF Health-led ReMission Summit for Brain Tumors transitioned to a virtual platform this year, but the mission remained unchanged: More than 100 attendees converged to present research, share ideas, strengthen relationships and plot future collaborations to improve outcomes for patients with brain tumors.
Attendees at the third annual summit, held online Feb. 20, included leading investigators and physician-scientists from the 12 partner institutions making up the ReMission Alliance Against Brain Tumors along with collaborators and passionate supporters from across the U.S. and beyond. READ MORE
In memoriam
World-renowned UF Health biochemistry researcher Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., dies
University of Florida Health biochemistry professor Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., whose world-renowned work on the detailed structure of viruses led to advances in gene therapy treatments for different diseases, died Wednesday (March 3) at her home near Gainesville of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was 57. READ MORE
