Impact

Meet the Researchers

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  “My research focuses on optimizing the treatment approaches for patients with either advanced melanoma or kidney cancer. We have shown that long-term survival is maximized by giving immunotherapy as the initial systemic therapy and that biomarkers can be used to safely stop immunotherapy, thereby turning survivors into thrivers.”

  —

  Dr. Michael B. Atkins,

  Deputy Director, Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

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  “My research focuses on effective cancer prevention and early detection approaches. Our team at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown Lombardi implements these approaches to improve cancer health equity in Washington, D.C.”

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  Chiranjeev Dash,

  MBBS, Ph.D., MPH

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  “My lab focuses on developing and testing programs to help improve the quality of life of people diagnosed with cancer. Our work has focused on reducing depression, anxiety, pain, and fatigue, along with identifying ways to support caregivers of those with cancer.”

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  Kristi Graves,

  Ph.D.

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  “My lab focuses on developing novel technologies and drugs for the treatment of primary brain cancers such as medulloblastoma and glioblastoma. Our overall goal is to identify patient-specific therapies for incurable forms of brain cancer.”

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  Nagi G. Ayad,

  Ph.D.

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  “One of the goals of my lab is to understand the symptoms and side effects experienced by people with advanced cancer. These studies will guide the development of tools and programs to improve quality of life for people living with advanced cancer.”

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  Claire Conley,

  Ph.D.

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  “We are highly focused on understanding the reasons behind the dramatic rise in young people diagnosed with GI cancers. Our work understanding the impact of changes to our microbiome will not only unlock the why, but also will lead us to dramatic impact on prevention and treatment.”

  —

  John Marshall, MD,

  Director, Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer

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  “Since 1980, the incidence of liver cancer has more than tripled in the United States. We are working on biomarkers that predict the development of liver cancer and creating strategies to prevent liver cancers.”

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  Ruth He,

  MD, Ph.D.

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  “My laboratory is dedicated to unraveling the role of cellular RNAs in chemotherapy, with the ultimate goal of harnessing this understanding to combat therapeutic resistance. We employ cutting-edge technologies to enhance the effectiveness and diminish the toxicity of cancer treatments, paving the way for more efficient and safer therapeutic approaches.”

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  Sreejith Nair,

  Ph.D.

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  “My team focuses on developing and testing effective smoking cessation treatments for older adults who are at high risk for developing lung cancer and are undergoing lung cancer screening. Our goal is to accelerate the translation of our findings into clinical practice at MedStar Health and other large health systems.”

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  Kathryn Taylor,

  Ph.D.

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  “We are focused on elucidating the signaling pathways that drive colorectal cancer. The ultimate goal of our work is to identify novel therapeutic agents for cancer patients with tumors dependent on such pathways.”

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  David Robbins,

  Ph.D.

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  “My lab is identifying new therapeutic targets for lobular breast cancer, with a focus on health disparities.”

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  Rebecca B. Riggins,

  Ph.D.

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  “Our lab studies how factors in the outside world such as obesity, distress, depression, and diabetes alter the occurrence and recurrence of breast cancer by affecting the tumor micro-environment. This has led to a recently initiated clinical trial at Lombardi aimed at interrupting this pathway of communication and improving outcomes for women with breast cancer.”

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  Marc E. Lippman,

  MD

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  “The breast cancer team is focused on providing outstanding care and carrying out cutting edge clinical trials geared to improve the outcome of people with all stages of breast cancer.”

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  Claudine Isaacs,

  MD

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  “My lab focuses on identifying the targets in cancer and normal cells that are impacted by immunotherapy and other treatments of cancer.”

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  Anton Wellstein,

  Ph.D.