Elisa M. Rodriguez, PhD, MS, Appointed to NCCN DEI Directors Forum
Recognizing her successful efforts to address health disparities and improve outcomes in medically underserved populations, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has appointed Elisa M. Rodriguez, PhD, MS, to its newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Directors Forum.
Serving as Vice President & Associate Director of DEI at Roswell Park, she joins a group of 27 individuals from fellow NCCN member institutions who are working on DEI within the health care space. The group will work to establish best practices in DEI and encourage diverse representation in oncology.
"Serving on this committee is an opportunity to lend my voice and experience as a cancer researcher to efforts happening at the national level to establish and align DEI best practices across the work of the cancer centers," Rodriguez noted.
A Roswell Park graduate with more than 15 years of experience conducting community-engaged research and teaching, Rodriguez has held multiple roles within the cancer center, including Chief Diversity and Equity Officer for Faculty. As the Director of the Community Engagement Resource, she worked with staff and survivors to develop the Research Oncology Community Knowledge (ROCKstars) program. In addition, she also serves as faculty liaison to the Community Advisory Board that informs and guides the work of the Community Outreach and Engagement team.
"There are significant disparities in cancer outcomes across race and ethnicity; this is unacceptable and must be addressed urgently and thoroughly. Increasing diverse representation among care providers is one overdue step toward improving the equity and quality of cancer care," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer of NCCN. "Unfortunately, we have a long way to go, and the people doing this crucial work are often underfunded and overburdened. We're happy to be able to use NCCN's existing infrastructure to address some of that burden."
Crystal Mackall, MD, Honored With Edward Netter Leadership Award
The Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) awarded the Edward Netter Leadership Award to Crystal Mackall, MD, of Stanford University, at the ACGT Awards Luncheon. Named for ACGT co-founder, Edward Netter, the award recognizes a researcher who has made unparalleled and groundbreaking contributions to the field of cell and gene therapy for cancer. Mackall is a leader in advancing cell and gene therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, with a major focus on children's cancers.
In addition to being an ACGT research fellow and a member of ACGT's Scientific Advisory Council, Mackall is the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University, founding Director of the Stanford Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute, leader of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program, and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. She has led numerous groundbreaking clinical trials to treat children with sarcomas and brain cancers.
"There is exciting progress happening in the field of cancer cell and gene therapy," said Kevin Honeycutt, CEO and President of ACGT. "We continue to see the FDA approve cell and gene therapy treatments for blood cancers, while research for solid tumors is now progressing to clinical trials. These successes are linked to the funding of ACGT, and Dr. Crystal Mackall is one of the best examples of a researcher who refused to accept the status quo of standard cancer treatment and committed to developing novel cell and gene therapies for children with difficult-to-treat tumors."
Florencia McAllister, MD, Receives TAMEST Mary Beth Maddox Award for Pancreatic Tumor Microbiome Research
Florencia McAllister, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Cancer Prevention, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, and Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been awarded the 2023 Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship in cancer research from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST). She is being honored for her pioneering research on the intratumoral bacteria detected in long-term pancreatic cancer survivors and the discovery of a gut-tumor axis that inspired the use of fecal microbial transplants to improve therapy outcomes.
The Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship recognizes women scientists in Texas who bring new ideas and innovations to the fight against cancer. The award was established in 2022 in honor of Mary Beth Maddox, former Executive Director of TAMEST, who passed away in 2018 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.
"It is a great honor for me to receive this special award and for our team to be recognized for its work to improve pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment by altering the tumor immune microenvironment," McAllister said. "There have been exciting findings, but we have a lot of work ahead to continue to bring these advances to patients with pancreatic cancer."
McAllister currently leads the MD Anderson Pancreatic Cancer High Risk Clinic and is a co-leader of the Pancreatic Cancer Moon Shot Program, part of the MD Anderson Cancer Moon Shots Program, a collaborative effort designed to accelerate the development of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that save patients' lives.
McAllister's basic and translational research explores the interactions between the immune and microbial components in processes of cancer initiation, progression, and therapy resistance. Specifically, she integrates the biology of the tumor microenvironment and microbes to modulate the immune system against cancer. Her work detailed the role of intratumoral bacteria and unraveled the existence of a gut-tumor microbial axis, which can be utilized to regulate the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. She has outlined the unique microbes that distinguish the few pancreatic cancer patients with long-term survival. Furthermore, her laboratory determined possibilities for exploiting the gut-tumor microbial axis for therapeutic purposes.
Based on this concept, McAllister launched the first Phase 0 clinical trial to modulate tumor microbiomes through fecal microbial transfer (FMT) in patients undergoing surgical resection of primary tumors. She also launched a preclinical platform that allows for parallel studies in animals using the same FMT product that goes into patients to further dissect the role of FMT in cancer therapeutic resistance.
These accomplishments illustrate the capacity for MD Anderson researchers to rapidly advance discoveries from the lab into the clinic while also using clinical insights to inform ongoing laboratory work. With seamless collaboration between scientists and clinicians, MD Anderson's research environment enables progress at an unmatched speed.
"Dr. McAllister is a true leader in the field of tumor microbiome and immune microenvironment, and this award speaks to her important discoveries that have improved our knowledge of this deadly cancer," said Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at MD Anderson. "Her commitment to impactful team science already has resulted in treatment advances and will continue to improve the lives of patients with pancreatic cancer."
McAllister's work on the tumor microenvironment and immune-interception unraveled mechanisms involved in specific T cells, called Th17 cells, with relevance not only for pancreatic cancer and other malignancies, but also for autoimmune diseases and tissue regeneration. More recently, she discovered that Th17 cells promote the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, meant to stop bacteria expansion, to maintain immunosuppression in advanced pancreatic cancer, a pathway that can be targeted to restore sensitivity to immunotherapies.
McAllister will be officially presented with the award at the TAMEST 2023 Annual Conference: Forward Texas-Accelerating Change, on May 24. In addition, she will give a presentation at the conference and promote her work and discoveries across the state through a series of subsequent lectures at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.
"I am proud to have nominated Dr. McAllister for this award so that she may be recognized for her basic and translational research to improve care for cancer patients," said Ronald DePinho, MD, Professor of Cancer Biology at MD Anderson. "She is well-known for addressing complex questions with out-of-the-box thinking, and I can't wait to continue to follow her impact on our knowledge of microbes, the immune system, and cancer."
AACR Announces Recipients of 2023 Distinguished Public Service Awards
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) presented the 2023 AACR Distinguished Public Service Awards for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Advocacy to Phyllis Pettit Nassi, MSW, and Jane Perlmutter, PhD, MBA, at the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting.
Nassi is Associate Director of Research and Science, Special Populations at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. She is being recognized for her longstanding commitment as a patient advocate for American Indian tribes across the Mountain West and beyond, and for an unwavering commitment to improving health literacy and clinical trial enrollment among American Indian populations. Her work has profoundly impacted tribal, rural, and frontier communities and improved quality of life and access to cancer care.
Pettit Nassi, an enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and member of the Cherokee Nation, has been a member of the AACR since 2010. She served as a member of the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report Advisory Committee in 2022 and Co-Chair of the Program Committee for the 12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved in 2019, where she was also a panelist for the session "Addressing Advocacy at the Bench: Implementing Change." She has been active in the AACR Minorities in Cancer Research and Women in Cancer Research constituency groups for many years.
In 2022, Pettit Nassi was invited by President Joseph Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to attend the White House event where the reignited Cancer Moonshot was announced. She has been honored with numerous awards, including the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Certificate of Recognition, the Utah Division of Indian Affairs Outstanding Manager Award, the University of Utah's College of Social Work James Garland Woolsey Memorial Award for Professional Promise in the Fields of Health and Rehabilitation, and the Pete Suazo Social Justice Award.
Perlmutter is President and founder of the Gemini Group. A survivor of breast, esophageal, and lung cancer herself, she is being recognized for her unparalleled leadership as a patient advocate, including through the AACR's Scientist [left right arrow] Survivor Program; her dedication to improving the patient experience through innovative clinical trial designs, including I-SPY 2, TAPUR, and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology; and for efforts to ensure the patient voice is included in research and trial design, accelerating patient access to new treatments, and drastically improving their quality of life and overall survivorship.
Perlmutter has been a member of the AACR since 2006. She is a member of the AACR Women in Cancer Research constituency group and an AACR Advocate Ambassador. She has previously served as faculty for the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop. She spoke at the AACR Patient Advocate Forum: Revolution in Cancer Clinical Trials and was invited to participate on the AACR Annual Meeting Cancer Dialogue panel. She also has been honored with the AACR's Distinguished Advocate Mentor Award.
In 2022, Perlmutter was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She has served as Patient Advocate Chair of the I-SPY Trials and Chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Patient Engagement Advisory Panel. She has also served on numerous other advisory boards, committees, and task forces, with the goal of integrating patient concerns and priorities into large clinical trials and other cancer research initiatives.
"Ms. Pettit Nassi and Dr. Perlmutter's advocacy work has had a powerful impact on the lives of patients with cancer," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the AACR. "Phyllis has devoted her career to improving outreach to and clinical trial enrollment for American Indians, a greatly underserved patient population. Jane's important contributions to clinical trial design have helped ensure that clinical cancer research is inclusive and sensitive to patient issues. They have both served as dedicated mentors to other advocates, amplifying and strengthening the patient voice within the cancer research community. The AACR is immensely proud to honor them with these Distinguished Public Service Awards."
Pettit Nassi and Perlmutter both have long histories with the AACR's Scientist [left right arrow] Survivor Program. Pettit Nassi served as an advocate mentor, member, and advocate, and Perlmutter was an advocate mentor and advocate. This first-of-its-kind program is designed to build enduring partnerships among the leaders of the scientific, cancer survivor, and patient advocacy communities worldwide by providing advocates with special lectures using lay language, small group discussions, and other opportunities for the exchange of information on key aspects of cancer research, survivorship, advocacy, and public policy. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the program.
"When we launched the Scientist[left right arrow]Survivor Program, it was clear that defeating cancer would require cancer survivors and advocates working closely with scientists to inform and enhance progress in cancer research," said Anna Barker, PhD, Chair of the Scientist[left right arrow]Survivor Program and Chief Strategy Officer at the Ellison Institute. "Phyllis and Jane are shining examples of the power and impact this partnership has in advancing research and improving the lives of patients with cancer."
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