Congratulations to Amer H. Zureikat, MD, FACS, who was awarded a 2019 seed grant from the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer for his project “Neoadjuvant Autophagy Inhibition in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Promotes an Effector T Cell Response and Tertiary Lymphoid Structures.”
Congratulations to Nathan L. Liang, MD, MS, whose quality improvement project “Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm System-Wide Protocol” has been approved for funding by The Beckwith Institute’s Frontline Innovation Program.
Bernard Fisher, MD, Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Past Chairman and Scientific Director of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, passed away on October 16 at the age of 101. Dr. Fisher was recognized as a pioneer in the biology and treatment of breast cancer. Read more
Congratulations to Principal Investigators Jennifer A. Steel, PhD and Manisha Jhamb, MBBS, Jane M. Liebschutz, MD; and Jonathan G. Yabes, PhD from the Pitt Department of Medicine, who received funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for their project “Pain Reduction and Opioid Medication Safety in ESRD (PROMISE) Study.” The overall goal of the PROMISE study is to improve the safety of opioid use and pain management in end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis.
Congratulations to Drs. Mohammad Haroon Asif Choudry and Udai S. Kammula, who recently received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health for their projects:
Congratulations to our general surgery resident Jurgis Alvikas, MD, who received notice from the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health that they will fund his F32 fellowship award, “The role of platelet-specific NLRP3 inflammasome in venous thrombosis after trauma.” The purpose of the F32 award program is to enhance the research training of promising postdoctoral candidates with the potential to become productive, independent investigators.
On May 8th, 2019, we held our 17th Annual Research Day and Richard L. Simmons Lecture in Surgical Science. Attendees enjoyed a phenomenal presentation from our guest lecturer, Dr. George Miller from the Department of Surgery at the New York University School of Medicine. His talk was entitled “New Approaches to Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapy.”
Congratulations to the award winners selected from over 80 abstracts submitted for the scientific program. Each awardee will receive a certificate and a cash prize.
Oral Presentation Award Winners
On Saturday, April 27, 2019, the Colon Cancer Alliance event “Save our Butts” was held at the Elizabeth Fire Hall. Money raised at the event, an evening of food, fun, and entertainment, will fund UPMC Hillman Cancer Center immunotherapy research. This research could be instrumental in saving the lives of many affected by colorectal cancer, including Jim Huber, the inspirational behind the event.
