News

Six new cancer researchers will receive funding through the 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Fellowship, which aims to bring innovative ideas and new ways of thinking to eradicate cancer.

The National Academy of Sciences has elected Mary Beckerle, PhD, Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO, as a member. Beckerle is among 120 newly elected members announced and according to the National Academy, election as a member in this organization is widely accepted as a mark of excellence in scientific achievement and is considered one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.

Utah had more melanoma deaths than any other state from 1975 to 2013, says a letter published today by HCI researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine. In contrast to the rest of the United States, melanoma mortality in Utah increased by 0.8% per year over that period. The researchers say this data emphasizes the need to stay vigilant about preventing melanoma.

When cancer researchers from different disciplines work together, they gain new insights into how cancer begins and how it can be treated. HCI is committed to providing an atmosphere where ideas can be created, cultivated, and shared. Here are some examples of how HCI scientists are collaborating to accelerate progress in cancer research.

“Any human disease is so complicated that in order to really have the best care for patients, as well as sort of pushing the envelope on research, you need experts in all of it,” says melanoma researcher Robert Judson-Torres, PhD. In this Talks with Docs video, he explains why he wanted to become a cancer researcher, what he hopes his melanoma research will accomplish, and why Indiana Jones is his inspiration.

Robert Judson-Torres has always been fascinated by science. He chose to focus on cancer research, and specifically melanoma, as a way to study how cells work in our body and have his work be meaningful and life changing. Due to the economic effects of COVID-19, many cancer laboratories have had to enact hiring freezes. So receiving the 5 For The Fight Fellowship allows Judson-Torres to hire the necessary team to further high-risk, high-reward projects investigating rare subtypes of melanoma.

Ben Myers never expected to be a cancer researcher. He started out his career in neuroscience but changed to cancer research when he realized that a lot of what he had learned by studying proteins in the nervous system could also apply to cancer biology. Myers works on a key issue in treating cancer patients—when certain medications stop being effective—known in the field as drug resistance. The 5 For The Fight Fellowship will allow his lab to take key steps toward innovation.

Dear patients, please know this as you go through your breast cancer treatment journey. The dedicated technical staff, PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows in the Welm Labs continue to work hard every day (and night!) to bring new hope to people with metastatic breast cancer through innovative research, always with patients in mind.