I am pleased to announce the winners of our translational research collaboration and innovation grants program. This initiative, launched in September 2023, aimed to foster collaborative research projects that translate scientific discoveries into practical applications for improving healthcare.
Four pilot grants worth $50,000 each have been awarded to multidisciplinary research teams comprising Clinical and Basic Science faculty members. These projects represent innovative approaches to tackling pressing health challenges and advancing our understanding of complex diseases.

1. Development of blood-derived in vitro microglia as a biomarker of ALS neuroinflammation and predictor of disease onset and progression
   Led by Frank Bearoff, PhD, Neurology & Neural Sciences; Silvia Fossati, PhD, Neural Sciences; and Terry Heiman-Patterson, MD, Neurology, this project focuses on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), aiming to develop a strategy for predicting disease progression and detecting early ALS in presymptomatic carriers of ALS-causing gene mutations.
    
2. Developing a Translational Infrastructure for Biomarker Discovery and Therapeutic Predictive Outcomes in Early-Onset vs. Late-Onset Colorectal CancerAna Gamero, PhD, Medical Genetics and Molecular Biochemistry and Juan Lucas Poggio, MD, Surgery lead this project to study the molecular differences between early and late-onset colorectal cancer to provide insight into disease progression and therapeutic outcomes.
    
3. Investigating AT1-to-AT2 reversion in lung adenocarcinoma for therapeutic insights
   Ying Tian, PhD, Cardiovascular Sciences and Cherie P. Erkmen, MD, Thoracic Medicine and Surgery are investigating the metabolic changes associated with the development of lung adenocarcinoma (LuAd), aiming to identify metabolic vulnerabilities that can be targeted for therapeutic intervention.
    
4. Elucidating and Targeting Oncogenic TNIK Functions in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (HNSCC)
   Pedro Torres-Ayuso, Ph.D., Department of Cancer and Cellular Biology; Cecelia Schmalbach, MD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; and Parth Desai, MD, Medical Oncology LKSOM, and Oncology/Hematology at Fox Chase Cancer Center Desai are investigating the role of the protein kinase TNIK in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), aiming to disrupt cancer cell proliferation and enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy.

I extend my congratulations to the winning teams and look forward to seeing where their research takes us!

Thank you to all who participated in this initiative, and I encourage everyone to continue pursuing innovative research that advances our mission of improving healthcare outcomes for our community.

Sincerely,  


Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS
The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean
Lewis Katz School of Medicine
She/Her