Belanger Joins DCI as Associate Director, Research Operations
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Stefanie Belanger, MHA, CCRP, has joined Duke Cancer Institute as associate director of Research Operations.
Belanger has previous experience at four academic medical centers, including two National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers: the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis, and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In her new role with DCI, she is responsible for oversight of Clinical Research Unit Operations. Belanger comes to DCI from UNC Lineberger where she had held positions of progressive responsibility since 2013, most recently serving as assistant director of the Clinical Protocol Office.
Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, PhD, received the Health Equity Award from HemOnc Today at this year's Disruptive Innovators Awards ceremony at the ASCO Annual Meeting.The award, given in partnership with University of Illinois Cancer Center, goes to a physician who has made meaningful change to overcome the social determinants of health in hematology/oncology. Osazuwa-Peters is principal investigator for several research grants involving HPV, HIV and oral microbiota in Nigerian youth, decreasing adjuvant therapy delays for head and neck cancer and the long-term opioid therapy, depression and suicide risk for those with head and neck cancer.Osazuwa-Peters is a DCI member and associate professor in head and neck surgery & communication sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine.Read the full announcement on the Healio website.
Jose Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, is one of the recipients of the 2026 Lotus Award from the Pershing Square Foundation. These awards support pioneering scientists advancing innovative ovarian cancer research across the U.S.Conejo-Garcia's project, "Next-Generation off-the-shelf CAR γδ T cells for ovarian cancer immunotherapy," aims to develop a new, affordable, “off-the-shelf” immune cell therapy that can be prepared in advance and given to many patients without the need to manufacture a custom product for each individual."The Lotus Award will enable our team to complete a GMP-compliant protocol for the expansion and transduction of gamma delta (γδ) T cells derived from the extensive cord blood repository—comprising over 35,000 units—available to us at Duke University," Conejo-Garcia said on the Pershing Square Foundation announcement. "We anticipate that this work will provide a robust biological and manufacturing rationale for subsequent clinical trials. Ultimately, our goal is to render CAR T cell therapies substantially more affordable, logistically accessible for timely patient intervention, and—most critically—efficacious for individuals with recurrent, chemoresistant ovarian carcinoma."Conejo-Garcia currently serves as a DCI member and professor in integrative immunobiology in the Duke University School of Medicine.Read the full project details on the Pershing Square Foundation website.
Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, PhD, received the Health Equity Award from HemOnc Today at this year's Disruptive Innovators Awards ceremony at the ASCO Annual Meeting.The award, given in partnership with University of Illinois Cancer Center, goes to a physician who has made meaningful change to overcome the social determinants of health in hematology/oncology. Osazuwa-Peters is principal investigator for several research grants involving HPV, HIV and oral microbiota in Nigerian youth, decreasing adjuvant therapy delays for head and neck cancer and the long-term opioid therapy, depression and suicide risk for those with head and neck cancer.Osazuwa-Peters is a DCI member and associate professor in head and neck surgery & communication sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine.Read the full announcement on the Healio website.
Jose Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, is one of the recipients of the 2026 Lotus Award from the Pershing Square Foundation. These awards support pioneering scientists advancing innovative ovarian cancer research across the U.S.Conejo-Garcia's project, "Next-Generation off-the-shelf CAR γδ T cells for ovarian cancer immunotherapy," aims to develop a new, affordable, “off-the-shelf” immune cell therapy that can be prepared in advance and given to many patients without the need to manufacture a custom product for each individual."The Lotus Award will enable our team to complete a GMP-compliant protocol for the expansion and transduction of gamma delta (γδ) T cells derived from the extensive cord blood repository—comprising over 35,000 units—available to us at Duke University," Conejo-Garcia said on the Pershing Square Foundation announcement. "We anticipate that this work will provide a robust biological and manufacturing rationale for subsequent clinical trials. Ultimately, our goal is to render CAR T cell therapies substantially more affordable, logistically accessible for timely patient intervention, and—most critically—efficacious for individuals with recurrent, chemoresistant ovarian carcinoma."Conejo-Garcia currently serves as a DCI member and professor in integrative immunobiology in the Duke University School of Medicine.Read the full project details on the Pershing Square Foundation website.
