Duke Cancer Institute has seven basic, clinical, and translational NCI-Designated research programs that address research opportunities that impact cancer care.
Six of the thirty Duke University researchers named to the 2023 Clarivate list of highly cited researchers are Duke Cancer Institute members.
To make the cut, a published paper has to be ranked in the top 1% for its field for the last decade. Clarivate’s “Institute for Scientific Information” crunches all the numbers.
There are 6,938 highly cited scientists this year, from 69 countries and regions. Several appear in more than one division. The United States still dominates with 38 percent of the honorees, but Chinese scientists are on the rise at 16 percent.
Categories & DCI Faculty Cited
Neuroscience and Behavior: Quinn Ostrom, PhD
Biology and Biochemistry: Charles A. Gersbach, PhD
Cross-Field: Robert Lefkowitz, MD || Jason Locasale, PhD || Christopher Newgard, PhD || Bryce B. Reeve, PhD
Microbiology: Barton F. Haynes, PhD
Read Full List on the Duke Research Blog
Last Year's Rankings
Most of the faculty listed above were also "highly cited" in 2021 and 2022, including Robert Lefkowitz, MD(in Biology and Biochemistry),Barton Haynes, MD(in Microbiology),Charles Gersbach, PhD(in Biology and Biochemistry),Jason Locasale, PhD(in Cross-Field), andChristopher Newgard, PhD(in Cross-Field).
Quinn T. Ostrom, PhD, MPH, MA(Neuroscience and Behavior) made her first-ever appearance on the list in 2022, making this year her second.Ostrom is a cancer epidemiologist with specialized training in genetic epidemiology. Her research seeks to identify genetic factors that increase the risk of developing a brain tumor as well as those that affect prognosis after diagnosis. Read More in the Duke Department of Neurosurgery blog
DCI member Jose Ramon Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, (left), worked with co-authors Mostafa Eysha, PhD; Luis Bailon, PhD; and co-senior author Carmen Anadon, PhD, on an antibody approach for precision cancer treatment. (Photo by Les Todd)
Duke Cancer Institute has named five DCI faculty to new leadership roles.
Cancer Genetics
Andrew Berchuck, MD, and Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS, have been named co-directors of Cancer Genetics at DCI.
They replace breast surgical oncologist Carolyn Menendez, MD, who has a new role as director of Clinical Cancer Genetics, National Oncology, Precision Oncology, and TeleOncology Programs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (based in Durham).
Berchuck, a gynecologic oncologist, is chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology. He is the James M. Ingram Distinguished Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Plichta, a breast surgical oncologist, is director of the Duke Breast Risk Assessment Clinic. She is an associate professor in the Departments of Surgery and Population Health Sciences and is a BIRCWH scholar.
The aims of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Program include advancing cancer genetics research, establishing a carriers clinic and expanding point-of-care across all disease sites.
Neuro-Oncology Research Program
Gerald Grant, MD, has been named co-leader of the NCI-designated DCI Neuro-Oncology Research Program. Grant replaces David Ashley, PhD, FRACP, MBBS (Hons), who has decided to step down from this role. Grant joins Kyle Walsh, MD, current co-leader of the program.
Grant, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, is chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and a pediatric neurosurgeon.
Radiation Oncology and Imaging Research Program
Chuan-Yuan Li, DSc, has been named co-leader of the NCI-designated DCI Radiation Oncology and Imaging Research Program.
Li joins Nimmi Ramanujam, PhD, and Manisha Palta, MD, current co-leaders of the program. Li replaces David Kirsch, MD, PhD, who was recently named director of the Radiation Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Li, a professor in the Departments of Dermatology and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, is the vice chair for research in the Department of Dermatology and an affiliate member of the Duke Regeneration Center, Regeneration Next Initiative. Li has previously served as co-chair of the DCI’s Scientific Review Committee.
DCI Scientific Review Committee
Kris Wood, PhD, has been appointed co-chair of the DCI Scientific Review Committee, replacing Chuan-Yuan Li, DSc, who's been named co-program leader for Radiation Oncology and Imaging.
Wood, an associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology and Cell Biology, is a member of the DCI Precision Cancer Medicine and Investigational Therapeutics Research Program. He is also core faculty with Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Duke Cancer Institute Blog
Gerard C. Blobe, MD, PhD (center) mentors trainees in his lab. Blobe is the director of the DCI Office of Cancer Research Training Education Coordination.
Duke Cancer Institute member Gerard C. Blobe, MD, PhD, has beenelected as a 2022 AAAS Fellowby the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the most distinct honors in the scientific community.A professor of Medicine, Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, and Cell biology, Blobe was recognized with this lifelong honor for distinguished contributions to the field of cancer biology, particularly in TGF-beta signaling pathways in cancer biology (the focus of his lab) and for tireless mentorship and service.Blobe directs theDCI Office of Cancer Research Training Education Coordination, which coordinates training programs focusing on cancer physicians, scientists, and health professionals;develops new educational and training opportunities; andserves as the liaison with theCTSIand schools at Duke University with the goal of integrating cancer career opportunities across the Duke system.Blobe was one of two faculty elected from the Duke University School of Medicine as an 2022 AAAS Fellow. From Duke, Steven B. Haase, PhD, was also elected an AAAS Fellow this year.From DCI Blobe joinsRobert J. Lefkowitz, MD;Joseph Heitman, MD, PhD;Micah A. Luftig, PhD(2019); Mark Dewhirst, DVM, PhD; who were elected as AAAS Fellows in previous years.
(This article was originally published on Nov. 4, 2022)More than 1.5 million women in theU.S. are currently on endocrine therapies (hormone therapies) for breast cancer — either as monotherapiesor in combination with other drugs.These drugs and drug combinationshave been found to work well, in somecases for many years until they don’t. Recently it has been demonstrated that mutations can develop in genes within breast cancer cellsthat render even the best endocrine therapies ineffective. While moreand more women are living with stage 4 breast cancer (upwardof 150,000), 42,000 die of metastatic breast cancer each year.Metastasis, cancer that has spread to distant organs, is the majorcause of breast cancer death.The majority of breast tumors (~75%) have receptors for estrogens within cancer cells and such cancers are classified as ER+. When estrogens bind to these receptors, they can drive processes responsible for tumor growth and metastasis.One type of anti-estrogen hormone therapy (endocrine therapy) — aselectiveestrogenreceptormodulator (SERM) — works by binding to the estrogen receptors present in cancer cells and in the body’s immune cells. This stops the estrogens from binding and driving cancer cell growth. Another type of endocrine therapy, aromatase inhibitors, suppresses estrogen synthesis.SERMs (such as tamoxifen), aromatase inhibitors (such as anastrozole, letrozole, or exemestane), andcyclin-dependentkinase 4/6 inhibitors (therapies that target the CDK4 and CDK6 enzymes important to cell division, such as abemaciclib, ribociclib, and palbociclib) — taken alone or in combinations thereof — are currently used as first- and second-line treatments for ER+ breast cancer. (CDK 4/6 inhibitors are targeted therapies, not endocrine therapies)Unfortunately, the majority of patients with metastaticER+breast cancer will eventually develop resistance to these drugs.When this happens, oncologists may try a different type of endocrine therapy, aselectiveestrogenreceptordownregulator (SERD),which, like a SERM works bytargeting the estrogen receptor in cancer cells and the body’s immune cells, but instead ofblocking estrogen bybindingto theestrogen receptor like a SERM, itblocks estrogen bydegradingthe estrogen receptor.The only drug of this class (SERD) approved for clinical use in ER+ breast cancer is fulvestrant (first FDA-approved in 2002), which has been shown to have only modest efficacy.Additionally,as an injectable drug, the administration of fulvestrant can be very uncomfortable for patients.