Nine teams of investigators will receive a total of $450,000 in funding for new cancer research projects through Winship Invest$, a peer-reviewed program designed to fund novel, innovative cancer research at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Winship Invest$ has two funding cycles every year and solicits proposals in strategic research domains. The most recent call for proposals focused on projects related to Winship’s four research programs, promoting cancer health equity, breast cancer and new cancer-focused biomedical engineering collaborations. Awards this cycle are supported by philanthropic contributions, the Glenn Family Breast Center, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering as well as developmental funds from Winship's Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA138292) awarded by the National Cancer Institute.
This cycle's Winship Invest$ pilot grant projects are below.
sFgl2-Directed Immunotherapy to Improve Anti-Tumor Immunity in Melanoma
- Mandy Ford, PhD
Professor, Department of Surgery
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Alleviating Disparities in African American Breast Cancer Outcomes through Multi-Modal AI Models Leveraging Radiology Data and Sociodemographic Determinants of Health
- Judy Wawira Gichoya, MD, MS
Associate professor, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Epigenetic Metabolites as Mediators of Radiation-Resistant Breast Cancer
- Karmella Haynes, PhD
Assistant professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Member, Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Melissa Kemp, PhD
Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Member, Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Metabolic Drivers of Early-Stage Epigenetic Reprogramming in Environmental Exposure Induced Lung Tumor Initiation
- Xin Hu, PhD
Assistant professor, Department of Environmental Health
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Drug the ‘Undruggable’ Tumor Suppressor SMAD4 Using Novel Covalent Molecular Glue
- Xiulei Mo, PhD
Assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Prevention of Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy with Cryotherapy with or without Cilostazol
- Susan Modesitt, MD, FACOG, FACS
Director, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Leach Hendee Professor
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Sarah Dilley, MD, MPH, FACOG
Assistant professor, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Combination External Radiation and 177Lu-DOTATATE to Rescue Progression in Large Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Single Arm Phase 2 Clinical Trial
- Pretesh Patel, MD
Associate professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Olumide Gbolahan, MD
Assistant professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Mechanisms of Enhanced TCR Signaling by Statin Drugs in Preclinical Models of Head and Neck Cancer
- Nicole Schmitt, MD, FACS
Associate professor, Department of Otolaryngology
Emory University School of Medicine
Co-director for Translational Research, Head and Neck Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Cheng Zhu, PhD, MS
J. Erskine Love Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering and Regents’ Professor
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Member, Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Robotic Bronchoalveolar Lavage (RoboBAL) to Enhance Microbe Detection and Decrease Mortality in Pediatric Oncology Patients
- Kirsten Williams, MD
Associate professor, Department of Pediatrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Jaydev Desai, PhD, MA
Professor and BME Distinguished Faculty Fellow
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University