Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University investigators have been awarded a total of $400,000 to support eight new cancer research projects through Winship Invest$. The peer-reviewed pilot grant program is designed to accelerate novel, innovative cancer research across a range of disciplines at Winship.
Offered twice a year, Winship Invest$ solicits proposals in strategic research domains. The most recent funding cycle focused on projects related to Winship’s four research programs, early-career investigator research, artificial intelligence, diabetes and cancer, and breast cancer.
Winship Invest$ is supported by developmental funds from Winship's Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA138292) awarded by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. This cycle’s pilot projects were also supported by the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center and the Glenn Family Breast Center.
The eight newly awarded Winship Invest$ pilot grants are listed below.
Cutaneous staphylococcus aureus as a driver of racial disparities in mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome
- Pamela Blair Allen, MD, MSc
Associate professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Timothy Read, PhD
Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine
Professor, Department of Human Genetics
Emory University School of Medicine
Targeting kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) to overcoming acquired resistance of EGFR mutant non-small cell line cancer models to 3rd generation EGFR inhibitors
- Zhen Chen, PhD
Assistant professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Type 2 Diabetes Subtypes for Precision Medicine in Electronic heAlth Records – Cancer (T2D-SPEAR Cancer)
- Craig C. Hofmeister, MD, MPH
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 - Jithin Sam Varghese, PhD, MTech
Hubert Department of Global Health
Rollins School of Public Health
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
A novel resident macrophage subset orchestrates pancreatic cancer progression via unique cellular interactions
- Gregory B. Lesinski, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
John Kauffman Family Professor for Pancreatic Cancer Research
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
PROFECT (Patient Reported Outcomes During Fertility-sparing Endometrial Cancer and Dysplasia Treatment)
- Beryl Manning-Geist, MD
Assistant professor, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University - Jessica B. Spencer, MD, MSc
Professor, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Anne Winship Bates Leach Professor
Emory University School of Medicine
Multimodal AI Algorithms for Predicting Treatment Response in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer
- Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, FACP
Associate professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Optimizing IL-15 synergistic pathways of immunotherapy and therapeutic vaccines in mouse cancer models
- George Pavlakis, MD, PhD
Visiting scholar
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Characterizing the Effects of Perioperative Steroids on the Immune Environment in Metastatic Brain Tumor Patients
- Lisa Sudmeier, MD, PhD
Assistant professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Emory University School of Medicine
Member, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University