Discovery

 

John Byrd, MD, professor of Internal Medicine (Hematology and Oncology) at Ohio State, has been named chair of the grants selection committee for the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Byrd is one of 30 committee members who review up to 250 grants submitted by junior faculty and fellows for career development.

 

As chair of the grants selection committee, Byrd oversees the criteria the committee uses for candidate applications, funding and administration of awards. The committee reviews applications for the Young Investigator Award and the Clinical Research Career Development Award and chooses recipients.

 

Earlier this year, Byrd was named associate director for Translational Research at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. In this position, he has been working to accelerate translational cancer research throughout Ohio State’s cancer program.

 

 

Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, director of The Ohio State University Comprehen-sive Cancer Center and CEO of The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute , has been elected to the National Cancer Institute’s board of scientific advisers.

 

Members of the board counsel the National Cancer Institute (NCI) director and deputy director for extramural science on a wide variety of matters. This includes the evaluation of NCI-awarded grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and concept review of activities consistent with NCI programs.
Ohio State is one of only 40 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States and plays a prominent role in national cancer research and care.

 

 

E. Antonio Chicocca, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, was elected to the board of directors of the Society for Neuro-Oncology.

 

The Society was formed in 1995 and focuses on the advancement of neuro-oncology through education and research. The society takes a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together doctors and researchers from clinical, translational and laboratory perspectives.

 

Chiocca and his team of researchers at Ohio State are investigating the use of biologic therapies and gene-delivery methods to treat brain tumors and other central nervous system disorders.

 

Chiocca recently received a $5.5 million grant over five years from the National Institutes of Health to develop an onco-lytic virus treatment for brain cancer.  

 

 

Steven Clinton, MD, PhD, professor of Internal Medicine (Hematology  and Oncology) and member of Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC), has been named to a national committee charged with updating the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin D and calcium.

 

Clinton, who is leader of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program at the OSUCCC and director of Prostate and Genitourinary Oncology at The James, is one of 13 researchers appointed to the committee.

 

Dietary guidelines set by the Institute of Medicine affect the  policies of government agencies and international organizations, and focus on the production and fortification of food, public health guidelines and strategies for disease prevention and therapy.

 

Heather Hampel, MS, CGC, clinical associate director of the Division of Human Genetics at The Ohio State University Medical Center, has been elected president of the American Board of Genetic Counseling.

 

Hampel provides genetic counseling for patients regarding hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes, including hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome, Lynch syndrome (a hereditary predisposition to colorectal and endometrial cancers) and familial adenomatous polyposis. Hampel, who is a cancer genetic counselor at Ohio State’s CCC – James, also coordinates research studies to identify cancer-susceptibility genes.

 

Hampel is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, the American Society of Human Genetics and the Ohio Cancer Genetics Network. She represents the
OSUCCC – James on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment Panel.

 

 

Guang Jia, PhD, instructor in Ohio State’s Department of Radiology, has been awarded the 2009 American Urological Association Foundation Research Scholars award, which funds research that improves patient care and outcomes for those who suffer from debilitating urologic conditions.

 

His research, “Phase 0 MRI Study to Detect in Vivo Protein Levels in Prostate Cancer,” was conducted under the mentorship of Michael Knopp, MD, PhD, director of the Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging and vice chair of Radiology, and Robert Bahnson, MD, chair of Urology. This grant is a two-year award of $120,000.

 

 

Bryan Martin, DO, director of the Allergy section and professor of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), was recently presented the Legion of Merit by the U.S. Army. Martin is a retired colonel of the Medical Corps and is board-certified in allergy, immunology and internal medicine.

 

The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces that has been awarded since 1942 for exceptionally meritorious conduct. It is given to military personnel and to military and political leaders of foreign governments. Notable past recipients include Charles De Gaulle and John McCain.

 

 

Electra Paskett, PhD, MSPH, associate director of Population Sciences at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, has been elected president of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO). The Society promotes research in cancer prevention and
control.

 

Paskett, who is co-leader of the Cancer Control Program at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, served two years as president-elect of the Society before becoming president in March. Paskett holds the Marion N. Rowley Designated Chair in Cancer Research and is a professor in Ohio State’s College of Public Health.

 

ASPO strives to increase communication on the causes of human cancer and to encourage the development of new programs for the prevention and early detection of cancer.