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Celebrating decades long UC Irvine legacy and impact on cancer research & public health interventions
Professor of population health and disease prevention and general internal medicine – Lari Wenzel, PhD, from the UCI Program in Public Health and the School of Medicine, is retiring at the end of June after 27 years of campus service. She leaves an outstanding legacy of achievements and a portfolio of valuable cancer research. Her contributions to the public health field are truly remarkable and her impact on countless students, faculty, and communities around the nation cannot be overstated.
The Caris Precision Oncology Alliance Welcomes The UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Caris Life Sciences®(Caris), the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize healthcare, announced today that the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center has joined the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance™ (POA). The POA is a growing network of leading cancer centers across the globe that collaborate to advance precision oncology and biomarker-driven research. POA members work together to establish and optimize standards of care for molecular testing through innovative research focused on predictive and prognostic markers that improve the clinical outcomes for cancer patients.
UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge
The UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge is a community movement to raise awareness and funds for critical cancer research at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Every participant-raised dollar directly funds pilot studies and early phase clinical trials that aim to develop new insights into cancer prevention, treatment and cures — to save lives
Big data, Big goals: Biostatistician, Min Zhang, bolsters precision public health at UCI
UCI Public Health welcomed Min Zhang, MD, PhD, at the start of 2023 when she was appointed as a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics as well as the biostatistics shared resources director for the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Psychological and emotional distress among childhood cancer survivors influencing risky lifestyle behaviors
Life after cancer for many survivors entails following a care plan to stay healthy – both physically and emotionally. But for young adult survivors of childhood cancer, their care plan can be more complex as they navigate adulthood and the risks of developing other health issues over their lifespan. The reported prevalence of cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) ranges between 10% and 40% among childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors. CRCI afflicts survivors with emotional and social dysfunction and this can negatively impact their employment, education and independent living.
Two faculty members awarded pilot funding for new projects to confront extremism through community, thriving and wellness
In recognition of their evidence-based research strategies to enhance best practices for community engagement and foster improvements in the aftermath of COVID-19, the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence has awarded pilot funding to Sora Park Tanjasiri, DrPH, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and Alana LeBrón, PhD, an assistant professor of health, society, and behavior.
UC Irvine chemistry professors develop method for early cancer detection
The Irvine start-up PhageTech Inc. — founded in 2014 by Weiss and Reginald Penner, also a professor of chemistry at UCI — applies bacteriophage engineered to recognize cancer-associated proteins.
UCI researchers harness the power of mathematical modeling to understand the effectiveness of aspirin on colorectal cancer prevention
Aspirin can significantly reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer, and this protection can be the result of changed evolutionary processes of cells within patients, according to mathematical models produced by UCI researchers and partners. Results from the study were published in eLife Sciences.
‘A window into the body’
The so-called “diagnostic fluid of the future,” saliva is loaded with DNA, enzymes, hormones, immune system markers and other substances that make it a minimally invasive alternative biospecimen to blood for a dizzying array of medical, nonmedical and even commercial uses. However, expertise is required to decipher biomarkers, many clinicians still do not collect saliva samples, and “spit science” research can literally be all over the map. That’s where UCI’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research comes in. Co-directed by Jenna Riis, assistant professor of psychological science, and Michael Hoyt, a clinical and health psychologist and associate professor of population health and disease prevention, the IISBR conducts salivary bioscience research and educates, trains and consults researchers, physicians, caregivers, veterinarians, psychologists and other professionals on collecting and analyzing spit samples.
UCI-led study finds psychological therapy reduces biobehavioral impact of testicular cancer
Psychological therapy reduces the adverse biobehavioral effects of testicular cancer in young adult survivors, according to a pilot study led by the University of California, Irvine. Biobehavior is the interaction of biological processes and behavior. Researchers’ findings, published in the American Journal of Men’s Health, show that Goal-focused Emotion-regulation Therapy, developed specifically to enhance the quality of life for these patients, reduced the stress hormone cortisol and the proinflammatory cell protein cytokine IL-1ra that triggers fatigue, pain and other side effects.
Study finds cancer-related follow-up care is underutilized among young adult survivors of childhood cancer
Treatments for childhood cancers have been increasingly successful, with a greater than 80 percent 5-year survival rate. However, there are numerous, lifelong risks that appear in years following treatment. Thus, life-long surveillance is needed to prevent and reduce the severity of treatment-related late effects. Unfortunately, as survivors age, and their risk for late effects increases, engagement in survivorship care decreases.
Behavioral Scientist Awarded NCI Grant to Study Disparities in Long-term Follow-up Care Among Cancer Survivors
Joel Milam, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, at the UCI Program in Public Health, was recently awarded an R01 project grant from the National Cancer Institute. The project, titled: “Individual, cultural, and area-based factors associated with survivorship care among Asian American childhood cancer survivors,” is a collaborative project with Kimberly Miller, MPH, PhD, with the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
New UCI-led research reveals the circadian clock influences cell growth, metabolism and tumor progression
In a new University of California, Irvine-led study, researchers define how the circadian clock influences cell growth, metabolism and tumor progression. Their research also reveals how disruption of the circadian clock impacts genome stability and mutations that can further drive critical tumor promoting pathways in the intestine.
New UCI-led study reveals computation-guided approach to suppressing cancer tumor growth
A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, San Diego, reveals a new computation-guided approach to identify small molecules that can restore aspects of wild-type p53 tumor suppression function to mutated p53, which play an important role in many human cancers. This approach was successful both in vitro and in vivo. This strategy can increase chemical diversity of p53 corrector molecules for clinical development.
Courageous Corazones
A pilot intervention is helping Latinx families care for their children with cancer. Corazones Unidos Por Una Vida (Hearts United for Life) is a prototype program of support for Latinx families with children who are undergoing cancer treatment at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. It is designed and driven by Associate Professor Michelle Fortier, a clinical psychologist and pediatric pain expert at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing and UCI Center on Stress and Health. Fortier is also a CFCCC member.
Feb. 8, 2023 Bulletin
Events, Announcements & Funding Opportunities
March 6, 2023 Bulletin
Chao Lectureship Community Lecture: "Conquering COVID-19 and Cancer"
The lecture series is named in honor of the Chao family patriarch, the late H. H. Chao and provides a forum to share and discuss topics related to cancer research, prevention and treatment. Each year the lectureship hosts an internationally renowned leader in cancer research, who delivers a technical colloquium in addition to a public lecture. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
March 22, 2023 Bulletin
April 5, 2023 Bulletin