The GI Research Foundation is proud to announce the CA CURE initiative, made possible through a historic, multi-million dollar contribution generously gifted by an anonymous donor.
The Committee to AdvanCe the Understanding of High-Risk GI CancErs (CA CURE) is comprised of experts in GI cancers to help identify areas of immediate impact for improved diagnostics, targeted therapeutics and novel approaches to cancer monitoring, prevention, immunotherapies and personalized vaccines. The Committee will be responsible for soliciting and reviewing applications for funding especially for projects that are not otherwise fundable by traditional mechanisms. Excitingly, CA CURE’s first grant was just awarded to Elicio Therapeutics for their cutting-edge cancer vaccine-related project. More information will be shared on this innovative research soon.
Chaired by Sonia Kupfer, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic, and Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic at UChicago Medicine, CA CURE is guided by impressive scientific expertise:
- Christine Drogan, MS, CGC – Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Comprehensive Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic, Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic, University of Chicago Medicine
- Pashtoon Kasi, MD – Director, Colon Cancer Research and Precision Medicine Research for Liquid Biopsies, Weill Cornell Medicine
- Scott Kopetz, MD – Co-Leader, Colorectal Cancer Moonshot, MD Anderson
- Chris Mason, PhD – Professor, Integrative Function Genomics, Clinical Genetics and Synthetic Biology, Weill Cornell Medicine
- David T. Rubin, MD – GIRF Lead Scientific Advisor, Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine, Chief, Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Co-Director, Digestive Diseases Center, University of Chicago Medicine
- Kiran Turaga, MD – Division Chief of Surgical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine
- Chris Weber, MD – Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Medicine
These committee members join layperson stakeholders and GIRF board members in facilitating expedited review and approval of high-risk, high-reward proposals with potential for immediate impact on GI cancer patients.
Stay tuned for more exciting news about funded science in future newsletters and on social media.
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