Accolades for Trailblazers in Cancer Research

Lynne Maquat, Ph.D., founding director of the Center for RNA Biology at the University of Rochester, received the 2023 Gruber Genetics Prize for her discovery of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay or NMD in humans. Maquat investigates the many complex roles that RNA plays in sickness and in health. “Her work will influence how we treat a range of inherited diseases, as well as many types of cancer,” says Steve Dewhurst, Ph.D., vice dean for research at the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The Gruber International Prize Program, administered by Yale University, honors researchers from around the world whose groundbreaking science leads to fundamental shifts in knowledge and benefits mankind.

Supriya Mohile, M.D., M.S., who has an international reputation in geriatric oncology, was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the oldest medical honor societies. ASCI receives hundreds of nominations annually and chooses less than 100 physician-scientists for membership, all of whom are under age 50 with outstanding scholarly achievement. ASCI election also recognizes a commitment to mentor others.

Mohile’s pioneering efforts in geriatric oncology began several years ago, as she pursued the need for more data about the oldest cancer patients, who comprise the majority of cases but had been historically ineligible for clinical trials. That led to studies that established a new, standard way to assess an older cancer patient’s overall health — including cognition and memory, heart disease, diabetes, and other common co-illnesses, medication usage, living arrangements, and support systems.

M. Patricia Rivera, M.D., a noted lung cancer specialist who serves in many leadership roles at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Wilmot Cancer Institute, is the new president of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). She is the first Latino woman to lead the large, international organization — and also the first faculty member from the UR to do so.

Wilmot researchers have discovered the molecule responsible for steering an army of immune cells toward tumors, setting the stage for scientists to improve upon groundbreaking immunotherapy for cancer.

The daughter of Cuban immigrants who grew up in Brooklyn, Rivera came to Rochester in April of 2022. She was recruited from the University of North Carolina for her expertise in lung cancer, and serves as chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at URMC. She also filled a newly created position at Wilmot as Associate Director for Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The National Cancer Institute requires cancer centers to document and track efforts to improve disparities in the oncology workforce, and Rivera is charged with leading that program.

Paula Vertino, Ph.D., an accomplished cancer scientist and Wilmot executive, took a step forward in her career by being named senior associate dean for Basic Research at URMC. She will continue to play an integral role at Wilmot and its ongoing bid for NCI designation, and will also work across the Medical Center to enhance team science, build connections between all laboratory and clinical researchers, and enrich the educational opportunities for graduate students.

Treatments that activate the immune system to help destroy tumors, particularly CAR T-Cell therapy, are extending the lives of patients. But sometimes the therapy randomly migrates to places it shouldn’t go, tucking into the lungs or other noncancerous tissue and causing toxic side effects. That’s where the work of Minsoo Kim, Ph.D., and his team becomes significant. If they can ensure that more cancer-fighting immune cells will hit their targets, “we can create powerful new treatments,” says Kim, a professor and co-leader of Wilmot’s Cancer Microenvironment research program. His latest study was recently published in the high-profile journal, Nature Immunology.