Cancer Center Awards

The Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center Innovation Award was launched in 2019 to promote transdisciplinary teamwork within the center. This internal peer-reviewed funding mechanism is designed to promote pilot projects that solve cancer challenges in a team-based approach. The research strength of each application is determined by how well the science fits within the cancer center's strategic research programs with priority given to multi-PI research projects.

2023 Awards

Innovation:

• Mechanisms and Targeting of Lysosome Biogenesis in Tumor Persisten
  • Yulin Li, MD, PhD


• Exploring the tumor repressive activity of ERβ mRNA-based therapy in aggressive forms of breast cancer
  • Christoforos Thomas, PhD

• Phase II trial of an iNOS inhibitor plus tremelimumab and durvalumab in patients with metastatic or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Anaum Maqsood, MD


• Phase I Trial of 5-Fluoruracil (5FU)-based Therapy in Combination with Hydoxytyrosol (HT) in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
  • Maen Abdelrahim, MD, PhD, PharmB
    
    
• Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Novel, Blood Epigenetic Marker for Assessing Measurable Residual Disease in Patients with AML
  • Shilpan Shah, MBBS


• High dose RA TE brachytherapy prior to robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with selective adjuvant advanced androgen blockage for localized high-risk prostate cancer (NEOHDR-B)
  • Andrew M. Farach, MD

• Armored, affinity-tuned EpCAM CAR T cells for gastric cancer
  • Moonsoo M. Jin, PhD

2022 Awards

Innovation:

• Liver HCC Molecular Imaging Theranostics
  • Diego Martin, MD, PhD, FRCPC


• Deciphering a novel mechanism of myeloma tumorigenesis in African Americans with obesity
  • Jing Yang, PhD

• Combination Therapy Using ATRA and Carfilzomib to Treat Proteasome Inhibitor Refractory Multiple Myeloma
• Qing Yi, MD, PhD

2021 Innnovation Awards

• Cancer Immunoprevention with a Novel mRNA Vaccine
  • Ming You, PhD
  • Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD
  • Roman Sukhovershin, PhD (RNAcore)


• Combination Therapy with PSMA-CART and Anti-PD1 for Metastatic Prostate Cancer
  • Bin He, PhD
  • Brian Miles, MD


• Activating Retinoic Acid Receptors to Overcome Myeloma Drug Resistance
  • Qing Yi, MD, PhD
  • Sai Ravi Pingali, MD
  • Qiang Wang, PhD

2020 Innovation Awards

• LINE-1 Retroelement Expression and Lung Cancer Immune Evasion
  • Kenneth Ramos, PhD (TAMU)
  • Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD
  • Eric Bernicker, MD


• Nuclear Receptor 4A1 (NR4R1) Antagonists as Immunotherapy Mimics for Targeting PD-L1 in Colon Cancer
  • Maen Abdelrahim, MD
  • Stephen Safe, PhD (TAMU)


• Nano-immunotherapy Targeting Macrophages to Arrest Liver Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer
  • Aparna Kamat, MD
  • Biana Godin, PhD
  • Shreya Raghavan, PhD (TAMU)


• Exploration of Early-Stage Biomarkers of Urothelial Cell Transformation Induced by Chronic Arsenic Exposure
  • Raj Satkunasivam, MD
  • Taeyun Roh, PhD (TAMU)


• Multi-Omics Profiling Of Squamous Cell Lung Cancer
  • Randa El-Zein, PhD

2019 Innovation Awards

• Identification of Epigenetic and Immune Biomarker Changes During the Progression of Non-Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma
• Nestor Esnaola, MD., MPH
• Kaifu Chen, PhD
• Ping-Ying Pan, PhD
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD


• Harnessing Immune-checkpoint Therapy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
• Ping-Yan Pan, PhD
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD


• Characterization of Breast Microbiome in Triple-negative Breast Cancer and Prediction of Immunotherapy Response
• Roberto Rosato, PhD
• Polly Niravath, MD