UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Announced as 2022 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees
Dr. Claudia Benavente, PhD, and Dr. Mahtab Jafari, PharmD, of the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, are 2022 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge awardees!
Dr. Benavente’s project, “Exploiting USP7 Inhibitors as a Therapeutic Approach In Osteosarcoma,” is focused on “establish[ing] the feasibility of exploiting novel developed compounds to prevent osteosarcoma metastasis,” and “work[ing] with Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) to develop a patient-derived xenograft tumor bank for osteosarcoma, which could be used to run future preclinical trials for novel compounds.”
“These pilot funds will help strengthen the collaborative efforts between UCI and CHOC and help us advance the therapeutic options in children afflicted with this type of bone cancer,” stated Dr. Benavente.
Dr. Benavente was also selected as an Anti-Cancer Challenge awardee in 2018 for “UHRF1 as a Therapeutic Target for Osteosarcoma.”
Dr. Jafari was awarded funding for her project, “Impact of Personality on Adherence to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.”
“The personality and disposition of a patient may be a key factor that determines whether or not they follow the prescribed medication plan that has been laid out by their healthcare provider,” explained Dr. Jafari.
This study aims to explore the link between the personalities of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and “adherence to oral therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as imatinib.” The funding will allow researchers “to perform targeted interviews by using several validated surveys to gather data on patients with CML in Orange County.” The results of this study will be used to inform strategies for improving adherence to oral therapy through the work of health coaches and other healthcare providers.
This year, twenty-six other projects were provided with funding — amounting to 100 research plans made possible during the past five years because of the UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge Seed Grants. Over $3 million has been raised since 2017. In 2022, donations totaled more than $1 million.
The 2023 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge will be held on Saturday, October 7th at UCI Aldrich Park. Students, faculty, staff, and anyone in the UCI community can ride a bike, run, or walk as an event participant (virtual challenges are available for those who cannot attend in person). Entrance fees and donations directly contribute to cancer research and benefit the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Orange County.