Dr. Alexandre Chan and Dr. Thomas Martínez, of the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, have been awarded 2023 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge research grants!
Each year, entrance fees and donations raised through the UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge directly contribute to cancer research and benefit the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Orange County. The 2023 event resulted in over $1 million raised.
Dr. Chan’s project, “Repurposing Riluzole for Augmenting Brain-Derived Neuropathic Factor (BDNF) Levels and Cognitive Function in Breast Cancer Patients Experiencing Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment: An Interventional Pilot Clinical Trial,” aims to evaluate a drug that could address impaired cognition among breast cancer survivors. Dr. Ritesh Parajuli (Division of Hematology Oncology, Department of Medicine, UCI School of Medicine) is a co-investigator on this project.
“I am very honored to receive funding for my early phase clinical trial,” said Dr. Chan. “The generous support reflects the need to continue conducting innovative studies to find effective ways to manage symptoms and complications among post-treatment cancer survivors. I also want to thank all the co-investigators who are working with my team on this study.”
Dr. Martínez received funding for his project, “Investigation of Microprotein Contributions to Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma,” which will explore how certain small proteins affect tumor growth and may eventually lead to the discovery of biomarkers that can help to diagnose pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in the early stages, as well as the development of therapies.
“We are grateful to the Anti-Cancer Challenge for supporting our research on pancreatic cancer,” Dr. Martínez shared. “We believe our efforts to identify microproteins that regulate pancreatic tumor growth will pave the way for developing new targeted therapies and biomarkers for early detection.”
Dr. Martínez is also a co-investigator on Dr. Gina Lee’s (Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, UCI School of Medicine) funded project, “Estrogen-Induced Oncogenic RNA Translation in Young Women’s Tumors.” This project will involve testing a new therapeutic drug that can potentially provide safer, more effective treatment for lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a syndrome that causes tumor growth in the kidneys and lungs of women who are of childbearing age.
Last year, Dr. Claudia Benavente and Dr. Mahtab Jafari were selected as 2022 UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge grant awardees for their projects, “Exploiting USP7 Inhibitors as a Therapeutic Approach In Osteosarcoma” and “Impact of Personality on Adherence to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia,” respectively.
This year’s UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2024. For more information and to participate, please visit anti-cancerchallenge.org.
