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Aug 01, 2023
$2 million gift from the Nicholas R. Conway, DO, and Betty Sha Family names infusion center terrace at UCI Health ― Irvine
UCI Health is pleased to announce a generous $2 million donation from the Nicholas R. Conway, DO, and Betty Sha Family, which will significantly contribute to the development of the $1.3 billion UCI Health – Irvine medical campus. In acknowledgment of this gift, the outdoor infusion center terrace at the new Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building will proudly carry the name of the Nicholas R. Conway, DO, and 888 Betty L. Sha Foundation Infusion Terrace.
Jul 31, 2023
UC Irvine receives record $653 million in research funding for fiscal 2022-23
The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center received $106 million for basic, translational and clinical studies in fiscal 2022-23, 28 percent more than last year.
Jul 26, 2023
UCI Health Breast Center earns national accreditation
The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality standards program administered by the American College of Surgeons, has granted accredited status to the UCI Health Breast Center. The UCI Health Breast Center is part of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive center based in Orange County. This NCI designation reflects the deep longstanding commitment the university and health system make to advancing scientific understanding of the causes and prevention of cancer and translational and clinical research to improve the standards of cancer care.
Michelle Strombeck Manager, Communications and Public Relations 312-498-8208 mstrombe@hs.uci.edu
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UCI has been awarded a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the augmentation of brain-derived neurotropic factor to alleviate cancer-related cognitive impairment. This multi-PI project translates findings from past human studies conducted by Alexandre Chan, Pharm.D., M.P.H., principal investigator and chair and professor of clinical pharmacy practice, into the laboratory, with the goal of evaluating the feasibility of enhancing the BDNF protein as a potential strategy for mitigating chemobrain. The study is being conducted in partnership with Munjal Acharya, M.S., Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology.
Two Orange County universities have partnered to explore cancer disparities in the area, and for Castañón and University of California, Irvine’s Dr. Shawn Griffin, the program has provided a chance to conduct research they feel passionately about.
Michelle Helm’s lung cancer journey began as a frustrating, frightening ride through multiple misdiagnoses. Then she found UCI Health specialists who wouldn’t accept the worst-case scenario other doctors had painted for her. Today, the Mission Viejo parenting coach says she is thriving because she was referred to the lung cancer specialists at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she benefited from their arsenal of advanced therapies and surgical expertise.
Sep 08, 2023
Why the rare skin cancer that killed Jimmy Buffett may become more common
Climate change may directly or indirectly contribute to rising skin cancer cases. … In the 1970s, [UCI] scientists started noticing holes in the ozone layer. Further investigation showed that artificial compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons were destroying ozone. … While Merkel cell carcinoma is more aggressive than melanoma, it is curable if caught early and treated successfully, says Ling Gao, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of California, Irvine. “For all skin cancers, early diagnosis greatly improves outcomes.”
Jul 25, 2023
Just Published NUTRIENT Trial: Mediterranean Diet Intervention in MPNs
Dr. Fleischman, an MPN specialist at University of California, Irvine, is a leader in connecting the fresh foods Mediterranean diet with symptom improvement in people living with essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and myelofibrosis (MF). In this latest study, she and her collaborators examined how effective education would be in changing MPN patients’ eating habits to align with the Mediterranean diet. Dr. Fleischman et al reported results of the NUTRIENT trial, based on work funded in part by MPNRF through a 2017-2019 Challenge award. The research established that a Mediterranean diet intervention is in fact feasible in the MPN patient population and can improve symptom burden.