Research Research Programs Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Systems, Pathways & Targets Cancer Control Clinical Research Stern Center for Cancer Clinical Trials and Research Disease-Oriented Teams Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee Research Resources Membership Guidelines Shared Resources Acknowledgement of Grant and Shared Resources Anti-Cancer Challenge Research Anti-Cancer Challenge Pilot Awards Anti-Cancer Challenge Past Awardees Team Funds Centers & Institutes Space Management and Requests Funding Opportunities A1 Bridge Funding Cancer Health Disparity Research and Interventional Studies Anti-Cancer Challenge Funded Research The Anti-Cancer Challenge advances the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center's research mission by funding pilot projects that help investigators generate crucial preliminary data for high impact research. Home Research Anti-Cancer Challenge Funded Research What is the impact of your research? Since our first Anti-Cancer Challenge Pilot Project in 2017, we have started to witness the impact of innovative research in the effort to reduce the cancer burden in our community. The following videos are from our first cohort in 2016 of the Principal Investigators reflecting on the progress of their research. 2022 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area Quantifying Transarterial Embolization Outcome Using Optical Molecular Imaging Abi-Jaoudeh, Nadine Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Elucidating the Role of Gut Microbiome in Tamoxifen Pharmacokinetics Bess, Elizabeth Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Innate Immune Agonist Codrugs for Cancer Immunotherapy Burke, Thomas Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development New Strategies to Overcome Therapeutic Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer Edinger, Aimee Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Flexible Fiber-Based Laser Micro-Biopsy Platform for Minimally-Invasive Tissue Collection and Processing During Cancer Surgery Eng, Oliver Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Multiomic Study of Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) Heterogeneity at the Single Cell Level Gao, Ling Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Quadruple Targeting Fabs (QT-Fab) for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment: Bispecific Fabs Conjugated to Two Anti-Cancer Therapeutics Weiss, Gregory Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development “Image-guided Precision Radiotherapy” Team Science Seed Grant Xiang, Liangzhong Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development The Role of Vitamin D on Mast Cell Activation and Neuroinflammation in Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Yun, Hyun Don Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Exploiting USP7 Inhibitors as a Therapeutic Approach in Osteosarcoma Benavente, Claudia Systems, Pathways & Targets A Phase II Study of Adding Pitavastatin to Venetoclax-Based Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Brem, Elizabeth Systems, Pathways & Targets Phase I Clinical Trial Using Donor-derived BK Virus-specific T-cells (BK-VSTs) for Patients Who Develop Hemorrhagic Cystitis after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (PIVOT) Ciurea, Stefan Systems, Pathways & Targets Neuroblastoma with Resistance to Chemotherapy: A Therapeutic Strategy Based on Mitochondrial-Mediated Ferroptosis Kenney, M. Crisitina Systems, Pathways & Targets A Phase 1b Feasibility Trial of Response Adapted Neoadjuvant Therapy in Gastric Cancer (RANT-GC) Dayyani, Farshid Systems, Pathways & Targets Connecting Mevalonate Pathway with Oncogene Transcriptional Networks in Leukemia Fruman, David Systems, Pathways & Targets Cell Therapy for Muscle Atrophy Following Irradiation in Rhabdomyosarcoma Hicks, Michael Systems, Pathways & Targets Glucocorticoid Pre-Treatment of Mouse And Human Donor Grafts for Prevention of GraftVersus-Host Disease While Maintaining Graft-Versus-Leukemia Response in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Inlay, Matthew Systems, Pathways & Targets Evaluating BRCA-Mediated Ovarian Tumorigenesis and Metastasis Through Spatial Mapping and RNA-Sequencing at the Single-Cell Level Kessenbrock, Kai Systems, Pathways & Targets Using Single Cell Transcriptomics to Elucidate Fundamental Mechanisms of Cancer Surveillance Lander, Arthur Systems, Pathways & Targets Targeting Breast Cancer Metastasis with Natural Killer Cells Lawson, Devon Systems, Pathways & Targets A Pilot Study to Assess The Diversity Of Gut Microbiome in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in Correlation to Treatment Effects and Adverse Effects Nagasaka, Misako Systems, Pathways & Targets Is There a Link Between Prostate Cancer and HPV? Cozen, Wendy Cancer Control Translating Goal-Focused Emotion Regulation Therapy to Young Adults Across Cancer Diagnoses Hoyt, Michael Cancer Control Impact of Personality on Adherence to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Jafari, Mahtab Cancer Control Stress and Coping in Asian Americans with Advanced/Metastatic Cancer Kim, Jacqueline Cancer Control Optimizing the Impact of Social Media to Reduce Unmet Needs for Young Adult Cancer Survivors Ritt-Olson, Anamara Cancer Control Interventions to Improve Lung Cancer Screening Sadigh, Gelareh Cancer Control New Machine Learning Methods to Identify Metabolomic and Genomic Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Zhang, Min Cancer Control 2021 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area A feasibility study for application of AI to the study of integrative oncology Nelson, Edward Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Vascularized microtumor as a drug testing platform for peritoneal carcinomatosis Senthil, Maheswari Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Quantification of irreversible electroporation outcomes based on longitudinal monitoring of hybrid functional/structural variations of HCC microenvironment Zhang, Zhuoli Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development An optimal dose finding study of N-Acetylcysteine in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms Fleischman, Angela Systems, Pathways & Targets Identifying approaches to effectively target metastatic pancreatic cancer Halbrook, Christopher Systems, Pathways & Targets Effects of dietary methionine restriction on splicing in tumors Kaiser, Peter Systems, Pathways & Targets Elucidating epigenetic and metabolic mechanisms underlying sex differences in cancer development Kong, Mei Systems, Pathways & Targets Identifying early diagnosis markers and therapeutic targets of kidney tumors in young TSC patients Lee, Gina Systems, Pathways & Targets Defining genomic instability in early onset colorectal cancer in US-born Hispanics Pannunzio, Nick Systems, Pathways & Targets Functional characterization of the Hippo pathway in cancer Wang, Wenqi Systems, Pathways & Targets Electroacupuncture for the management of cancer-related cognitive impairment in adolescent and young adults - a pilot clinical trial Chan, Alexandre Cancer Control Understanding and addressing cancer survivorship needs for Filipino-Americans in Los Angeles and Orange counties Tanjasiri, Sora Park Cancer Control 2020 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area Phase II trial of sequential systemic therapy plus intraperitoneal paclitaxel in gastric/GEJ cancer peritoneal carcinomatosis Senthil, Maheswari Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Radiogenomics-guided personalized treatment for hormonal receptor positive metastatic breast cancer and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy residual disease Su, Lydia Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines to effectively mobilize anti-tumor T cell immunity in non-small cell lung cancer Hughes, Christopher Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Pathophysiological role of complement C1q in glioma Acharya, Munjal Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Real-time dosimetric measurements for FLASH radiotherapy with acoutstic emission Xiang, Liangzhong Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Targeted therapy in addition to salvage chemotherapy for patients with primary refractory AML as a bridge to allogeneic stell cell transplantation Jeyakumar, Deepa Systems, Pathways & Targets Characterizing the bioenergetic shift in triple negative breast cancer metastasis Lawson, Devon Systems, Pathways & Targets Assessment of clonal hematopoiesis as a predisposing factor for severe COVID-10 infection Fleischman, Angela Systems, Pathways & Targets Active in vivo metabolites of p53 reactivation small molecules Jang, Cholsoon Systems, Pathways & Targets The role of alternative pre-mRNA processing in colon cancer Hertel, Klemens Systems, Pathways & Targets Use of levocarnitine for asparaginase hepatotoxicity for acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients Huynh, Van Systems, Pathways & Targets Mechanisms of local Treg expansion in melanoma following PD-1 blockade Marangoni, Francesco Systems, Pathways & Targets Human lymphoma organoids as a screening platform for drug discovery and precision medicine in Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Wagar, Lisa Systems, Pathways & Targets A pilot study of immunotherapy combined with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for patients with advanced or metastatic sarcoma Harris, Jeremy Cancer Control SHORT: UCI 20-09: SHOrt Course Radiation and TASOX (TAS102 plus Oxaliplatin) Chemotherapy in Operable Rectal Cancer, a Phase II Trial Zell, Jason Cancer Control Overcoming barriers to health-information seeking behavior and potential for technology for childhood cancer survivors (CCS) Hayes, Gillian Cancer Control 2019 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area Pilot study for evaluating the multiphoton microscopy potential for non-invasive, early diagnosis of melanoma Kelly, Kristen Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Developing the Next Generation Antibody Drug Conjugates Weiss, Gregory Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Melanoma Screening and Staging with a Fiber Optical Device Hedde, Per Niklas Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Novel Inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) that target scaffold protein-mediated interactions Bardwell, Lee Systems, Pathways & Targets Restoring p53 activity in human cancer Qiao, Feng Systems, Pathways & Targets Dissecting MAP4K kinases in cancer development and therapy Wang, Wenqi Systems, Pathways & Targets Phase 2 Study of cabozantinib combined with ipilimumab/nivolumab and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are not candidates for curative intent treatment Dayyani, Farshid Systems, Pathways & Targets A Randomized Clinical Trial to Assess the Impact of a Remotely Administered Mediterranean Diet Intervention on Symptom Burden and Inflammatory Cytokines in Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Fleischman, Angela Systems, Pathways & Targets Clock-dependent inflammatory and metabolic alterations in colorectal cancer Masri, Selma Systems, Pathways & Targets Neoadjuvant combination therapy with Cabozantinib and Nivolumab in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder who are Cisplatin-eligible and are candidates for radical cystectomy Mar, Nataliya Systems, Pathways & Targets Feasibility of a Biobehavioral Intervention to Reduce Adverse Outcomes in Young Adult Hispanic Men with Testicular Cancer Hoyt, Michael Cancer Control The burgeoning cannabis industry and availability of cheap tobacco in Orange County, CA Timberlake, David Cancer Control Pilot study of the safety and feasibility of immediate postoperative chemotherapy in patients with metastatic invasive colonic adenocarcinoma Jafari, Mehraneh Dorna Cancer Control Factors Associated with Helicobacter Pylori Screening and Treatment among High-Risk Asians in Orange County: Mixed-Methods Research to Examine Stomach Cancer Disparity Lee, Sunmin Cancer Control Goal Directed Intervention for Adolescent Cancer Survivors Fortier, Michelle Cancer Control 2018 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area Macropinocytosis drives anabolism and drug resistance in breast cancer Edinger, Aimee Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Single-cell transcriptome analysis of human Merkel Cell Carcinoma heterogeneity by single-cell RNA sequencing Gao, Ling Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development True multi-modal image-guided intervention system Nouizi, Farouk Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Advancing Oro-Pharyngeal Cancer Screening and Diagnosis to Overcome Disparities and Improve Control and Outcomes Wilder-Smith, Petra Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Experimental Therapeutics for Primary Pediatric Brain Tumors Plant, Ashley Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Role of Phosphatase Methylation in One-Carbon Metabolism and Cancer Kaiser, Peter Systems, Pathways & Targets A Phase 1b study of TAS102 in combination with irinotecan in patients with advanced gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma Dayyani, Farshid Systems, Pathways & Targets A phase I study of pitavastatin in combination with venetoclax for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) Brem, Elizabeth Systems, Pathways & Targets UHRF1 as a therapeutic target for osteosarcoma Benavente, Claudia Systems, Pathways & Targets Molecular mechanism of APOBEC3B-Mediated Mutation Shower in Ovarian Cancer Buisson, Remi Systems, Pathways & Targets Control of B cell survival & transformation by the eIF4F translation initiation complex Fruman, David Systems, Pathways & Targets Improving Depression Screening in a Multi-ethnic Cancer Population Wenzel, Lari Cancer Control DNA methylation markers for exposures to BPA and related compounds and breast cancer risk Park, Hannah Lui Cancer Control The relationship between the gut microbiome and the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with gynecologic malignancy Tewari, Krishnansu Cancer Control A mechanistic study of age-dependent gender difference in melanoma risk Liu-Smith, Feng Cancer Control Development and Testing of a Mobile Application for Young Adults with Cancer Hoyt, Michael Cancer Control 2017 Anti-Cancer Challenge Awardees Project Title Investigator Program Area RhoJ Inhibitors- A Novel Treatment for Early Stage Melanoma Ganesan, Anand Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Pilot study of mirtazapine for the dual treatment of depression and temozolomide-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in newly-diagnosed glioma patients Bota, Daniela Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Identifying the anti-neoplastic targets of SH-BC-893 Edinger, Aimee Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Immunotherapeutic’s targeting altered N-glycosylation in cancer Demetriou, Michael Biotechnology, Imaging & Drug Development Glutamine supplementation deters melanoma tumor growth via epigenetic reprogramming Kong, Mei Systems, Pathways & Targets Repurposing statins to enhance efficacy of BH3 mimetics in multiple myeloma Fruman, David Systems, Pathways & Targets Circadian Metabolic Deregulation of Colorectal Cancer Masri, Selma Systems, Pathways & Targets Feasibility Study of a Mediterranean Diet Intervention to Reduce Inflammatory Cytokines in Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Fleischman, Angela Systems, Pathways & Targets Pilot Study of the Safety and Feasibility of Immediate Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Invasive Colonic Adenocarcinoma Pigazzi, Alessio Systems, Pathways & Targets Analysis of Hippo signaling in breast cancer development Wang, Wenqi Systems, Pathways & Targets Modulation of the Immune Response Against Metastatic Melanoma Using CD47 Blocking Antibodies Boiko, Alexander Systems, Pathways & Targets Feasibility of a Family Focused Intergenerational Social Media Intervention for Orange County Vietnamese Families to Increase Preventive Cancer Screenings Hopfer, Suellen Cancer Control