2017 BCAN Young Investigator Awardees

The Stephen Hale Gushée Young Investigator Award will support the research of Tracy Rose, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, for her research, “Defining the Immune Response to Chemotherapy and Chemo-Immunotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.” While newly approved immunotherapy treatments are showing great promise for many bladder cancer patients, the complicated immune system changes seen with standard chemotherapy and chemotherapy in combination with immunotherapy have not been studied in bladder cancer. Dr. Rose’s work will assist the development and optimization of chemo-immunotherapy combinations in bladder cancer to ultimately improve the cure rate of this deadly disease.

The JPB Foundation Young Investigator Award will further the research of Byron Lee, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor at the  Cleveland Clinic Foundation, on “Ascertaining the Role of Mutations in COMPASS-like Complex Members in the Development of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.” Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) accounts for 5-10% of all urothelial carcinomas, and very few treatment options exist, especially for those patients who have disease recurrence after kidney removal and inadequate kidney function for cisplatin-based chemotherapy.  Dr. Lee will be investigating how mutations affect disease progression and response to therapy, with the goal of deepening the understanding of how UTUC arises and also to provide novel drug targets for testing.