NCCN Foundation® Announces 2013 Young Investigator Awards

The NCCN Foundation® has awarded the third series of Young Investigator Awards to four young investigators from NCCN Member Institutions. The awards provide grants of $150,000 over a two-year period for research initiatives focused on assessing and improving outcomes in cancer care.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The NCCN Foundation®, which through private philanthropy advances the mission of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer, has awarded grants to four young investigators from NCCN Member Institutions. These awardees, who are dedicated to advancing and discovering new treatments for cancer, represent the third series of the NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards, a program initiated in 2011. Each of the funded research initiatives will focus on assessing or improving outcomes in cancer care. The grants will provide $150,000 in funding over a two-year period, beginning in September 2013.

“The NCCN Foundation is proud to announce the most recent recipients of the Young Investigator Awards. Initiated in 2011, these awards assist in and encourage the development of the next generation of cancer researchers,” said Patricia J. Goldsmith, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NCCN. “In turn, with their success, the awardees support the NCCN mission to advance the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care for people with cancer.”

Following are the 2013 NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards recipients:

• Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Dr. Bilimoria’s research initiative is titled, “Sentinel lymph node positivity rates for breast cancer and melanoma: an opportunity to improve quality and enhance the NCCN Guidelines.”
• Yiping He, PhD, Assistant Professor, Duke Cancer Institute. Dr. He’s research initiative is titled, “Genetic approaches for analyzing the role of aberrant MLL2 in tumorigenesis.”
• Phillip Pierorazio, MD, Chief Resident, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Pierorazio’s research initiative is titled, “A prospective registry of delayed intervention and surveillance for small renal masses (DISSRM).”
• Sue Yom, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Yom’s research initiative is titled, “Acceptability and effectiveness of a novel internet-based decision-making aid based on the NCCN non-small cell lung cancer patient guidelines.”

The awardees responded to a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the NCCN Foundation to the NCCN Member Institutions. All submissions were reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of oncology experts, and the awardees were selected based on several key components, including scientific merit and study design. The studies will be managed and overseen by the NCCN Oncology Research Program (ORP).

Since their inception in 2011, NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards have been received by 13 individuals. In March 2013, NCCN featured abstracts highlighting the work of the inaugural recipients of the NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards at the NCCN General Poster Session during the NCCN 18th Annual Conference: Advancing the Standard of Cancer Care™. The 2011 recipients’ research contributed to a number of critical areas in oncology including, but not limited to, physician attitudes and use of NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), adherence to NCCN Guidelines® related to diffuse large b-cell lymphoma, geriatric assessment in ovarian and colorectal cancers, and survivorship care planning and distress in leukemia and breast cancer survivors. The outcomes of this research, which was funded through the NCCN Foundation, illuminate the impact of the NCCN Guidelines in improving the lives of people with cancer.

For more information about the NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards and to learn about previous awardees, please visit NCCN.org.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 23 of the world’s leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

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