Bumper Crop of Young Investigators to Train
Last week, we reviewed applications and selected the 2016 participants for our Young Investigator Training Course (YITC) to be held in Seattle from Sept. 26-28. It’s a notable group. It’s the first all-female cohort to be selected in 13 years. It’s also one of the most accomplished pool of early career investigators we’ve had in years, all bringing great training, a proven commitment to SWOG, and exciting clinical trial ideas to the table.
As you know from these Front Line posts, my leadership team this year made improvements to the process for nominating and selecting YITC participants. It’s important that process is robust and smooth. The YITC is SWOG’s premier education opportunity for early career investigators, and remains a major way that new trials and new leaders get into our network.
Executive officers, committee chairs, and senior investigators worked hard to advocate for good candidates and strong trial concepts, and to be sure people and projects and SWOG are a good fit. Their efforts paid off. Here is the YITC class for 2016 with their trial topics:
• Uma M. Borate, MD, MS, Oregon Health & Science University
Phase II Study of Brentuximab Vedotion in Systemic Mastocytosis and Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia
• Erin F. Cobain, MD, University of Michigan
PeRsistently Elevated CTCs in chemotherapy-refractory metastatic breast cancer treated with combination immune CHEcKpoint inhibition (PRE-CHEK)
• Kristen M. O'Dwyer, MD, University of Rochester Medical Center
Treatment Response Adapted Therapy for Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
• Emma C. Scott, MD, Oregon Health & Science University
A Phase II Study of Isatuximab (SAR650984) for Patients with Previously Treated AL Amyloidosis
• Virginia Sun, RN, PhD, City of Hope
A Personalized Dietary Intervention to Manage Bowel Dysfunction in Rectal Cancer Survivors
• Cecilia C.S. Yeung, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
AKR1C3 and POR expression for activation of PR- 104 in Relapsed/ Refractory T-ALL
It’s worth noting that the YITC was launched in 1998. Not quite 60 years, but since then, 81 young cancer researchers have graduated from the YITC. This has resulted in the activation of more than 40 trials. And many trainees have become leaders within the group. This is a great return on a modest investment, and it’s why we support this program each year.
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