Seattle Children’s Research Institute

Dr. Jay Sarthy is a physician and a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute whose research focuses on epigenetics of pediatric cancers and identifying less toxic pediatric cancer treatments. Dr. Sarthy and his research team has found that a DNA-binding histone protein that is normally expressed in sperm cells is accidentally turned on in many pediatric and young adult cancers, and in particular lymphomas, and that this protein is very important for cancer cell growth. Proteins that are very important for normal development can be inappropriately hijacked to promote diseases including cancer. They believe that this histone protein changes the way the cell decodes its own DNA, allowing cancer cells to grow and spread more quickly. Dr. Sarthy is studying how this testis histone exerts its effects and has identified a new treatment that can kill cancer cells expressing this protein more efficiently and safely. Related to this work, mutations in histones have been found in up to 40% of bladder and endometrial carcinomas as well as many other common cancers. They are investigating whether these mutant histones cause cancer in the same manner that the testis histone does, and whether these cancers are also sensitive to drugs that target protein-DNA interactions more efficiently and safely. Abnormal histones are increasingly being recognized as major contributors to a variety of cancers, and their work has the potential to impact the lives of thousands of residents in Washington State each year, and in particular spare children the long-term effects of harsh chemotherapies.

Seattle Children’s Research Institute

Dr. Molly Taylor is a pediatric oncologist and a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute who specializes in translational biobehavioral research. Physical and mental health are closely connected, and this is especially true for young persons with cancer. Teenage cancer patients have high rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, which have in turn been associated with cancer relapse and death rates. The immune and nervous systems are important links between the mind and the body, and psychological stress can activate the fight-or-flight response, which then creates a specific genetic pattern in immune cells. This pattern can cause inflammation and may be responsible for some poor outcomes in cancer. Dr. Taylor’s research will use wearable technology, genomic analysis, and surveys to explore whether the nervous system activation and molecular response pattern associates with altered immune cell function and with mental health symptoms. With an understanding of the biology of how an adolescent’s mental state affects the cancer in their body, novel targeted psychosocial and pharmacologic therapies aimed at the stress response can be developed. This new type of ‘precision supportive care’ will improve both psychological and cancer outcomes in these vulnerable young patients.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Dr. Christina Termini is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Her research goal is to define how adult blood stem cells recover from radiation, chemotherapy, and transplant. Radiation and chemotherapy are used to treat more than 50% of all cancer patients, which kills cancer cells but also depletes the patient’s blood and immune systems. This puts patients at increased risk of developing life-threatening complications, such as infection or hemorrhage. Dr. Termini’s research aims to define the molecular processes that control blood and immune system recovery after radiation, chemotherapy, and transplant to avoid these dangerous risks. Additionally, many cancer patients require stem cell transplants to replenish their blood and immune system, but if unsuccessful, patients require another transplant. And for some populations (e.g., Black, Latinx), the probability of finding a donor is substantially lower than White patients which creates a barrier to treatment and contributes to cancer disparities. Her research aims to identify new ways to improve stem cell transplant efficiency to maximize the output of the rare donor cells and prevent the need for multiple transplants, thereby improving patient outcomes overall and reducing cancer disparities.

Image by Robert Hood/Fred Hutch

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Dr. Burcu Darst is a genetic epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her research is focused on identifying and understanding the genetic risk factors of prostate cancer in diverse populations. Her research program will examine: the genetic risk factors of prostate cancer to identify novel risk factors and ascertain the clinical and biological impact of known risk factors; the metabolic mechanisms through which genetic risk factors impact aggressive prostate cancer behavior; and the clinical utility and impact of including genetic information into prostate cancer screening. Dr. Darst will investigate prostate cancer genetic risk factors and the clinical utility to improve increased prostate cancer risk identification, leading to improved screening guidelines. Dr. Darst’s research will be carried out in collaboration with other Washington-based initiatives and has high potential to reduce mortality and health disparities within diverse populations in Washington through substantial prostate cancer risk identification improvement.

Image by Robert Hood/Fred Hutch

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Dr. Vida Henderson is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Henderson’s research is focused on preventive health services utilization and cancer prevention and early detection. Her primary goal is to improve gender and racial cancer inequities by exploring associations between social determinants of health and behavioral outcomes across multiple socioecological levels. Grounded in social and health behavior theories and her previous research, Dr. Henderson's program aims to address racial disparities in breast cancer diagnosis, mortality, and survivorship by examining the factors that affect the use of genetic screening services for cancer and identifying the key points for interventions. Her research has high potential for impact because of the clinical translation opportunities, and moreover, the findings could be extended to other cancers and historically marginalized populations.

Image by Robert Hood/Fred Hutch

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Dr. Megan Shen is a psychologist and Associate Professor in the Clinic Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Shen’s research aims to improve engagement in advance care planning among advanced cancer patients, with a particular focus on reducing health disparities in end-of-life care. Her research program seeks to develop and validate interventions for population groups in Washington to improve advance care planning engagement and result in enhanced quality end-of-life care for Latino patients in rural areas, patients with low health literacy, and Native American patients. Dr. Shen will conduct formative research to develop and test culturally appropriate and targeted interventions for each of these groups. She will develop and test communication-based interventions that are specified to meet the preferences and needs of each group. Dr. Shen’s research has a high potential to improve outcomes for hard to reach and underserved populations in a low-cost way.

University of Washington

Dr. Devin Schweppe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington. His research is focused on developing, improving, and generating diverse and representative datasets and databases to thoroughly understand the complex biological landscape of cancer cells with and without clinical interventions. His research program aims to elucidate the many factors that lead to different responses to small-molecule therapies in lung cancer. Multiplexed proteomics will be used to quantify thousands of human proteins from diverse cellular backgrounds in response to clinical therapeutics, mapping the dynamic proteome response. The protein-centric map of the cell states, due to environmental, genetic, and clinical factors, will then be used to investigate how they relate to different clinical outcomes. Dr. Schweppe’s studies have a strong potential to identify how cell state dynamics regulate the cellular response of tumors to cancer therapeutics. His approach is anticipated to significantly advance the field towards personalized medicine and treatment.

University of Washington

Dr. Yaw Nyame will be joining the Department of Urology faculty at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2020. The Distinguished Researchers grant will support Dr. Nyame’s novel research trajectory to address the health system and biological mechanisms underlying health disparities in prostate cancer (PCa) care, particularly for African-American men. Dr. Nyame and his research team will investigate the ways in which prostate cancer patients access and integrate clinical information into their decision making, the socio-economic and healthcare factors driving patient decisions regarding treatment of prostate cancer, the impact of screenings on patient outcomes, and improving the delivery of care and therapy for patients. Through a multidisciplinary approach, his research advances disparities research in the cancer field and the equitable delivery of healthcare in Washington.