The Preclinical Modeling and Therapeutics Core was an umbrella core comprising three separate cores: In Vivo Therapeutics (IVT), Cellular Response Technologies (CRT), and Translational Research Core (TRC). These three cores now stand on their own on the cancer center’s website under Shared Facilities.
February 2026 news briefs
PMTC cores stand on their own
100 Voices of Hope funds 3 hunches
Each year, 100 Voices of Hope donors fund bold “hunches” from IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center experts — fresh ideas to better treat, diagnose and prevent metastatic breast cancer. This year, they raised more than $300,000 to advance three selected projects:
- Catching Metastatic Breast Cancer by the Tail: Zebrafish Lead the Way; PI: Yann Gibert, PhD
- Double Defense: Combining Radiation and DNase-I to Halt Metastasis; PI: Sirimuvva Tadepalli, PhD
- Hitting the Master Switch: Targeting IL1RAP in Aggressive Breast Tumors; PI: Pravin Kaumaya, PhD
Cancer center deputy director, hem/onc division director starts Aug. 1
Trisha Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, will be the deputy director of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and division director for the IU School of Medicine Division of Hematology/Oncology. She will officially assume the role on Aug. 1.
Mobile lung screening unit wins IBJ award
The mobile lung screening unit — a collaborative partnership between IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and IU Health — was recognized at the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Excellence in Health Care Awards on Feb. 10 with a Community Achievement Award, for expanding access to lung cancer screenings across Indiana. Since launching in March 2025, the mobile lung program has performed nearly 700 scans.
The awards program also honored two cancer center researchers: Jay Hess, MD, who received the Career Achievement Award for leadership, and D. Wade Clapp, MD, who received the Innovations in Health Care Award.
Congratulations to all those honored at this year's IBJ Excellence in Health Care Awards.
2025 ACS-IRG pilot grants
IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center has pilot project funding available to assist new investigators who hold the rank of assistant professor, research assistant professor, or assistant scientist, but are without an active national competitive research grant, regardless of the topic.
These funds are from the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG). This grant supports beginning investigators to enable them to initiate their independent research programs.
The ACS review committee chose three projects by cancer center members to fund. The 2025 ACS-IRG awardees were:
- Wen Zhang, PhD (EDT); Project: Mirror-Image Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles: A Platform for Precision Cancer Therapeutic Delivery
- Yuan Liu, PhD (CPC); Project: Mapping Context-Specific E3–Target Landscapes to Enable Rational Targeted Protein Degrader Design
- Sirimuvva Tadepalli, PhD (CBM); Project: Radiation-Driven Nano-Hitchhikers to Reprogram Antigen Fate during TNBC Radiotherapy
Upcoming events
Register to attend the Feb. 24 Confident Conversations community event
“Confident Conversations: Media, Technology, and Cancer Care Choices” is 6-7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at the Madam Walker Legacy Center, 617 Indiana Ave., Indianapolis. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
The free event brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, students, community leaders and media voices to explore how cancer is discussed, portrayed, and understood and how those narratives influence patient decision-making, access to care, and self-advocacy.
Co-hosted by IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, IU Indianapolis Student Affairs, IU Research, and the IU School of Medicine Student National Medical Association, the evening will include a spoken word performance by Monòn Voice, community resource tables, and heavy appetizers and refreshments.
Indiana Cancer Consortium annual conference is April 22
The Indiana Cancer Consortium annual conference is Wednesday, April 22, at the Crowne Plaza Indy Airport hotel. The conference theme is “Cancer Efforts Across the Spectrum. View the tentative agenda. Poster submissions are open until March 6.
Call for Cancer Research Day abstracts
Cancer Research Day, the cancer center’s signature research event, will be held Thursday, May 7. Registration is now open. The deadline to submit an abstract is 5 p.m. Monday, March 9.
NCCN Notes
Join the NCCN member portal
As a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, cancer center members and staff have access to the NCCN Member Institution Portal and Toolkit.
These online resources provide information on the NCCN services exclusive to member institutions and opportunities to participate in a variety of NCCN initiatives. A free account can be created using your institution email address at NCCN.org/register.
When logged in to an account, the member portal can be accessed via NCCN.org/memberportal. The portal includes: the Member Institution Toolkit (research opportunities, links to resources, and information on education events); discount codes for NCCN events and programs; and reports detailing IU’s representatives to NCCN Guidelines Panels and Committees.
If you experience issues with accessing this information, please contact usersupport@nccn.org.
Staff news
Candace Gwaltney, associate director of communications, was chosen to serve as vice chair of the Cancer Marketing and Communications Association (CMCA). In this leadership role, she will serve as vice chair from July 2026 to June 2028, chair the organization from July 2028 to June 2030, and then chair emeritus. Gwaltney has served on the CMCA Steering Committee since 2022, having been elected twice by her peers nationwide.
CMCA is the premier professional organization focused solely on cancer marketing and communications. It collaborates with the National Cancer Institute, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, and other partners dedicated to advancing cancer research — providing members with the knowledge, networks, data and learning opportunities needed to make a lasting impact.
Trainee news
Ali Ajrouch, MD, was interviewed about findings from a recent publication in the article “Integrating breast and lung cancer screening could identify LC earlier.” The study was published in the journal Cancer Medicine.
Member headlines and highlights
Ronald C. Wek, PhD (CBM), has been named a 2026 fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for his many contributions to advance the molecular life sciences. Read more.
Mark Kelley, PhD (EDT), received the 2025 Faculty Mentorship Award from the IU School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program. Kelley has served as a mentor to Eyram Kpenu since summer 2021. Kpenu nominated Kelley for this award in recognition of his guidance and commitment to trainee development.
