the 2024 innovation lectures
Outsmarting Cancer
On January 17, 2024, scientists pushing the boundaries of cancer research gathered for an evening devoted to the solving challenges of cancer, a diagnosis received by nearly 2 million people a year in the United States. The event marked the first public lecture since the institute joined the University of Florida in 2022, and is expected to be the first of many such lectures.
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The Guest Moderator
our moderator
Nancy G. Brinker
Founder of Susan G. Komen and the Promise Fund of Florida, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, U.S. Ambassador and Lifetime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Panelists
RNA Medicines for Cancer Genes
Matthew D. Disney, Ph.D.
Dr. Disney has invented a search-and-destroy system that eliminates some specific cancer-causing RNA found in a majority of cancer cells. Disney is Institute Professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute.
hormone driven cancers
Patrick Griffin, Ph.D.
Dr. Griffin studies hormone-sensing proteins that direct the growth and spread of hard-to-treat cancers such as triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and castration-resistant prostate cancer. He is the institute's scientific director and a professor of molecular medicine.
mapping cancer's ecosystem
Michalina Janiszewska, Ph.D.
Dr. Janiszewska employs advanced microscopy and computational biology to learn how genetic changes to the community of cells in and around a tumor may drive resistance to standard cancer treatments. Armed with this knowledge, it may be possible to select more effective treatments, personalized to the individual. Her work currently focuses on glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain cancer. Janiszewska is an assistant professor in the molecular medicine department.
new strategies to stop cancer in its tracks
Courtney Miller, Ph.D.
Dr. Miller studies the internal motors that cancer cells use to grow and travel. Her work has led to development of an experimental medication that disables cancer growth and metastasis in lab studies. Dr. Miller is the institute's director of academic affairs, and a professor of molecular medicine and neuroscience.
Understanding Cancer and the immune system
Matthew Pipkin, Ph.D.
The immune system is an excellent cancer fighter, but there’s still much to learn about it. Dr. Pipkin's lab investigates how T cells become specialized through the gene transcription process. Better understanding is critical to creating therapeutic T cells that kill cancer. Dr. Pipkin is an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute.
Cancer Research Updates From The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute
transformative research award
NIH Awards $4.1 Million for Unconventional Idea for Fighting Cancer
The proteasome resembles a paper shredder that chews up protein molecules. Its normal job in cells is to destroy proteins the cell no longer needs.Â
Triggering cell suicide
Scientists Reawaken Cancer’s Self-Destruct Program With RNA Degrading Strategy
Challenging cancer genes are neutralized by mobilizing the cell’s RNA recycling enzymes against them.
ribosomes and cancer
Cells’ Protein Factories Fix Damaged Goods
Defects in the machinery of ribosomes are found in all cancer cells. Understanding their repair systems advances with a new study.
Antibody drug conjugates
Cancer-Killing Natural Product added to Antibodies to Create a Precision System
A natural compound that kills cancer cells, tiancimycin, becomes payload for an antibody-drug conjugate, a method to deliver it only to cancer cells.
cancer microenvironment
Two Mutations Cooperate to Hide Brain Cancers from the Immune System, Study Finds
In Glioblastoma, cancer genes EGFR and CDK4 work together to thwart immune attack, researchers find.
Drug resistance
Estrogen-Sensitive Breast Cancer Cells Hit With Dual Compound Approach
The compounds work together to interfere with estrogen activity in cancer cells.
