Fiscal Year 2024 Awardees
Research is a cornerstone of MD Anderson’s quest to end cancer. The Excellence in Science program is the online showcase for the Wall of Science, our quarterly program for honoring outstanding primary research selected from among publications in top journals by MD Anderson’s world-renowned scientists.
Quarter 1 (September–November 2023)
John Heymach
John V. Heymach, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
David Bruton, Jr. Chair
Xiaoyin Lu and Pawel Mazur
Xiaoyin Lu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Experimental Radiation Oncology
Pawel K. Mazur, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Experimental Radiation Oncology
Krishnan Mahadevan, Raghu Kalluri and Anirban Maitra
Krishnan Mahadevan, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Cancer Biology
Raghu Kalluri, M.D., Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Cancer Biology
Frederick F. Becker Distinguished University Chair
Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S.
Professor
Pathology and Translational Molecular Pathology
Marcelo Negrao
Marcelo Negrao, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
Intracranial Efficacy of Adagrasib in Patients From the KRYSTAL-1 Trial With KRASG12C-Mutated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Who Have Untreated CNS Metastases
Marcelo Negrao and Ferdinandos Skoulidis
Marcelo Negrao, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
Ferdinandos Skoulidis, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
Arlene Siefker-Radtke
Arlene Siefker-Radtke, M.D.
Professor
Genitourinary Medical Oncology
Kaile Wang and Nick Navin
Archival single-cell genomics reveals persistent subclones during DCIS progression
Kaile Wang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Systems Biology
Nicholas Navin, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Systems Biology
The Grady F. Saunders, Ph.D. Distinguished Professorship for Molecular Biology
Michael Wang
Michael Wang, M.D., M.S.
Professor
Lymphoma-Myeloma
Puddin Clarke Endowed Professor
Pirtobrutinib in Covalent Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Pretreated Mantle-Cell Lymphoma
Quarter 2 (December 2023–February 2024)
Vidhi Chandra and Florencia McAllister
Vidhi Chandra, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Genetics
Florencia McAllister, M.D.
Associate Professor
Genetics & GI Medical Oncology
Lauren Colbert and Ann Klopp
Lauren Colbert, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology
Ann Klopp, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology
Eyal Gottlieb
Serine synthesis via reversed SHMT2 activity drives glycine depletion and acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in MASLD
Eyal Gottlieb, Ph.D.
Professor
Cancer Biology
Xue Hao
Xue Hao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Experimental Therapeutics
TXNRD1 drives the innate immune response in senescent cells with implications for age-associated inflammation
John Heymach
Biomarker-directed targeted therapy plus durvalumab in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a phase 2 umbrella trial
John V. Heymach, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology
David Bruton, Jr. Chair
Shubham Pant
Shubham Pant, M.D., M.B.B.S.
Professor
Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology
Lymph-node-targeted, mKRAS-specific amphiphile vaccine in pancreatic and colorectal cancer: the phase 1 AMPLIFY-201 trial
Katy Rezvani and David Marin
Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D.
Sally Cooper Murray Chair in Cancer Research
Chief, Section of Cell Therapy
Medical Director GMP and Cell Therapy Facility
Professor, Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy
David Marin, M.D.
Professor
Stem Cell Transplantation
Haoqiang Ying
Haoqiang Ying, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Molecular and Cellular Oncology
Modulation of the proteostasis network promotes tumor resistance to oncogenic KRAS inhibitors
Quarter 3 (March–May 2024)
Paul Cinciripini
Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure With Varenicline or Nicotine Replacement: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Behavioral Science
Margaret & Ben Love Chair in Clinical Cancer Care in honor of Dr. Charles A. LeMaistre
Director, Tobacco Treatment Program
Michael Green
Michael Green, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Lymphoma & Myeloma and Genomic Medicine
Vice Chair, Lymphoma Research
Laboratory Director, Lymphoma Tissue Bank
Director, Lymphoid Malignancies Biology Program
Simon Heeke, Lauren Byers and John Heymach
Lauren Byers, M.D.
Professor, Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology
Simon Heeke, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology
John Heymach, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology
Professor, Cancer Biology
David Bruton, Jr. Chair
Elias Jabbour
Elias Jabbour, M.D.
Professor, Leukemia
D.B. Lane Cancer Research Fund Distinguished Professorship in Leukemia Research
Ponatinib vs Imatinib in Frontline Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Zahraa Rahal, Linghua Wang and Humam Kadara
An atlas of epithelial cell states and plasticity in lung adenocarcinoma
Humam Kadara, Ph.D.
Professor, Translational Molecular Pathology and Head & Neck Surgery
Director, Lung Cancer Research Program
Zahraa Rahal, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Translational Molecular Pathology
Linghua Wang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Genomic Medicine
Associate Member, James P. Allison Institute
Co-Lead, Focus Area 2, Institute for Data Science in Oncology
Jordi Rodon
Jordi Rodón Ahnert, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Investigational Cancer Therapeutics and Genomic Medicine
Clinical Co-Director, Precision Oncology Decision Support Team
Associate Medical Director, Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Pemigatinib in previously treated solid tumors with activating FGFR1-FGFR3 alterations: phase 2 FIGHT-207 basket trial