WVU researchers receive Cancer Institute grants

Five WVU researchers have received funding from the WVU Cancer Institute for their cancer-related pilot projects. Wei Du, MD, PhD, Sijin Wen, PhD, and Traci LeMasters, PhD, were each awarded an American Cancer Society-Institutional Research Grant. The individual grants were part of an American Cancer Society award to WVU in 2016 to support junior faculty members engaged in research at the Cancer Institute. Additionally, Mark Olfert, PhD, was awarded a grant from the Phillip R. Dino Innovative Research Fund and Paul Lockman, PhD, was awarded a grant from the Let the Journey Begin Fund.

Award recipients and their respective grants and projects:

Wei Du (School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
$30,000 (ACS-IRG)
Targeting stem cell polarity in cell and gene therapy

Sijin Wen (School of Public Health Department of Biostatistics)
$30,000 (ACS-IRG)
Bayesian Adaptive Design Evaluating Molecular Aberrations and Targeted Agents in Cancer Patients

Traci LeMasters (School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Systems & Policy)
$26, 935 (ACS-IRG)
The Impact of Quality of Patient-Provider Communication on Smoking Cessation and Health Service Utilization among Older Survivors of Smoking Related Cancers

Mark Olfert (WVU School of Medicine Department of Human Performance-Exercise Physiology)
$25,000 (Phillip R. Dino Innovative Research Fund PPG)
Acute Vascular Effects of E-cigarette and Aerosolized Nicotine

Paul Lockman (School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
$50,000 (Let the Journey Begin Research Fund PPG)
Radiation effects on the blood-tumor barrier in brain metastases of lung cancer