New Penn Center Will Investigate the Physics of Cancer
A five-year, $10 million grant award from the National Institutes of Health is supporting the creation of the Physical Sciences Oncology Center at Penn (PSOC@Penn). It is one of four centers the National Cancer Institute is funding across the country as part of its Physical Sciences in Oncology Network. The network was started in 2009 in recognition of the fact that perspectives rooted in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering can all contribute to cancer research.
Members of the Penn team will make fundamental physical measurements as they clarify mechanisms of how tumors become palpably distinct masses and also how such physical changes contribute to tumor growth. Their research will focus on liver cancer. More than 30,000 people in the United States are diagnosed each year with liver cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, and the five-year survival rate is less than 15 percent. New methods to improve early detection and treatment of the disease are needed.
The Penn team is drawn from three University schools: the Perelman School of Medicine; the School of Engineering and Applied Science; and the School of Arts and Sciences. Heading the center is Dennis E. Discher, Ph.D., the Robert D. Bent Professor in SEAS. According to Discher, “A key challenge facing cancer research in this age of precision medicine is to deeply comprehend the molecular causes and consequences of tissue changes that are often first measured by clinicians in physical exams of tumors.”
Investigators representing the Perelman School are Rebecca G. Wells, M.D. (Medicine), Paul A. Janmey, Ph.D. (Physiology), Emma E. Furth, M.D. (Pathology), David E. Kaplan, M.D., MSc. ’07, (Gastroenterology & Immunology), Roger A. Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. (Cancer Biology), and Mark A. Lemmon, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Biophysics).
“Many tumors are first detected as hard lumps of stiff tissue,” Wells said. “In some cases such as breast cancer, increased tissue stiffness appears to be a risk factor for cancer. Our research will focus on liver cancer because current clinical evidence suggests that liver stiffening may work in the same way, as a high-risk factor for developing that disease.”
The Center also aims to understand how the shape of the cell’s nucleus changes as part of a response to altered microenvironments. Whether and why such processes might also lead to damage of the DNA contained therein will be important to quantify, because DNA damage is a likely cause of mutations that drive cancer.
Lancaster General Health Joins Penn Medicine
Effective August 1, Lancaster General Health, Lancaster County’s largest health system, officially became part of Penn Medicine. The state and federal agencies concluded their review of the proposed deal. The combination joins one of the nation’s top academic medical centers with a health system that is nationally ranked for its clinical quality. Both are among the top five systems in Pennsylvania, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
“Joining the University of Pennsylvania Health System strengthens our region’s access to cost-effective, high-quality care, will improve our communities’ health and well-being, and will strengthen our complementary teaching and research missions,” said Thomas E. Beeman, then serving as the president and CEO of LG Health.
Penn Medicine will provide for the health care needs of the LG Health community for as long as the system is affiliated with Penn Medicine. LG Health’s assets will continue to be used to advance the health and well-being of the LG Health community. Two of LGH’s 14 trustees will be selected by Penn Medicine and three LG Health trustees will join Penn Medicine’s board.
Abramson Cancer Center Shines
The Abramson Cancer Center has received an “exceptional” rating from the National Cancer Institute during an extensive peer-review process for its five-year competitive research support grant. It is the highest rating possible for an NCI cancer center. The rating also signifies that Abramson’s status as a “comprehensive” center has been renewed. The designation means that the center demonstrates an added depth and breadth of multidisciplinary laboratory, clinical, and population-based research, as well as substantial transdisciplinary research that bridges these scientific areas.
“This is an exceptional cancer center and, importantly, one with a ‘soul’ and unmatched esprit de corps,” said Chi Van Dang, M.D., Ph.D., director of the center.
Since the last competitive renewal process in 2010, faculty physicians and researchers have amassed more than 5,000 cancer-related publications, and the center’s research initiatives have been buoyed by an increase in peer-reviewed funding from the NCI.
Statistics of Note
Two researchers from the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics were part of a team honored with the 2015 Outstanding Statistical Application Award from the American Statistical Association. The Penn authors of the recognized paper are Wensheng Guo, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics, and Anne R. Cappola, M.D. ’94, Sc.M., associate professor of endocrinology in the Department of Medicine and an associate scholar at the center. Their paper, titled “Modeling Bivariate Longitudinal Hormone Profiles by Hierarchical State Space Models,” was published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association. Guo and Cappola are the first faculty members from the Perelman School to receive this award.
Guo’s research interest is broad, including functional data analysis, time series analysis, and joint modeling of longitudinal and time-to-event data. Cappola’s research focuses on the hormonal alterations that occur with aging and the clinical impact of these changes.
Mary D. Sammel, Sc.D., a professor of professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at Penn, was also recently elected as a Fellow of the America Statistical Association. She was recognized for her outstanding contributions in introducing and establishing statistical science as a core aspect of the field of women’s health and reproduction research; for achieving a relevant and important body of work in women’s health; for outstanding mentoring of women and junior researchers; and for major contributions in the development of statistical methodology.
Grading High
In the annual U.S. News & World Report survey of hospitals, the combined enterprise of HUP and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center was ranked as the 9th best hospital in the United States and #1 in the region. According to the magazine’s editors, this distinction “signals both rare breadth and rare depth of medical excellence.” Pennsylvania Hospital and Chester County Hospital were part of a four-way tie for #8 in the Philadelphia metro area. In all, Penn Medicine hospitals were recognized for their excellence in 13 specialties. This year, U.S. News analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals in the nation.
In addition, the University of Pennsylvania Health System has been ranked as one of the top academic medical centers by the Ambulatory Care Quality and Accountability Ranking of the University Health System Consortium. In this new ranking by the consortium, Penn’s system ranked #3 out of 46 academic medical centers that took part in the inaugural study. The new award honors AMCs that demonstrated excellence in five areas: access to care, capacity management and throughput, quality and efficiency, continuum of care, and equity.
Pennsylvania Hospital’s Emergency Department was one of four hospitals to receive this year’s Lantern Award. Only 58 of the more than 5,000 EDs in the country hold that distinction. The award recognizes emergency departments that exemplify exceptional practice and innovative performance in the core areas of leadership, practice, education, advocacy, and research.
Looking Eastward
Penn Medicine and Virtua Health have formed a strategic alliance to jointly develop and coordinate programs to benefit both organizations across their respective mission areas. Particular emphasis will be on coordinating patient management and delivering high-quality and cost-effective patient-care services. Both organizations will continue to function independently but expect to form expanded partnerships on certain initiatives, particularly in strengthening clinical programs in Virtua’s local market and improving access to tertiary and quaternary care provided by Penn Medicine.
Located in Southern New Jersey, Virtua is an integrated delivery system comprising three acute-care hospital, surgical centers, group-practice physician offices, urgent-care clinics, and rehabilitation centers. It has received Leapfrog “A” grades for all hospitals and a Press Ganey Award for Patient Satisfaction. Virtua is also listed on Information Week’s 500 list of technology innovators, manages an accountable care organization, and has earned #1 Place to Work recognition.
At the start, the patient-care delivery areas for the strategic alliance will focus on cancer and neuroscience programs. Penn Medicine’s radiation oncology patient quality and safety program will be followed in all Virtua hospital sites. The organizations will collaborate for the surgical and medical management of neurological diseases. Beginning in January, Penn Medicine surgeons will perform surgery at Virtua’s hospitals. These programs will be branded jointly in the Southern New Jersey market.
"Wellcome” Support for Launching Biomedical Research Careers
Five researchers early in their careers have received funding for five years from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) for their excellence in biomedical research. Three are in the Perelman School: Rajan Jain, M.D., an instructor in the Department of Medicine; Matthew Stern Kayser, M.D. ’07, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and neuroscience; and Rahul Manu Kohli, M.D., an assistant professor of infectious diseases in the Department of Medicine.
Jain studies the mechanisms of genome organization and how that influences cardiac cell development and maturation in order to better understand heart disease. Specifically, he studies the protein network that surrounds the nucleus and how that is emerging as an important scaffold to organize large pieces of DNA that affect gene expression. Jain will receive $700,000 over five years.
Kayser studies the mechanisms by which sleep, a critical and highly conserved biological process, controls brain development. He aims to examine whether abnormal sleep early in life increases susceptibility to neurodevelopmental disorders and how sleep itself might be harnessed as a novel therapeutic modality. Kayser will receive $700,000.
Kohli studies new approaches to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There is some evidence that when bacteria experience stress, they can mutate at higher rates, which would facilitate their escape from antibiotics. Kohli plans to evaluate this possibility by generating bacteria strains to directly tune stress responses and determine how evolutionary dynamics are altered when the bacteria are challenged with antibiotics. Kohli will receive $500,000.
The other Penn researchers are Ann M. Hermundstad, Ph.D. a postdoctoral researcher in physics and astronomy in the School of Arts and Science, and Igor E. Brodsky, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Transitions
Thomas E. Beeman, Ph.D., formerly president and CEO of Lancaster General Health, was named the chief operating officer of regional operations for Penn’s Health System.
Jan Bergen succeeded him in both roles.
In his new role, Beeman will work closely with senior leaders of UPHS to guide its regional market and ambulatory strategy; facilitate system-wide integration across entities, starting with LG Health; and coordinate relationships with important partners across market regions. He will oversee LG Health and The Chester County Hospital and work closely with Garry Scheib, the chief operating officer for Philadelphia operations. Beeman has more than 35 years of experience in health care and served as HUP’s senior vice president for hospital operations and executive director in the late 1990s.
Bergen has more than 30 years of experience in health care, including management of hospitals, ambulatory centers, and rehabilitation centers. In her 15 years as a leader at LG Health, she has been executive vice president and COO, as well as chief mission officer.
Frederic D. Bushman, Ph.D., a widely recognized leader in the fields of microbiology and gene therapy, was appointed chair of the Department of Microbiology. He holds a secondary appointment as a professor of pediatrics. Bushman was instrumental in the formation of the Microbiome Program of Penn and Children’s Hospital and serves as the program’s co-director. His early pioneering work in understanding how HIV reproduces by inserting its genetic material into the DNA of a host cell led to crucial advances in anti- retroviral therapy and gene-transfer technology. Today, many research projects in his lab utilize deep-sequencing methods to investigate genetic mechanisms and DNA integration in human gene therapy. A fellow of both the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Bushman received a Pioneer Award from Human Gene Therapy in 2014.
James M. Metz, M.D., G.M.E. ’00, the Morton M. Kligerman Professor of Radiation Oncology, was named chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Metz, who has served as interim chair since November 2014, has held a series of administrative positions in the department, beginning in 2005 when he was appointed director of clinical operations. Metz led the development of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center and helped to establish it as one of the premier such centers in the world. He has been a pioneer in the use of online cancer survivorship plans and web-based cancer education and information. Metz was also the longtime editor-in-chief of OncoLink, the nationally recognized online source for cancer information, and now serves as its executive director.
Honors & Awards
Peter C. Adamson, M.D., G.M.E. ’87, professor of pediatrics and pharmacology and leading scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, had been appointed by President Obama to the National Cancer Advisory Board. He is the only pediatric oncologist currently on the board. In this role, Adamson will advise the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the director of the National Cancer Institute, and the president on a wide range of issues relating to the national cancer program. A recognized leader in drug development to combat pediatric cancer, Adamson has served as chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research. From 1999 to 2014, he was chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics as CHOP.
Rinad Beidas, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and a senior fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, was honored by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. The President’s New Researcher Award recognizes her robust body of early research on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices – those practices proven to be most successful through clinical expertise, scientific research, and patient preference – in the treatment of youth with psychiatric disorders in community settings. Beidas also has clinical expertise in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of child and adolescent anxiety.
Steven Douglas, M.D., professor of pediatrics in the Perelman School and chief of immunology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, received the 2015 Paradigm Builder Lectureship award, presented by the International Society for NeuroVirology. He is recognized for his seminal and continuous contributions to the field of leukocyte biology, with emphasis on monocyte/macrophage biology in HIV infection.
David Fajgenbaum, M.D. ’13, M.B.A. ’15, a research assistant professor in the Department of Medicine’s hematology/oncology division, has received the RARE Champion of Hope award for science. The honor recognizes his efforts in advancing meaningful research for Castleman’s disease as a researcher and for co-founding and serving as executive director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, a global network of physicians, researchers, patients, and loved ones dedicated to accelerating research and treatment for the disease. The award was presented by Global Genes, a patient advocacy organization for the patients of rare diseases. The disease involves the body’s immune system becoming activated and releasing inflammatory proteins that can shut down the liver, kidneys, and bone marrow.
Fajgenbaum himself was diagnosed with idiopathic multicentric Castleman’s disease (iMCD) in 2010. He and his associates published a new model of pathogenesis for iMCD in Blood. The network is now focused on identifying what triggers the immune activation, which immune cells are activated, and what existing or novel therapies may be effective for patients that do not respond to the only therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
For his efforts, Fajgenbaum was also recognized in Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list for health care. He has also recently accepted a position as associate director of patient impact for the Penn Orphan Disease Center.
Edna Foa, Ph.D., received the 2015 Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award from the American Psychological Association. A professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, Foa was recognized for her contribution to the theory and practice of psychology, specifically for the research and treatment of anxiety disorders. She is widely recognized for her major contributions to the study of psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Foa developed prolonged exposure therapy, a treatment for PTSD in which patients revisit the traumatic event in order to achieve long-term healing. She has also contributed to the understanding of the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety disorders, with a focus on obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder.
Emily Kramer-Golinkoff, M.B.E. ’13, manager of strategic initiatives and operations at the Penn Medicine Social Media and Health Innovation Lab, was one of nine “Champions of Change” honored at the White House in July for making a difference in health treatment. A 30-year-old with advanced-stage cystic fibrosis, she cofounded Emily’s Entourage to raise funds and awareness for new treatments and a cure for the rare form of her disease. Since its founding in 2011, Emily’s Entourage has raised more than $1.5 million and led worldwide efforts to fast-track research on rare “nonsense” cystic fibrosis mutations.
Caryn Lerman, Ph.D., a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, received the Outstanding Investigator Award of the National Cancer Institute, a new grant bestowed upon influential cancer researchers to provide long-term support for cancer research that has a beneficial impact. Lerman, whose research focuses on the interface between neuroscience and cancer prevention, will receive $6.5 million over a seven-year period. She is senior director of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center and co-director of the Penn Medicine Neuroscience Center. Tobacco use and obesity account for more than 45 percent of preventable cancer deaths, yet the cancer-risk behaviors are resistant to long-term change despite widespread knowledge of the risks. The new grant will support the premise of Lerman’s research: that it is possible to enhance the brain’s capacity to override behavioral habits that contribute to obesity and cigarette smoking – and ultimately to cancer.
Harvey L. Nisenbaum, M.D., associate professor of radiology in the Perelman School and chair of the Department of Medical Imaging at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, was elected president of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. The Federation has more than 50,000 members and involves more than 50 countries. One important mission is to help bring sustainable ultrasound programs to all the underserved areas of the world to help improve their health care.
At the graduation ceremonies of the Perelman School of Medicine in May, Nisenbaum was presented with a Special Dean’s Award. The honor recognizes outstanding achievements in medical education by the Perelman School’s faculty members, particularly in the development of new, innovative educational programs. With the support of the school’s leaders and a generous grant, Nisenbaum was able to help develop and implement the school’s ultrasound curriculum. He believes the appropriate use of ultrasound has become a necessary skill for all future physicians.
Nancy A. Speck, Ph.D., a professor of cell and developmental biology, was honored with the 2015 Henry M. Stratton Medal for Basic Science for her seminal contributions in the area of hematology research. The award is presented by the American Society of Hematology. Speck, who is associate director of Penn’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, co-leads the hematological malignancies program at the Abramson Cancer Center and is an investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Institute. She is recognized for her important contributions to the understanding of developmental hematopoiesis as well as the translation of those findings into the study of leukemia.
John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D., G.M.E. ’80, received the Award for Meritorious Contributions to Neuropathology from the American Association of Neuropathologists. He is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and serves as director of the Institute on Aging. He was recognized for his long career as a leader and pioneer in the research and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The association described his work as a steady contribution “that spans many diseases, disciplines, genes, and domains.” Trojanowski’s aptitude for collaboration was also cited, and his most significant collaborator has been his wife, Virginia Lee, Ph.D., the John H. Ware 3rd Professor in Alzheimer’s Research. They are among the most widely cited researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to pursuing their own research, they founded Penn’s Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.
Kevin Volpp, M.D. ’98, Ph.D. ’98, professor of medicine and health-care management in the Perelman School and the Wharton School, was honored with the Association for Clinical and Translational Science’s 2015 Distinguished Investigator Award for Career Achievement. He also received the 2025 Matilda White Riley Award from the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. Volpp, whose research focuses on the impact of financial and organizational incentives on health outcomes, is the founding director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics and vice chair of health policy in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
Jeremy Wilusz, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics, was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Rita Allen Foundation. He will receive $100,000 a year for five years as a 2015 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar. Wilusz studies circular RNAs, a recently discovered version of ribonucleic acid. He and his team seek to describe and understand how circular RNAs are generated and regulated and how they function. They also investigate whether circular RNAs are misregulated in various diseases, such as cancer, and if they can be therapeutically targeted against the diseases in which they may play a role.