UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center

11/08/2025

Matthew Devall, PhD, has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute K22 Transition Career Development Award, which will support his work to pinpoint genetic factors in colorectal cancer and provide a launchpad for future research.

A School of Medicine at the University of Virginia researcher since 2018 and a Cancer Center member since 2023, this year Dr. Devall was appointed a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and is establishing his own lab.
Using tissue models made from healthy cells, gene editing and high-resolution imaging, Dr. Devall aims to confirm how variation within the healthy human genome can alter colorectal cancer risk. The grant will also support the training opportunities for Dr. Devall in artificial intelligence to aid this and future projects.
Dr. Devall hopes his work will identify telltale biomarkers of colorectal cancer and disease risk, as well as targets for future treatments.

Congratulations, Dr. Devall, and good luck!!🥳

To learn more about Dr. Devall and other UVA National Institutes of Health “K” awardees, click here: https://news.med.virginia.edu/research/three-school-of-medicine-researchers-receive-prestigious-nih-k-awards/

11/07/2025

Biomedical engineer Richard Price, PhD, who co-leads UVACCC’s cancer therapeutics research program and the UVA Focused Ultrasound Immuno-Oncology (FUSION) Center, was recently featured by media outlets including the BBC and The Independent, addressing focused ultrasound’s emergence as a promising new cancer therapy.

Ultrasound — sound waves beyond the range of human hearing traditionally used for imaging — is already being used to treat cancer and other serious illnesses noninvasively. School of Medicine at the University of Virginia researchers led its development for treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, and UVA Health was the first system in Virginia to offer histotripsy, a focused-ultrasound procedure for treating liver tumors.

Speaking to the BBC, and in an article he wrote for The Conversation US republished by The Independent and other outlets, Dr. Price described focused ultrasound’s ability to breach the physical barrier between the blood system and the brain, opening a potential pathway for drugs to treat brain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.

Targeting tumors with focused ultrasound has also been shown to trigger the immune system’s natural response to fight cancer, a response that can be boosted using immunotherapy drugs. UVA researchers are conducting multiple trials evaluating these combination treatments for breast cancer, glioblastoma – an aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer – and advanced melanoma.

“With further research and advancements, I am hopeful that focused ultrasound can become a viable treatment option for many devastating rare diseases,” Dr. Price wrote.

To read the BBC’s article about focused ultrasound, click here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251007-how-ultrasound-is-ushering-a-new-era-of-surgery-free-cancer-treatment

To read Dr. Price’s article for The Conversation, click here:
https://theconversation.com/focused-sound-energy-holds-promise-for-treating-cancer-alzheimers-and-other-diseases-262622

To learn more about Dr. Price’s research, click here:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/faculty/richard-j-price

To learn more about UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Immuno-Oncology Center (FUSION), click here:
https://med.virginia.edu/uva-focused-ultrasound-cancer-immunotherapy-center/

For information about clinical trials at UVACCC, click here:
https://uvahealth.com/services/cancer/cancer-clinical-trials

11/01/2025

Jeffrey Smith, PhD, and his lab team were recently awarded a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Institute on Aging - NIH to study how aging drives diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, neurodegenerative conditions, and cancer.

Using baker’s yeast cells as a model, Dr. Smith’s lab studies how DNA-repair mechanisms deteriorate over time, accelerating aging and increasing disease risk. In this new project, his team will investigate how yeast cells counter that instability – and look for similar processes in human cells – in the hope of identifying new opportunities for disease prevention and treatment.

Congratulations to Dr. Smith and his team! 🎉

To read more about Dr. Smith’s grant award, click here: https://news.med.virginia.edu/research/jeff-smith-phd-awarded-2-61-million-to-study-aging-and-its-impact-on-chronic-diseases/

To learn more about Dr. Smith’s research, click here: https://med.virginia.edu/bmg/research/smith-lab/

10/31/2025

Urologic oncologist Tracey Krupski, MD, MPH, was the UVA investigator who led the clinical trials that helped get the new gene therapy intravesical nadofaragene firadenovec, known as Adstiladrin, U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), offering hope for long-term management of the disease without invasive surgeries.

UVA Health was the first in Virginia to offer Adstiladrin, a medication carrying the therapeutic gene interferon alpha 2B (IFNa2b). IFNa2b instructs bladder cells to send signals triggering the immune system to block tumor growth and kill cancer cells. To date, the therapy has led to no tumor recurrence in 40 percent of clinical trial participants.

NMIBC is commonly treated using the immunotherapy Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) or intravesical chemotherapy, but if those treatments fail, surgical removal of the bladder is recommended. Adstiladrin allows patients to keep their bladder and provides a “more user-friendly option for patients who struggle with frequent hospital visits and want to avoid major surgeries,” Dr. Krupski said.

To learn more about Adstiladrin, click here: https://www.uvaphysicianresource.com/bladder-cancer-gene-therapy/

To learn more about Dr. Krupski’s research, click here: https://uvahealth.com/findadoctor/Tracey-Krupski-1659455715

10/30/2025

Live in southwest Virginia? The Southwest Virginia Cancer Advisory Board, led by UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, is seeking input from local cancer survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and others passionate about improving cancer outcomes.
📣 Find out how you can help: https://bit.ly/4oGm0P1

Live in southwest Virginia? The Southwest Virginia Cancer Advisory Board, led by UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, is seeking input from local cancer survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and others passionate about improving cancer outcomes.

📣 Find out how you can help: https://bit.ly/4oGm0P1

10/29/2025

👑💗 Meet Mackenzie — a UVA Breast Cancer patient turned fierce advocate. Through her journey, she’s inspiring others to take charge of their health by doing regular self-exams and speaking up for themselves. Her strength reminds us that early detection and self-advocacy can save lives!

Let’s carry the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month forward — awareness doesn’t end here. Today and every day, we honor all patients, survivors, and families whose courage continues to inspire hope.

10/29/2025

Meet Nurse Navigator Emily Herndon from the UVA Breast Care Center as she shares what a nurse navigator does and why her role is so meaningful. From guiding ...

10/29/2025

UVA Health improves lung cancer diagnosis and treatment with new technology >>>
https://www.29news.com/2025/10/28/uva-health-improves-lung-cancer-diagnosis-treatment-with-new-technology/

10/27/2025

Nyd de videoer og den musik, du holder af, upload originalt indhold, og del det hele med venner, familie og verden på YouTube.

10/27/2025

💖 Feel like yourself again — even during treatment.

Look Good Feel Better® Live Virtual Workshops are free, one-hour sessions designed just for people in cancer treatment. Learn tips and tricks to help you care for your skin, nails, and hair — and boost your confidence along the way.

Each workshop includes:
💄 Skin care and makeup techniques
🧣 Ways to manage hair loss using scarves, wigs, and turbans
👗 Styling and body image tips
💅 Nail care during treatment

You can join from home using your computer or phone — and you’ll even receive a free makeup kit when you register!

👉 Sign up at lookgoodfeelbetter.org/workshops using site code UV22903 or scan the QR code below.

Please register at least two weeks in advance so your kit can arrive on time.

10/25/2025

Indumathy Varadarajan, MD’s work as a physician-researcher is driven by the memory of her grandmother, who battled acute leukemia without access to a potentially lifesaving bone marrow transplant. Today, Dr. Varadarajan strives to bring research advances to patients, increase access to treatment, and help colleagues do the same. 🩺🩸

Through her collaboration with Binaytara, a non-profit foundation dedicated to increasing blood cancer education, awareness, and care accessibility, Dr. Varadarajan recently co-chaired the Virginia Hematology Conference alongside VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center's Keri Maher, DO, where she offered strategies for clinicians to bring new therapies to their patients faster.

Dr. Varadarajan is currently leading a clinical trial at UVA evaluating whether immune CAR T cells taken from healthy donors, then engineered to attack cancer, could both treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prevent relapse.

She hopes that research like hers “opens up a lot of doors for patients — regardless of background — and gives them an opportunity for curative therapy.”

To read Dr. Varadarajan’s story, click here: https://uvaconnect.com/hope-at-work-uva-health-hematologist-oncologists-personal-loss-drives-mission-to-expand-lifesaving-cancer-care/

To learn more about Dr. Varadarajan’s research, click here: https://uvahealth.com/findadoctor/Indumathy-Varadarajan-1073897864

For information about clinical trials at UVACCC, click here:
https://uvahealth.com/services/cancer/cancer-clinical-trials

10/24/2025

UVACCC and the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology invite you to “Thriving Beyond Cancer: Reclaiming Wellness, Intimacy, and Strength” on Wednesday, Nov. 19!

The symposium will feature leading research on issues facing female cancer survivors, with a focus on gynecologic cancers, menopause and sexual health. Presenters include keynote speaker Susan Modesitt, MD, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, JoAnn Pinkerton, MD, Director of the UVA Health’s Midlife Health Center, and Tamara Pringle, MD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Registration is free, includes breakfast and lunch, and is open through Nov. 12.

To learn more and to register, click here: https://bit.ly/4mW6xco