Purdue Institute for Cancer Research

04/04/2026

Congratulations to Debbie Knapp, recipient of the 2026 Career Research Achievement Award from the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research!

Knapp's career has shaped comparative oncology as a field. Through research on naturally occurring cancers in dogs, her work has generated insights directly relevant to human disease, led clinical trials and built infrastructure that continues to expand Purdue’s leadership in both veterinary medicine and cancer research.

Knapp is the Dolores L. McCall Professor and Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology, the associate director of clinical comparative oncology at the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research, and director of the Evan and Sue Ann Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center, part of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine & Veterinary Hospital.

04/03/2026

🏆 Later today, PICR faculty, trainees and staff will come together to celebrate individuals whose research, mentorship, leadership and service strengthen cancer discovery at Purdue.

Stay tuned! We'll announce winners after today's ceremony...

04/03/2026

04/01/2026

Cancer doesn’t rely on a single pathway — and new therapies may not have to either.

Andrea Kasinski is developing microRNA therapies that suppress multiple cancer-driving genes at once, taking a broader approach to stopping tumor growth and resistance. https://purdue.link/rna-cancer-kasinski

03/31/2026

Congratulations to David Nolte on winning a Charles B. Murphy Award! 🏆

The award is Purdue's highest undergraduate teaching honor, recognizing up to five recipients each year as models in excellent undergraduate education.

Nolte is a member of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research and the Edward M. Purcell Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy from Purdue Science .

03/25/2026

A research team led by Purdue University’s W. Andy Tao has discovered of a new type of protein modification related to cellular mutation that impairs a crucial enzyme’s ability to help drive energy processes. Their discovery, reported in Nature Chemistry, opens a new route to therapeutic cancer ...

03/24/2026

Join us for the 2026 5K Challenge race experience 👟 on April 18! purdue.link/5K-challenge-2026

03/22/2026

Purdue marches on.

03/17/2026

The world lost Philip Low. Because of his life’s work, cancer will keep losing ground.

https://purdue.link/life-legacy-philip-low

03/12/2026

For both Nathaniel Mabe and Andrew Kinder, the fight against cancer is personal — and it's one inspired by the life and legacy of Tyler Trent.

Mabe is a member of the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research and assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology working to develop new therapies to combat pediatric cancer, with a focus on neuroblastoma, a malignant cancer that originates in a child’s nerve tissue.

Kinder is a Purdue senior set to graduate this year from the Purdue University Daniels School of Business who spent his freshman year undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia.

Neither let their diagnosis define them. Both let it drive them.
https://purdue.link/Mabe-Kinder.cancer

Purdue College of Pharmacy

03/12/2026

Cancer is really a problem of cells "forgetting" what they're supposed to be.

Purdue researcher Emily Dykhuizen studies the molecular machinery that controls which genes a cell can access, and what happens when cancer exploits that system to evade the immune system, resist treatment and spread.

She designs molecules that selectively inhibit the chromatin regulators driving those processes. Her lab is currently testing inhibitors designed to control metastasis in breast cancer.

📰 Check out the full story, "Exploring the machinery that surrounds DNA to stop cancer," here: https://purdue.link/ED-cancer-machinery

03/07/2026

How do Purdue cancer discoveries move from the laboratory to helping patients?

That question anchored two events this week in Austin, Texas, where PICR Director Andrew Mesecar joined community members, alumni and technology leaders for conversations about Purdue's impact in cancer research and the future of the field.

At a talk hosted by the The Austin Forum on Technology & Society and a “Dinner with the Director” organized in partnership with the Purdue Alumni Club of Austin, Mesecar shared how advances in AI, liquid biopsy technologies and personalized medicine are reshaping the field.

He also highlighted FDA-approved innovations developed by Purdue researchers, demonstrating how discoveries made through basic science research translate into new diagnostic tools and therapies.

Thank you to everyone in the Austin community who joined the discussion, asked thoughtful questions and shared their own experiences with cancer.

Catch the full recap: purdue.link/purdue-cancer-talks-atx