Oncology at the University of Chicago

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Oncology at the University of Chicago

The Cancer Programs at UChicago are at the forefront of discovery. Innovative, bidirectional translational research moves freely between bench and bedside.

• The University of Chicago is home to more Nobel Laureates than any other university and has

many of the best biological sciences departments in the nation.

• The University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) has extraordinary resources with which to develop and apply innovative approaches to performing research and improving healthcare. Members have received numerous awards for their research, and their work is consistently published in high-profile publications.

• The University recognizes the need to continuously push the envelope and, through cooperative, multidisciplinary initiatives, support innovative and unique research opportunities.

• UCCCC investigators are organized into six integrated scientific programs to harness multi-discliplinary strengths in research and clinical expertise that exist throughout the University and beyond.

• These multi-faceted efforts have resulted in dozens of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of cancer, some of which are currently available for licensing and further development.

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The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC)

• Biostatistics • Cancer Clinical Trials Office • Cytometry and Antibody Technology • Genomics • Human Immunologic Monitoring-cGMP • Human Tissue Resource Center • Image Computing, Analysis, and Repository • Integrated Microscopy • Integrated Small Animal Imaging Research • Pharmacology • Transgenic Mouse and Embryonic Stem Cell Facility • Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Bioinformatics • Epidemiology and Research Recruitment

The UCCCC scientific community integrates 210 members across 20 academic departments in three University Divisions (Biological, Physical, and Social Sciences). Our members specialize in fields that span the continuum of cancer research in a highly interactive environment. Research is organized in six established scientific programs that emphasize translational and interdisciplinary research, and promote collaboration among a diverse and dedicated team of outstanding scientists and physicians. UCCCC Centers include:

To address the complexity of cancer, we use cooperative, multidisciplinary initiatives to support innovative research.

Clinical Trials Capabilities Core Facilities • Over 320 active therapeutic clinical trials, spanning

preclinical to investigator-initiated phase I trials, to phase II trials in regional network, to phase III studies within Alliance

• Leader and participant in regional and national clinical trial networks

• Areas of expertise include: • First-in-human studies (phase I trials) • Combination and drug-drug interaction studies • Food-effect studies • Organ dysfunction studies • Population pharmacology and pharmacogenetics • Innovative trial designs • Pharmacodynamic biomarker studies

UCCCC Specialized Programs

• Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer • Hematopoiesis and Hematological Malignancies • Immunology and Cancer

• Pharmacogenomics and Experimental Therapeutics • Advanced Imaging • Cancer Prevention and Control

Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer

Program Goals:

• Clarify the molecular mechanisms of organ-specific and tumor cell type-specific gene expression

• Determine the cellular mechanisms underlying cell growth/division and cell survival/death

• Understand the multifaceted mechanisms leading to cancer metastases

• Use large-scale, high-throughput and systems biology approaches and genetic evolutionary approaches to understand cancer biology

• Discover novel developmental pathways relevant to cancer cell signaling

Collaborations between cancer biologists, chemists, and imaging scientists are being leveraged to identify potential targets and signaling pathways involved in cancer and to facilitate the testing of small molecule inhibitors of these targets and/or pathways.

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Program Leaders: Suzanne Conzen, MD, and Kay Macleod, PhD

35 member basic and translational investigators from 10 departments with unique experience in chemistry, cell signaling, systems biology, developmental biology, and drug discovery

Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer

Representative Technologies

The complexity of oncogenesis requires a multi-faceted approach to effectively target the many aspects of misregulation that occur in malignant cells. These technologies identify the root causes of the disease and harness this knowledge to generate therapies that target multiple causes and stages of cancer.

• Ovarian cancer is largely asymptomatic and patients are often diagnosed at a late stage of disease with metastases to the omentum and peritoneum. Dr. Lengyel has developed a novel strategy to prevent ovarian cancer metastasis.

• Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) has now been shown to play a key role in ovarian cancer metastasis. Inhibition of FABP4 prevents ovarian cancer tumor growth and metastasis.

• Dr. Lengyel is focusing on pre-clinical development of FABP4 inhibitors and has demonstrated in in vivo models that FABP4 inhibition has the potential to be a powerful treatment for ovarian cancer.

Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD • A novel protein engineering platform for developing high affinity and high specificity antibodies and antibody-like proteins to difficult to target antigens.

• Using a protein engineering platform, Dr. Koide has developed novel binding reagents and inhibitors of key signaling molecules, including those involved in tyrosine phosphorylation and histone methylation. These reagents have utility as diagnostics for chronic myelogenous leukemia, breast cancer, and renal carcinoma.

Shohei Koide, PhD

Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Representative Technologies

• c-CBL and paxillin mutations as predictive biomarkers of susceptibility to treatment with a c-MET inhibitor or cisplatin, respectively

• c-CBL and paxillin represent additional targets for the development of new cancer therapeutics, and efforts to identify additional regulatory functions of the proteins are ongoing.

• A thoracic oncology comprehensive database SOP and template have been designed to facilitate the implementation of a database that captures and stores clinical, basic science, and translational research data, as well as imaging data.

• The Micro-western Array (MWA) is a scalable method for separating and detecting protein mixtures following microarray deposition.

• Combining the scalability of array-based technologies with the molecular weight resolution of conventional western blotting, MWA enables precision targeting of 100-1000 proteins from 10-100 of cell samples.

• MWA provides a quantitative and higher- throughput platform for studies of abundance and modification of pre-selected protein targets in biological samples, allowing for high-throughput proteomic studies in basic research and drug discovery.

• TrueQ microspheres for flow cytometry surfaced with oligonucleotides are used in tandem with antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates to quantitate cellular antigens, allowing for exact calculation of antibody binding capacity (ABC) for any antibody.

• TrueQ provides a fully quantitative, spectrally flexible flow cytometric assay that does not require the time or cost associated with antibody-microsphere conjugation.

• Antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates have been successfully pre-hybridized to complementary oligonucleotide-fluorochrome conjugate detector, and the resulting antibody-DNA-fluorochrome construct was used to label cellular surface antigens.

Stephen Kron, MD, PhD Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD

Richard Jones, PhD

Hematopoiesis and Hematological Malignancies

Program Goals:

• Determine the mechanisms of normal and malignant hematopoiesis

• Define recurring molecular genetic abnormalities in leukemia and lymphoma

• Design molecular targeted clinical trials for hematological malignancies

Basic and translational research efforts provide key insights for the design of novel therapies for patients with hematological diseases. Members of this program are actively translating their findings from basic research into novel, molecularly targeted therapeutic approaches for hematological malignancies.

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Program Leaders: Wendy Stock, MD, and Michael Thirman, MD

• 28 member multi-department effort to define the critical mechanisms behind hematological malignancy and design targeted therapeutics

• A proven 30 year history of critical discoveries in the identification of critical genes involved both in normal hematopoiesis and in the pathogenesis of leukemias and lymphomas

• The identification of genetic pathways involved in hematological malignant diseases has proven to translate directly into new ways to diagnose and treat these diseases

Hematopoiesis and Hematological Malignancies

Michael Thirman, MD

Available Hematological Malignancy Technology

Groundbreaking technology developed using chromosomal analysis has changed the landscape for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with CML, but much progress remains to be made for the treatment of other hematological malignancies. Defining the mechanisms of normal and malignant hematopoiesis and mapping recurring genetic abnormalities in leukemia and lymphoma will point the way to new, more effective therapeutics.

Giemsa banding and Spectral Karyotype Analysis of a bone marrow sample from a patient with acute leukemia.

Nowell, Rowley and Knudson. Nature Genetics, 1998.

TAT-MLL for the targeted treatment of acute leukemia • TAT-MLL is a cell permeable peptide which interrupts a key interaction between

MLL and its downstream partner, menin and induces apoptosis in MLL-transformed leukemic cells.

• Efficacy of TAT-MLL has been tested in a number of murine and human MLL-transformed cell lines and normal hematopoietic cell lines. Apoptosis is induced in malignant cells, but normal cells are unaffected by treatment

• TAT-MLL is being tested in several murine models of MLL-induced leukemia generated using human leukemias.

Immunology and Cancer

Program Goals:

• Fundamental investigations in immunology designed to translate into the clinic as new cancer immunotherapies

• Preclinical models of antitumor immunity

• Translation of fundamental research discoveries into clinical studies of human antitumor immunity and novel immunotherapy clinical trials

Observations made in studies of basic immunologic concepts direct the design of preclinical and clinical investigations, and observations made in early clinical studies have generated new hypotheses that are being addressed back in murine systems. Thus, the Immunology and Cancer Program has evolved into an important example of bidirectional translational research, with ideas moving freely between bench and bedside.

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Program Leader: Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD

22 member multi-department effort to identify novel cancer immunotherapies

New Approaches to Immune Stimulation

• LIGHT is a TNF family member that enhances the immune response to tumor cells. It does so by augmenting the recruiting and priming of naïve T cells specific to a variety of tumor antigens.

• LIGHT eradicates established, aggressive tumors (both primary and metastatic) in murine models.

• Establishes immune memory to protect against future challenge with tumor cells.

• LIGHT-antibody conjugations are a platform for the creation of a variety of targeted anti-cancer therapeutics.

Representative Immune Stimulation Technologies

• Stimulation of T-cells for recognition of tumor cells through unique molecules and diverse pathways.

• Several novel mechanisms for immune recognition have been identified and characterized in mouse models.

• These new pathways are targets for developing immunotherapies that can be used to reactivate patient immune systems to better treat tumors.

Through the non-specific stimulation of the immune system, the host’s natural inflammatory response can halt or even reverse the growth of tumors. These novel technologies allow for the treatment of both primary solid tumors and metastases.

T

T reg

TCR MHC

T

TLR

Stromal cells

IL-2

Activation/ Clonal expansion

Chemokines/ Adhesion molecules

Recruitment of immune cells Altered microenvironment

Proinflammatory Cytokine production

Microphage/granulocyte activation

Inflammation Self tissues destruction

Autoimmunity Autoantibody production

Yang-Xin Fu, MD, PhD Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD

Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Representative Checkpoint Blockade Technologies

Immune checkpoints are known to be altered towards cancerous cells, preventing native T-cells from generating an effective response. Reversing these blockades results in new approaches to effectively treat cancers alone or in a combinatorial regimen.

T

Anergy

Tumor cell

T DGK inhibitor

Tumor cell

• Methods of using DGK inhibitors and analogs to alleviate T-cell anergy for the treatment of cancer.

• T-cell anergy has been reversed using small molecule DGK inhibitors in mouse models.

• DGK inhibition is a novel immunotherapeutic method that can be used as an adjuvant to leverage an immune response in anergic tumors. Possible first indications include melanoma and breast cancer.

Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD

Immunotherapy Vaccines

• Antitumor immune response to the primary tumor and/or to gross metastases is generated by tumor-derived senescent cell vaccine.

• In an immuno-competent mouse model, this senescent cell approach promotes reduction of volume in sites distant to injection, and can act prophylactically.

• The use of oncosenescence is an innovative technology to evoke self-immune response in prostate cancer patients.

Representative Immunotherapy Vaccine Technologies

• Malignant brain cancer is a difficult to treat disease and patients with this disease have a poor prognosis. Dr. Lesniak is investigating several approaches for treating brain cancer.

• Virotherapy: oncolytic adenoviruses to conditionally replicate in and eliminate tumor cells. This work is undergoing extensive pre-clinical development.

• Stem cells: mesenchymal stem cells can selectively migrate to and eliminate tumors when loaded with oncolytic adenoviruses. Dr. Lesniak and his collaborators are preparing to initiate a Phase I clinical trial of this treatment.

The power of the immune system can be harnessed to mount an anti-cancer response. Tumor antigen vaccines built using synthetic proteins or peptides, or encoded by a plasmid or virus, can evoke an endogenous T cell response, leading to tumor cell recognition and an anti-cancer immune response.

Senescence inducing compounds

Tumor

Adeno-LIGHT

T

Stephen J. Kron, MD, PhD Maciej Lesniak, MD

Immunotherapy Vaccines Representative Technologies

Hans Schreiber, MD, PhD

• Optimized sequences for novel antibodies that specifically identify cancer cells via abnormally glycosylated protein epitopes have been developed.

• In vivo POC of several of these antibody sequences in a mouse Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CART) model showed strong anti-tumor activity.

• These optimized antibody sequences can be built into existing therapeutic backbones, such as CARs and BiTES, to generate broadly effective, novel anticancer agents.

Immunotherapy Diagnostics

• Dr. Nakamura is a leader in genomic research, with a proven track record in genomic research and cancer.

• Current efforts include large scale screening capabilities and a focus on identifying key biomarkers involved in the immune response to cancer.

• Identification of critical immunotherapy biomarkers will create an opportunity for effective personalized medicine strategies for cancer patients.

• EGR2-based gene signature differentiates between immune responsive and non-responsive tumors.

• Validated studies comparing gene expression profiling have identified a key set of genes involved in the immune response to cancer.

• This diagnostic would be useful for identification of patients in need of immune-stimulating therapy for successful treatment of cancers.

Available Immunotherapy Diagnostic Technologies

Cutting edge DNA and protein diagnostics can identify patients who need particular immunotherapies in order to have a successful anti-cancer response to therapy. These diagnostic markers can also include new targets for development of additional immunotherapies.

Yusuke Nakamura, MD, PhD Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD

Pharmacogenomics and Experimental Therapeutics

Program Goals:

• Pursue a broad program of preclinical, translational, and clinical research in pharmacogenomic, molecular target, and biomarker research

• Collaboration among basic and clinical investigators that leads to innovative and effective therapies

• Integrate new drugs into the development of multi-modal therapies for patients with advanced solid tumors

The translational nature of much of the work emanating from this program, the coordinating center role the UCCCC plays for multi-institutional studies, and the leadership role assumed by many program faculty in studies conducted by national clinical cooperative groups, illustrates the impact of this program in developing new therapies for oncology.

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Program Leaders: Walter Stadler, MD, and M. Eileen Dolan, PhD

• 50 member multi-department effort focusing on drug development at all phases of clinical testing, including pharmacogenetics

• Trials range from preclinical development, to investigator-initiated Phase I clinical trials, to Phase II trials in the regional Phase II network, to Phase III studies with Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB)

Pharmacogenomics and Experimental Therapeutics

Representative Technologies

Pharmaco-genomics

Molecular Targets

Multimodal Therapy

Clinical Trials

• Dr. Nakamura is a world leader in genomic research, with a proven track record in genomic research and cancer.

• Current efforts include large scale screening capabilities and a focus on identifying key biomarkers involved in the response to cancer.

• Identification of critical cancer biomarkers creates an opportunity for effective personalized medicine strategies for cancer patients.

An understanding of the underlying genetic factors that influence an individual’s cancer risk and possible response to therapy is critical to developing effective, personalized approaches to treating cancer. Integrating pharmacogenomics into all phases of therapeutic development, from pre-clinical testing to clinical trials, will help to refine drug development and better address cancer therapy at the individual level.

• Epigenetics plays a key role in cell signaling and methods for detecting DNA and RNA epigenetics are important for understanding cancer signaling and in identifying new therapeutic targets.

• Dr. He has developed a suite of methods and tools for determining precise epigenetic modifications in DNA and has recently determined the mechanisms for reversible RNA epigenetic modifications.

• Dr. He has developed methods to detect and sequence methylated DNA and methylated DNA derivatives, which will be critical for identifying new therapeutic and diagnostic targets in cancer.

Yusuke Nakamura, MD, PhD Chuan He, PhD

Pharmacogenomics and Experimental Therapeutics Representative Technologies

• DNA damage repair is critical for maintenance of chromosomal DNA. Failure to repair DNA damage results chromosome instability and cell death.

• Rad51 is a key enzyme for the repair of DNA damage, including double strand DNA breaks. Dr. Connell has hypothesized that inhibition of Rad51 can be used in conjunction with DNA damaging agents as an anti-cancer therapeutic.

• Various Rad51 inhibitors have been discovered and lead compounds are currently undergoing extensive pre-clinical investigations.

• An empirically derived genetic signature which correlates with the response of breast cancer patients to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

• The signature has been observed in both flash-frozen and formaldehyde-fixed paraffin embedded samples, using a variety of extraction techniques, and has been confirmed in multiple sample sets.

• Partnership for a larger-scale retrospective analysis is desired.

• A novel strategy to inhibit the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to enhance the effect of treatment with AR antagonists in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

• In vitro and in vivo data demonstrate that GR expression and activation in prostate cancer cells facilitates cell survival despite potent AR inhibition, thereby enabling progression. The GR antagonist mifepristone was able to reverse the pro-survival effects of glucocorticoids.

• Clinical trials using ezalutamide (MDV3100) in conjunction with mifepristone in treating castration-resistant prostate cancer are commencing shortly. The combination of GR antagonists and ezalutamide may ultimately provide an effective first-line therapy.

Ralph Weichselbaum, MD

Philip Connell, MD Russell Szmulewitz, MD

• A fundamental challenge in developing effective cancer therapeutics is achieving efficient, specific delivery of the agents to the affected tissues.

• Two receptor-mediated delivery systems have been developed in order to target and deliver Fab antibodies or siRNA to the cytosol of cancer cells.

• A Substance P-synthetic Fab antibody conjugate has been used to deliver Fabs to live cells expressing the NK1R receptor, which include breast and colon carcinomas, astrocytomas, and glioblastomas.

• Human prolactin-siRNA conjugates that deliver therapeutic nucleic acids to ovarian cancer cells, which overexpress prolactin receptor.

Anthony Kossiakoff, PhD

Advanced Imaging

Program Goals:

• Improve understanding of cancer biology and physiology.

• Enhance risk assessment and early detection.

• Guide therapy.

• Develop and implement new approaches to image reconstruction and analysis to support the above aims.

Imaging is a key diagnostic tool on many levels, useful for diagnosing tumors, assessing response to therapy and guiding clinical trials, as well as facilitating the development of customized, optimal therapies for individual patients. The program strives to achieve these goals by integrating and focusing the work of investigators with established research programs and by promoting collaborations.

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Program Leaders: Greg Karczmar, PhD, and Heber MacMahon, MB, BCh

29 member multi-disciplinary team with advanced imaging capabilities ranging from animal models of cancer, in vitro tissue studies, and clinical research

Advanced Imaging

Representative Technologies

Medical imaging enables screening, facilitates diagnosis and staging of cancer, guides therapy, allows ongoing assessment of therapeutic efficacy and monitoring of cancer recurrence, and facilitates medical research, particularly in such critical areas as drug discovery. This team of world-class medical physicists and biologists works together to optimize imaging by developing novel software and agents.

• Ovarian cancer is largely asymptomatic, and patients are often diagnosed at a late stage of disease with metastases to the omentum and peritoneum. Effective diagnosis and imaging of ovarian cancer is critical for treating ovarian cancer.

• Prolactin receptor is highly expressed on ovarian cancer cells and labeling of the prolactin receptor ligand human placental lactogen (hPL) can be used as a tool to image ovarian cancer.

• Dr. Lengyel and his collaborator Dr. Joe Piccirilli have developed a method to utilize hPL as an MRI contrast agent for ovarian cancer imaging. Pre-clinical tests have shown significant advantages over existing MRI contrast agents.

• New software implementing methods of combining data from T2-weighted spin echo and ADC measurements for the imaging of prostate cancer and other solid tumors.

• Initial POC studies in mouse models suggests that hybrid multi-dimensional MRI produces new parameters that could increase the clinical value of MRI.

• This new combination may enable the detection of small or diffuse cancers, allowing early diagnosis and more accurate staging of prostate cancer, and reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies and surgeries.

Gregory Karczmar, PhD Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD

Advanced Imaging Representative Technologies

• AuNP-DG: Deoxyglucose labeled gold nanoparticles used as x-ray computed tomography (CT) contrast agents for cancer imaging.

• AuNP-DG allows for high-resolution metabolic imaging in conjunction with necessary anatomical data acquisition using CT scanning. In vitro and early in vivo studies have demonstrated that these particles are readily taken up by cancer cells, which are highly glycolytic. The enhanced CT method represents a faster, lower-cost option as compared with positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, the standard technique used to gather functional data on tumors and suspected malignancies.

• Dr. Aydogan is seeking commercial partners to help move the technology along the regulatory path and further develop this imaging agent for cancer diagnosis, staging, and monitoring and the targeting of radiotherapy.

Bulent Aydogen, PhD

Cancer Prevention and Control

Program Goals:

• Identify novel genomic, nutritional, and environmental determinants and their interactions in cancer risk

• Identify the biological and behavioral basis for tobacco and alcohol use, and apply this knowledge to develop prevention and cessation-related treatment strategies

• Examine biological and behavioral factors related to screening, early detection, and prevention of cancer

• Investigate the bio-behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental determinants of cancer-related health outcomes, including survivorship

• Examine cost-effectiveness and economic factors related to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship

The Cancer Prevention and Control Program is known for its strengths in molecular, bio-behavioral, and clinical research, as well as its strengths in epidemiology and environmental health and genetics.

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Program Leaders: Habibul Ahsan, MD, and Andrea King, PhD

• 44 member multi-department team focused on local and global health disparities research, which serves as a cross-cutting theme for all programmatic goals

• Harness the intellectual capacity at UChicago to determine the environmental, genetic, psychological, biobehavioral, and economic factors underlying the etiology, risk, prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and survivorship of cancer

Available Technologies Small Molecule Inhibitors

UCHI 2006 (Lengyel)

Inhibition of FABP4 for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Pre-clinical testing of FABP4 inhibitors in in vivo models

UCHI2105 (Smulevitz)

A novel strategy to inhibit the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to enhance the effect of treatment with AR antagonists in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)

Ongoing Phase I clinical trial using ezalutamide (MDV3100) in conjunction with mifepristone in treating castration-resistant prostate cancer

UCHI 1524 (Connell)

Rad51 inhibitors as an adjuvant with DNA damaging agents for the treatment of cancer

Preclinical testing of several Rad51 inhibitors and additional development of lead compounds

Biologics UCHI 1460 (Thirman)

TAT-MLL for the targeted treatment of acute leukemia Preclinical testing of TAT-MLL ongoing, in vivo studies with a human-derived leukemia cell line planned

UCHIs 1418/1670 (Kossiakoff)

Receptor mediated intracellular delivery of bioactive payloads, including synthetic antibodies and siRNA, to tumor cells for the treatment of cancer

Pre-clinical in vitro testing of fab and siRNA conjugates. Composition of matter and methods patents available for licensing.

Immunotherapies

UCHI 1563 (Fu)

LIGHT for the treatment of primary tumors and metastatic disease Preclinical studies demonstrate that LIGHT eradicates established, aggressive tumors (both primary and metastatic) in murine models alone and in combination with antibodies

UCHI 2261 (Schreiber)

Novel cancer-specific, optimized antibody sequences for use in adoptive immunotherapy Preclinical testing in animal models is ongoing

UCHI 1184 (Gajewksi)

Immune response regulation via DGK inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disorders.

T-cell anergy has been reversed using small molecule DGK inhibitors in murine models

UCHI 1999 (Kron)

A senescent cell vaccine induces an anti-tumor immune response In an immuno competent mouse model, this vaccine promotes reduction of volume in sites distant to injection

UCHI 1965 (Lesniak)

Mesenchymal-derived oncolytic viruses for the treatment of brain cancer Preclinical development of mesenchymal-derived oncolytic adenoviruses ongoing

UCHI TBD (Gajewski)

An EGR2-based gene signature for the identification of patients who would benefit from immune-stimulating anti-cancer therapy

Validated preclinical studies comparing gene expression profiling have identified a key set of genes involved in the immune response to cancer, and additional in vivo confirmation is ongoing

Available Technologies

Platform Development and Informatics Technologies

UCHIs 1412/2089 (Koide)

Platform for generating renewable, high affinity and specificity antibodies and antibody-like proteins

Binding reagents useful for the diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia, breast cancer, and renal carcinoma have been developed. Platform, composition of matter, and method of use patents are available for licensing.

UCHI 1618 (Jones)

The Micro-western Array (MWA): a scalable method for separating and detecting protein mixtures following microarray deposition, for use in high-throughput proteomic studies in basic research and drug discovery

Method well developed and several POC studies performed

UCHI 2037 (Kron)

TrueQ microspheres for flow cytometry surfaced with oligonucleotides, useful for exact calculation of antibody binding capacity (ABC) for any antibody

POC studies performed to demonstrate the effectiveness in quantitating antibody ABC

UCHI 2136 (He)

Tools for identifying epigenetic modifications in DNA Methods developed and POC studies ongoing

ONT-OO37 (Olopade)

CancerIQ: An oncology-specific big data platform that allows for researchers and providers to build actionable intelligence in cancer

Web-based interface developed, development team in place for technology commercialization

UCHI 1894 (Salgia)

Thoracic oncology comprehensive database SOP and template designed to facilitate the implementation of a thoracic oncology database that captures and stores clinical, basic science, and translational research data, as well as imaging data

Available for licensing, in use by >60 cancer researchers throughout the US

Biomarkers UCHI 1944

(Salgia)

c-CBL mutations as predictive biomarkers of susceptibility to treatment with a c-MET inhibitor; Paxillin mutations as predictive biomarkers of susceptibility or resistance to treatment with cisplatin

Cell line drug sensitivities vary with the presence of c-CBL or paxillin mutations

UCHI 2228 (Rosner)

Prognostic gene signature for survival of triple negative breast cancer Further stratification of patients identified as having a poor prognosis by the Mammaprint and Oncotype clinical tests

UCHI 1374 (Weichselbaum)

A genetic signature which correlates with the response of breast cancer patients to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy

Initial retrospective studies have confirmed the signature, a larger scale analysis is planned

Available Technologies

Advanced Imaging Technologies UCHI 1418 (Lengyel)

Labeled prolactin as an MRI contrast agent for ovarian cancer imaging Pre-clinical tests have shown significant advantages over existing MRI contrast agents

UCHI 1364 (Karzmar)

New software implementing methods of combining data from T2-weighted spin echo and ADC measurements for the imaging of prostate cancer and other solid tumors

Pre-clinical testing performed using murine models

UCHI 1849 (Aydogan)

AuNP-DG: Deoxyglucose labeled gold nanoparticles used as x-ray computed tomography (CT) contrast agents for cancer imaging

Pre-clinical in vitro and early in vivo studies have demonstrated that these particles are readily taken up by cancer cells

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