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VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center continued to leave its mark as a worldwide leader in cancer care, research and education during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025 in Chicago on April 25-30.

Drawing more than 22,000 people from around the world, the international conference is billed by the AACR as “the critical driver of progress against cancer, the place where scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients and advocates gather to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs.”

More than 30 researchers, clinicians, students and staff members affiliated with Massey and VCU put their expertise and scientific discoveries on display over the course of the conference through panel sessions, informative presentations, Q&A seminars, poster abstracts and more. Additionally, this was the second year that Massey had a booth in the exhibition hall, which has become a must-stop for attendees from around the globe.

Saturday, April 26

Trevino leads career development and undergraduate sessions

Jose Trevino, M.D., the Geoffrey R. Shudtz Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Research and surgeon-in-chief at Massey, participated in the 20th annual undergraduate student caucus and poster competition to start the convention. Trevino served as the lead judge for the poster competition.

Trevino also served as the chairperson at a personalized career conversations panel, helping lead the next generation of cancer researchers.

Wages leads workshop on clinical trial fundamentals

Nolan Wages, Ph.D., director of the Biostatistics Shared Resource at Massey and professor of biostatistics at VCU, led a workshop on biostatistics and how to build a successful early-phase clinical trial. Wages' workshop covered the fundamentals of design, objectives and endpoints for a precise, rigorous and successful trial. The workshop also covered design options, comparing rule-based designs against Bayesian adaptive designs.

Sunday, April 27

Massey booth draws an international crowd at AACR meeting

Attendees from all over the world got a firsthand glimpse at how Massey is unconditionally committed to cancer research, education and care. Special shout out goes to Allyson Biersack, events management coordinator, for leading the development of the Massey booth at AACR. Congratulations to the events, marketing and communications, recruitment, and executive communications teams on a great collaboration.

Vélez-Torres earns Women in Cancer Research Award 

Lorraine N. Vélez-Torres, Ph.D., M.P.H., a Cancer Prevention and Control T32 postdoctoral fellow at Massey, received the Women in Cancer Research Award for her research poster that studied increased aortic stiffening in premenopausal women and triple negative breast cancer patients, along with the impact of biomarkers and breast cancer therapy. Vélez-Torres has focused her work at Massey in the research of biomarkers of inflammation and cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients.

Alshehry engineers mRNA delivery to macrophages

Yasir A. Alshehry, a graduate student at VCU, presented his research poster on the topic of engineering lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations for mRNA delivery to macrophages. LNPs are tiny fat bubbles used to carry mRNA into cells, and they help mRNA get inside other cells where they can do their job to help the body's defense system work better.

Dashti-Gibson characterizes different PDX models of cancer to improve patient outcomes

Patient-derived xenografts are important preclinical models of cancer as they exemplify many aspects of human tumors. Nina Dashti-Gibson, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Chuck Harrell, Ph.D., presented her research poster on the genetic, genomic and pharmacologic characterization of a new cohort of ancestrally different patient-derived xenograft models of cancer in an effort to improve patient outcomes. This study helped identify drug sensitivities and response markers to target through future studies.

Massey celebrates AACR success at team dinner

On Sunday night, over 30 Massey team members gathered at The Hampton Social in downtown Chicago to celebrate the cancer center's presence at the conference and its continued growing reputation as a national and international leader in cancer science and care.

Monday, April 28

Winn presents on engendering trust in science to improve clinical trial participation

Speaking on Monday evening, Robert A. Winn, M.D., director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at Massey, provided ideas and best practices in how to use effective communication tools to increase the community's trust in science, cultivate community engagement and improve clinical trial participation through those methods.

“We are at a time that’s critical in the country to not only solve the problem, but communicate it effectively,” Winn told the audience. “I don’t care how good your science is, if you are not communicating it to the people, then we are all in trouble.”

Tossas provides advice in navigating a path to a successful career in cancer research

Navigating a career path is an increasingly tougher road for those entering the medical profession. On Monday, Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., associate co-director of global oncology at Massey, provided advice on both finding the pathway to a successful career in cancer research but also in the critical transition from graduate school to becoming a fellow.

Trevino provides remarks for Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship

Jose Trevino, M.D., the Geoffrey R. Shudtz Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Research and surgeon-in-chief at Massey, provided remarks as the chair of the AACR's Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship. This lectureship, now in its 20th year, recognizes an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has, through leadership or by example, furthered the advancement of minority investigators in cancer research.

Aldaqqa leverages chemo-immunotherapy to enhance treatment efficacy in osteosarcoma lung metastases

By utilizing chemo-immunotherapies in treating osteosarcoma lung metastases, Raneem Aldaqqa, a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutics studying in the VCU School of Pharmacy Nanomedicine Lab, hopes to both kill cancer cells and enhance the body's own ability to fight cancer. In changing the area around the tumor, treatments can become more effective, as she has demonstrated in bone cancer that has spread to the lungs.

AlTewari creates liposomal formulations to deliver medicine better

Asma M. AlTewari, a Ph.D. candidate in pharmaceutical engineering, presented her work in creating a CSF-1Ri liposomal formulation using a continuous manufacturing approach and design of experiments (DOE). This formulation is delivered via tiny fat bubbles to help it work better in the body, while AlTewar's continuous manufacturing approach and DOE help make the medicine quickly and consistently, delivering the best results.

Fernandez studies combination therapy in triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer is a highly aggressive form of disease that lacks targeted treatment options. Matthew Fernandez, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Sandro da Rocha, Ph.D., who graduates in May, presented his research targeting interactions between tumor-associated macrophages and tumor cells to enhance chemotherapy response in triple-negative breast cancer.

Khader investigates cancer stem cell traits in colorectal cancer and develops a model for cross-polarization imaging

Adam Khader, M.D., a surgical oncologist at Massey and VCU Health and recipient of the ACS-IRG grant, is investigating the role of FXllla-mediated transferrin sequestration in driving cancer stem cell phenotype in colorectal cancer. FXllla-mediated transferrin sequestration is a process where the FXllla protein captures and accumulates transferrin within cells or tissues.

Khader also presented on the development of a novel preclinical model for peritoneal metastasis utilizing cross-polarization imaging. The research team used a cross-polarization technique to allow for Peritoneal Cancer Index scoring by an independent investigator.

Landry presents on therapeutic implications of using MG149 in breast cancer treatment 

Joseph Landry, Ph.D., member of Massey's Cancer Biology research program and associate professor in the VCU School of Medicine's Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, discussed the implications of using MG149 in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, a rare form of the cancer. Landry's poster showed that utilizing MG149 works as a lysine acetyltransferase inhibitor, reducing tumor recurrence after treatment. Landry's work was supported in part by the Closing the Gap Summit Award, which he received in 2022.

Neuwelt evaluates effects of common pain reliever on the tumor microenvironment

Alexander Neuwelt, M.D., a Massey research member who has been attending the AACR annual conference since he was in high school, presented his research findings investigating how high-dose acetaminophen re-polarizes CD11b+ cells toward an activated macrophage phenotype. This study is the first-of-its-kind to comprehensively evaluate the effects of acetaminophen on the tumor microenvironment, and future clinical trials are planned to further this research.

Shah uncovers relationship between protein-coding gene and enhanced immune response in tumor cells

The effectiveness of current cancer immunotherapies are limited in many solid tumors. Syed A. Shah, M.D., studies a protein-coding gene known as CRTAM and its correlation to an increased antitumor response of a type of immune defense cells called cytotoxic CD8+T cells. Data from this research indicate that tumors enriched with CRTAM-activated immune cells are associated with improved overall survival.

Xing presents findings on small cell lung cancer

Yanli Xing, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Anthony Faber, Ph.D., presented research showcasing how BCL-2 selective inhibitor venetoclax combined with topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan is effective in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC accounts for 10-15% of all lung cancer cases, which is the third most common cancer globally.

Tuesday, April 29

Winn offers remarks on how to bring more people into cancer research

On Tuesday night, Robert A. Winn, M.D., offered remarks before participating in a panel conversation that discussed how to enlarge the tent of cancer researchers. Winn's comments came alongside panelists from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, UC San Diego, Morehouse School of Medicine, the Mays Cancer Center, and the University of Arizona Cancer Center.

“Build your network with people who will advocate for you," Winn told the crowd.

Trevino encourages high school students to become the next generation of cancer researchers

Jose Trevino, M.D., led a presentation during a professional development session for high school students. Titled "Understanding Cancer," Trevino laid the background for engaged students who want to become the next generation of cancer researchers.

“No matter where you come from, and you can come from nothing, you can succeed in anything you want,” Trevino told the crowd of high school students.

Tossas presents about advancing cancer research through community engagement

For many years, cancer research has not focused on different populations of people. On Tuesday, Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., spoke on how to better engage with local and global communities in order to advance research. Her presentation focused on conducting community-engaged research to improve upon the risks different populations have with regard to cervical cancer.

“I always say that while we may hold the data and we may hold the information, the community holds the ultimate truth,” Tossas said. “They allow us to contextualize the data. They are the ultimate guiding light for our findings, our discoveries, our research to really be meaningful to them. We need them in everything that we do. We need them before, during and after.”

Habermann compares short and long course radiation in rectal cancer patients

Alyssa Habermann, M.D., a general surgery resident at the VCU School of Medicine, presented her research findings comparing pathological outcomes of short course and long course neoadjuvant radiation for advanced rectal cancer patients. Based on the research data, the study authors recommend long course over short course neoadjuvant radiation in induction therapy of patients with stage 2 and 3 rectal cancer.

Patel details how a synthetic molecule effectively prevents chemo-induced dormancy

Chemotherapy-induced dormancy refers to a state in which tumor cells evade cancer treatment and survive undetected within an organ, often contributing to drug resistance. Massey physician-researcher Bhaumik Patel, M.D., highlighted his findings demonstrating how a synthetic molecule known as G2.2—a synthetic mimetic of heparan sulfate hexasaccharide—represents a promising, first-in-class treatment for preventing chemo-induced dormancy and cancer relapse.

Punjala studies cardiovascular differences among pancreatic cancer patients  

Pancreatic cancer patients can face a variety of side effects from the cancer, including in the cardiovascular system. Arunima Punjala, M.D., a surgery resident in the lab of Jose Trevino, M.D., studied the disparities among those patients to see if various factors — including medicines being given and access to health care — caused more or less cardiovascular issues.

Massey scientists explore new treatment strategies in lung and pancreatic cancer

Massey scientist Aslamuzzaman Kazi, Ph.D., and associate director for basic research Said Sebti, Ph.D., presented findings from two studies at this year's AACR annual conference. The first study highlighted how the inhibition of ERK reactivation by FGTI-2734 could serve as an effective strategy to overcome sotorasib resistance in KRAS G12C lung cancer. The second study examined how a novel KRAS G12D switch-I/II allosteric pocket binder effectively fights pancreatic cancer in patient-derived tumors.

Wednesday, April 30

Neely explores strategies to overcome drug resistance in lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. Victoria Neely, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Hisashi Harada, Ph.D., explores the sensitivity and resistance to a type of drug known as proteasome inhibitors in NSCLC with a mutation in the TP53 gene. Her findings, presented at this year's AACR meeting, suggest that targeting specific pathways in combination with traditional therapies could serve as a powerful approach to overcome drug resistance in NSCLC.

Written by: Blake Belden, Tatiana Del Valle, Bill Potter