Our top 20 accomplishments of 2024

Every year, we round up a list of our top accomplishments from across the cancer center, from research, to clinical trial enrollments, to outreach and engagement, and giving. Check out our top 20 accomplishments from 2024! 

1. Minnesota Masonry continues legacy of generosity in the fight against cancer. Minnesota Masonic Charities has expanded its longstanding support of cancer research at the University of Minnesota with a new $15 million commitment to the Masonic Cancer Center, bringing their total contributions to over $125 million! These funds have been instrumental in advancing cancer prevention, treatment, and care, enabling groundbreaking research and improving patient outcomes. Their continued generosity reflects a deep commitment to reducing cancer's burden for all Minnesotans.

2. More Minnesotans enrolled in clinical trials. In 2024, MCC accrued 3,435 participants to clinical trials focused on the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer. Over the last year, we’ve increased accrual in interventional therapeutic clinical trials—studies that evaluate the effects of a treatment or intervention on health outcomes by more than 20 percent, beating our accrual target for the year by 10 percent. Through these studies, MCC investigators aim to advance therapeutics and care outcomes and apply that knowledge to improve quality of life for patients and survivors. 

3. Phase 1 trial safely advanced new therapy for advanced solid tumors. The Developmental Therapeutics Initiative (DTI) at the Masonic Cancer Center focuses on improving access to advanced cancer therapies. Led by Dr. Melissa Geller, the Clinical Trials Office recently completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in February 2024 to test HCW9218, safely testing an innovative treatment for patients with solid tumor cancers that had progressed after at least two rounds of standard treatments. The trial involves an injectable therapy that neutralizes tumor-suppressing signals while boosting the immune system’s natural cancer-fighting cells, such as natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells. During Phase 1, the trial treated 18 patients with cancers like ovarian, colorectal, rectal, and liver. Early findings suggest HCW9218 could improve the effectiveness of immune-based therapies, offering new hope for patients with advanced solid tumors. The trial will focus on ovarian cancer as it moves into Phase 2.

4. MCC hosted the first ever Cancer Free Futures community conference. The Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) hosted its first annual community conference on cancer prevention. The conference aimed to empower diverse Minnesota communities affected by cancer health disparities to take an active role in cancer prevention. The event enhanced access to essential information through personal stories and interactive sessions with experts and addressed fears and other obstacles to reducing cancer risk. This first annual event brought together 140 diverse Minnesota community members and provided 22 mammograms on-site.

5. Collaboration and teamwork help MNCCTN shine. The Minnesota Cancer Clinical Trials Network (MNCCTN) enrolled more than 150 Minnesotans to the Port Flush study to date. The Port Flush study was initiated by MNCCTN Partner Essentia Health to assess the safety of a 12-week port flush schedule compared to a 4-week schedule. Every MNCCTN Partner has opened and enrolled at least one participant to the study! The Port Flush study continues to be a perfect example of what makes MNCCTN so successful: collaboration, teamwork, and reciprocity. And, MNCCTN and MCC’s COE team collaborated on a Community Advocates program, recruiting ten Advocates to provide community expertise and perspectives to cancer research. The program is intended to provide a community member point-of-view on clinical trial design, clinical trials education initiatives, and community-focused research grants; train and engage community members interested in cancer clinical trials design and impact; and create bi-directional community and researcher relationships. The program launched in May 2024, with Advocates receiving extensive training and several engagement opportunities to choose to focus on throughout the year. Advocates meet regularly with one another for ongoing education and are compensated for their time.

6. Internal grants program fueled continued innovation and teamwork. MCC awarded $850,000 in pilot grants through our Internal Grant Program. The purpose of this program is to promote innovation, spark research collaborations, and support novel research concepts with the goal of answering the toughest cancer research questions. 

7. Enhanced global research capacity for cancer prevention. The Institute for Global Cancer Prevention (IGCPR) celebrated the first publication of data on smokeless tobacco coming from a laboratory in India, highlighting the extreme variability in levels of addictive nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals across smokeless tobacco products in India, revealing differences as much as 2,500-fold. The study was conducted via a partnership between the University of Minnesota and Tata Memorial Centre, and the findings underscore the need for better regulations and consumer awareness to address the health risks of inconsistent manufacturing and exposure to harmful chemicals. 

8. Translational research brought breakthrough in leukemia treatment. MCC’s Cancer Research Translational Initiative (CRTI) led by Drs. Emmanuel Antonarakis and Deepa Kolaseri continues to champion the advancement of translational studies, exemplifying our commitment to delivering innovative cancer treatments. MCC’s latest immunotherapy launch is a tri-specific NK cell engager (TriKE) that specifically targets drug-resistant cancers. The first-generation TriKE (GTB-3550) developed by Dr. Jeffrey Miller’s team marked a breakthrough in treating drug-resistant leukemias by targeting the immune system. Learning from the first-in-human trial led by Dr. Mark Juckett, Dr. Martin Felices’s team engineered the second-generation of the therapy (GTB-3650). This second generation of the therapy also serves leukemia patients; it opened in November 2024 and is currently enrolling patients. Through a strategic partnership, GT Biopharma licensed the TriKE platform from UMN and is providing support for ongoing studies.

9. Reduced tobacco harm in Minnesota and worldwide. As a leader in this area, MCC boasts a longstanding collaboration between two of our research programs, SPECS and Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention. This year, MCC researchers deepened their focus on tobacco biomarkers. Collaborative work between Dorothy Hatsukami and Stephen Hecht led to the U.S. FDA issuance of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to reduce nicotine in cigarettes. Since then, this work—a partnered effort with Wake Forest University Health Sciences—has been extended internationally to assess the real-world impact of a low-nicotine product standard for smoked tobacco in New Zealand.

10. Continued focus on improving cancer therapies. The Microbiota Therapeutics Program, led by MCC researcher Dr. Alexander Khoruts, is studying how gut bacteria transplants, called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, or FMT, can improve outcomes for patients undergoing stem cell transplants. One study looks at whether giving FMT early after a stem cell transplant can prevent a serious complication called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Another study is testing if FMT can help treat GVHD once it develops. Dr. Khoruts is also working with MCC researcher Dr. Amit Kulkarni to explore a more intensive gut bacteria transplant therapy. This therapy aims to improve how well lung cancer patients respond to a specific type of treatment called checkpoint immunotherapy.

11. Shed light on the importance of the tumor macro environment in predicting therapy responsiveness in ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is an aggressive disease with a high rate of resistance to standard of care therapies. Drs. Martina Bazzaro, Emil Lou, and Andrew Nelson published a new study in which they examine how the proportion of tumor and stroma in patient samples correlates with response to platinum-based therapy (PMID 38411963). These ongoing efforts will contribute to the identification of patients who may not respond to standard-of-care therapies and develop new approaches for targeting these aggressive cancers.

12. Uncovered how BRAF inhibitors influence cancer-driving proteins. Some drugs used to treat cancer, like vemurafenib, dabrafenib, and encorafenib, can sometimes have the opposite effect of what’s intended. At lower doses, these drugs can unintentionally activate a protein called BRAF instead of turning it off, which can trigger harmful cell signaling. Drs. Nicholas Levinson, Joseph Muretta, William Pomerantz, and Tanya Freedman conducted a detailed study that explains why this happens. They discovered that the drugs cause BRAF to change shape in a way that activates it, a process known as allosteric activation. This research helps scientists better understand how BRAF works, paving the way for improved cancer treatments that avoid this problem.

13. Developed potent strategy to generate genetically-modified immune cells for adoptive cancer immunotherapy. Drs. Branden Moriarity, Beau Webber, and David Largaespada developed a powerful new tool, called TcB-M, by testing millions of genetic variants. This tool makes it much easier and safer to engineer immune cells, like T-cells and NK cells, for cancer treatments such as CAR-T and CAR-NK therapies. Their research showed highly effective results against CD19, a common target in blood cancers. This breakthrough could transform how genetically engineered cells are created for cancer immunotherapy.

14. Clinical trial aimed at improving prostate cancer treatment shows promising results. A clinical trial led by Dr. Emmanuel Antonarakis, a new member of the Genetic Mechanism Program, tested the effectiveness of the PARP inhibitor olaparib in patients with biochemically-recurrent prostate cancer. The study found that 26 percent of patients showed an antitumor response without needing hormonal therapy. Patients with BRCA2 mutations or high levels of PARP1 activity were most likely to benefit. These findings pave the way for larger studies to confirm the role of PARP inhibitors in treating this form of prostate cancer.

15. Research advanced on optimizing the immune system to fight cancer. Dr. David Masopust studied how the area around cancer cells affects a special type of immune cell called a resident memory T cell. These cells play a key role in staying near tumors and helping the body fight cancer. His research helps us understand how these cells develop and work to support the immune system in fighting cancer.

16. TriKE research offering new hope for overcoming cancer resistance. Drs. Martin Felices and Jeffrey Miller are working on a special treatment called TriKEs, which are designed to help the body’s natural killer (NK) cells fight cancer. They studied how well NK cells work in different parts of the body, like the blood, bone marrow, and solid tumors, and found that low oxygen levels (hypoxia) can make these cells less effective over time. TriKEs help by boosting NK cells through a receptor called CD16 and a molecule called IL-15, which helps them overcome this problem. The first advanced version of a TriKE targeting CD33 is now being tested in patients thanks to teamwork with Dr. Mark Juckett who leads the trial.

17. MCC tobacco research highlighted by the White House. Dr. Dana Carroll and Wyatt Pickner of the American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF) have secured an National Cancer Institute (NCI) -funded R01 grant to gather insights from American Indian communities on tailoring quit-smoking resources to their unique needs. Building on their previous work, including the launch of SmokefreeNATIVE—a quit-smoking text message program for American Indian individuals that debuted in 2023—the project exemplifies meaningful community engagement. Pickner, a Native researcher (Hunkpati Dakota) and research lead at AICAF, collaborates with a Community Advisory Board of American Indian and tribal-serving clinics to guide this effort. This initiative marks a major milestone for the Masonic Cancer Center, paving the way for future cancer prevention efforts within American Indian communities in our catchment area.

18. Cancer survivorship research and recognition continued to grow. MCC members Drs. Rachel Vogel and Helen Parsons received a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant (U48) to look at aspects of cancer survivorship within the ovarian cancer population, while Drs. Schelomo Marmor and Anne Blaes received a p30 and CDC grant (U48) to examine the role of survivorship care in the adolescent and young adult cancer population. These grants build off of their prior work and have been recognized through two NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship Series talks in October 2024 and April 2025.

19. Study showed promising results for safer approach to blood cancer treatments. Since the first successful blood stem cell transplant in 1968, patients with blood diseases have needed high doses of chemotherapy and radiation to prevent the body from rejecting the new cells. This study, published in the American Society of Hematology’s journal Blood, showed that a targeted antibody can eliminate both diseased stem cells and the immune cells responsible for rejection, with minimal side effects in mice with a DNA repair disorder. The promising results suggest this approach could offer a safer alternative to traditional treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell disease, and other blood disorders. The study team included several MCC members: Asim Saha, Rahul Palchaudhuri, Leanne Lanieri, Sharon Hyzy, Megan J. Riddle, Jamie Panthera, Cindy R. Eide, Jakub Tolar, Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, Lev Gorfinkel, Victor Tkachev, Ulrike Gerdemann, Francesca Alvarez-Calderon, Elisa Rojas Palato, Margaret L. MacMillan, John E. Wagner, Leslie S. Kean, Mark J. Osborn, Hans-Peter Kiem, David T. Scadden, Lisa M. Olson, Bruce R. Blazar.

20. Nicotinamide shown to enhance natural killer cell function and yield remissions in patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of immune cell that can detect and destroy cancer cells. This study, published in Science Translational Medicine, found that boosting NK cell function with nicotinamide (vitamin B3) improved their ability to fight tumors. In a clinical trial, this approach led to complete responses in 13 out of 19 lymphoma patients who had not responded to other treatments. The study team included several MCC members: Frank Cichocki, Bin Zhang, Cheng-Ying Wu, Emily Chiu, Abderrahman Day, Roddy S O-Connor, Dima Yackoubov, Ronit Simantov, David H McKenna, Qing Cao, Todd E Defor, Murali Janakiram, Rose Wangen, Zuzan Cayci, Nathaniel Snyder, Akhilesh Kumar, Bartosz Grzywacz, Justin Hwang, Yona Geffen, Jeffrey S Miller Joseph Maakaron, Veronika Bachanova.

Want to hear more from us? Make sure you're signed up to receive email updates throughout the year.