Established just five years ago, the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center is building a world-class hub for cancer care and discovery—delivering breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of cancer, transforming patient outcomes in our community, and shaping the future of cancer treatment worldwide.
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Syed A. Ahmad, MD
Interim Director
We are young compared to our peers, but we are already being seen as a vital contributor to the future of cancer prevention, care and survivorship. We are committed to making breakthrough advancements focused on the cancers most devastating to the region we serve that will also transform care for people around the globe.
5 YEARS OF PROGRESS
With roots stretching back 200 years, the University of Cincinnati, UC Health and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital established the Cancer Center in 2020 to serve as the umbrella for all cancer-related research.
Given the incredible research being conducted at all three institutions, it would have been easy to create a cancer center in name only. But we were driven by our mission to reduce the suffering and mortality caused by cancer to become so much more.
Here are just a few of our accomplishments over the past five years:
Selected to NCI Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network
Opened Nation’s First Comprehensive Blood Cancer Healing Center, integrating patient care, translational research and integrative medicine programs under one roof
First-in-Human use of FLASH radiotherapy
Opened first Oncology Primary Care Clinic in region
Opened Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource and Biospecimen Shared Resource to complement over 40 shared resources of our institutional partners
Increased active clinical trials 150% since 2019
Created one of only two cancer survivorship fellowships in the nation
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MILESTONES.
5 YEARS OF PROGRESS
With roots stretching back 200 years, the University of Cincinnati, UC Health and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital established the Cancer Center in 2020 to serve as the umbrella for all cancer-related research.
Given the incredible research being conducted at all three institutions, it would have been easy to create a cancer center in name only. But we were driven by our mission to reduce the suffering and mortality caused by cancer to become so much more.
Here are just a few of our accomplishments over the past five years.
Our Latest Accomplishments
Our focused vision continues to propel our work forward, evidenced by our 2024 performance.
$38.2m
IN RESEARCH FUNDING
3,262
ANALYTIC CASES (2023–2024)
714
PATIENTS ENROLLED IN CLINICAL TRIALS
282
PUBLICATIONS
TRANSFORMING BLOOD CANCER HEALING
The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center is a life force in advancing treatments for the 1.6 million people diagnosed with a blood cancer. Our research has already results in four new drugs now in clinical trails that are potential game changers.
In 2024 and 2025, we opened the nation’s first comprehensive Blood Cancer Healing Center, bringing together patients, families, providers and researchers under one roof to fuel the pace of discovery.
Hematological Cancer Research Highlights
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers at Cincinnati Children’s have published the most detailed “atlas” of stem cells and early progenitors involved in producing human blood, providing researchers worldwide with an open access tool to accelerate therapeutic discoveries.
Stem Cell Atlas Hopes to Spark New Breakthroughs
Cancer Center researchers lead by Eric Vick, MD, PhD, are working on a way to use IRAK4 to inhibit growth of c-Myc protein to kill AML cells. “IRAK4 inhibitiion or deletion has a unique role in decreasing the lifespan of c-Myc. By combining it with different compounds, we can decrease the amount of c-Myc and, by doing so, decrease cell growth in leukemia,” Vick says.
READ THE STUDY
An Indirect Route to Killing Cancer Cells
While bone marrow is known to adjust blood cell production to meet physiological needs, researchers at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center based at Cincinnati Children’s have found that responses vary across the skeleton. After developing a way to visualize blood production within the bones of mice, the researchers introduced three types of stressors and measured how different bones responded. For example, blood loss triggered rapid red blood cell production in the sternum, tibia, vertebrae, and humerus–but not in the skull.
Blood Cell Production Varies by Stress & Bone Type
Hover over each box to read highlights.
ADVANCING TRANSFORMATIVE SCIENCE
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center is the largest clinical trials provider in the region, with more than 3,000 patients participating in clinical trials since 2019.
2024-2025 Feature Trials:
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Advancing Treatment for Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (UCCC -HN-2102)
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Testing Chemotherapy Supplemental Medications to Treat Infants Newly Diagnosed With KMT 2A-rearranged or KMT 2A-non-rearranged Leukemia
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REDEL Trial (UCCC-GI-2301)
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Saruparib (AZD5305) vs. Placebo in Men With Metastatic Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer Receiving Physician’s Choice New Hormonal Agents (EvoPAR-PR01)
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Selumetinib vs. Standard Chemotherapy in Patients With Low-Grade Glioma
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CAR-monocytes for the Treatment of HER2 Overexpressing Solid Tumors
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Tegavivint for the Treatment of Recurrent or Refractory Solid Tumors, Including Lymphomas and Desmoid Tumors
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Post-Mastectomy Recovery (UCCC-BRE-23-01)
34%
GROWTH IN PATIENT ENROLLMENT IN INTERVENTIONAL TRIALS 2019–2024
Research Offers Expanded Options for Cincinnati Residents
Cincinnati residents, like Ron Solomon, who are faced with disheartening diagnoses find hope and purpose by participating in clinical trials. Prior to Mr. Solomon’s death as a result of pancreatic cancer, he participated in two clinical trials, becoming part of a legacy of patients contributing to future breakthroughs.
“So many people before me went through trials to give us the treatments we have today. I want to be part of that legacy,” Mr. Solomon said of his motivation to join the trials.
IN MEMORIAM OF RON SOLOMON
Jordan Kharofa, MD
Senior Advisor, Experimental Therapeutics Research Program
The pilot funding was essential. It enabled us to secure a competitive grant from NRG Oncology, which supports national clinical trials, expanding the clinical trial to three locations and enhancing its scope.
FUELING EARLY-STAGE RESEARCH
Pilot funds play a vital role in tomorrow’s cancer treatments by providing funding for early-stage research projects. These funds work like Kickstarter or other platforms that provide funding to ideas and innovations in the early stages.
Since the Cancer Center’s Pilot Project Award Program started in 2021, every $1 invested in pilot grants has raised $2.62 in federal grants.
On right: 2021–2024 Data
$3.1m
IN PILOT PROJECT FUNDING
62
RESEARCH GRANTS
REDEL Trial
In 2022, the Cancer Center awarded a $50,000 pilot grant to help fund the REDEL Trial (REDuced Elective Nodal Dose for Anal Cancer Toxicity Mitigation, led by Jordan Kharofa, MD, senior advisor at the Cancer Center. The clinical trial is investigating whether reducing radiation doses to non-cancerous areas during chemoradiotherapy can minimize toxicity for anal cancer patients.
That funding helped investigators obtain the data they needed to then earn a competitive NRG Oncology grant to expand the trial, which will lay the foundation for a national trial concept for this disease.
$297,000
ANNUAL EARLY-CAREER FUNDING AVAILABLE
74
TRAINEE ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
NURTURING THE FUTURE OF CANCER RESEARCH
The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center is emerging as a hub for rising talent in cancer research, attracting some of the brightest early-career scientists and clinicians from across the nation.
Drawn by the opportunity to collaborate with nationally renowned researchers, these individuals are finding an environment where their work receives focused attention and robust support. With access to cutting-edge resources, competitive funding opportunities, and personalized mentorship, these new team members are poised to drive impactful advancements in cancer care.
Riccardo Barrile, PhD
Trainee Associate Member, 2025 Stambrook Pilot Award Recipient
My Cancer Center membership has been a tremendous asset to my research. Even though my background is not purely in cancer biology, being a part of this vibrant community has facilitated the exchange of ideas, fostered collaborations with experts across disciplines and accelerated my scientific growth.
Early-Career Physician-Scientist Honored
Andrew Frankart, MD, a physician-researcher at the Cancer Center, received the 2024 Clinician Scientist Development Grant awarded by the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Radiation Oncology. Only one of these grants is awarded annually to an early-career physician conducting research as a significant part of their practice.
The five-year, $729,000 grant will support Frankart’s clinical trial into the use of lattice therapy on large tumors. Frankart is the first UC researcher to be awarded this grant.
Attracting the Best & Brightest
These early-career researchers joined the Cancer Center in 2024.
Dania M. Abu-Alhaija, PhD, RN, Cancer Prevention and Risk; Assistant Professor, UC College of Nursing · Cristina Andreani, PhD, MS, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Assistant Professor, UC College of Medicine · Caterina Bartolacci, PhD, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Assistant Professor, UC College of Medicine · Hrishikesh V. Bhide, PhD, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Assistant Professor, UC College of Engineer
Michael D. Deel, MD, Experimental Therapeutics; Associate Professor, UC College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s · Matt B. Dodson, PhD, MS, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Associate Professor, UC College of Medicine · Tony Faiola, PhD, MFA, Cancer Prevention and Risk; Professor, UC College of Nursing · Tommaso Giovannelli, PhD, MS, Cancer Prevention and Risk; Assistant Professor, UC College of Engineering
Jennifer L. Kamens, MD, Experimental Therapeutics; Assistant Professor, UC College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s · Clay S. Lewis, PhD, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Instructor, UC College of Medicine · Ashraf Samarah, PhD, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Associate Professor, UC College of Engineering · Samir Sabharwal, MD, MPH, Experimental Therapeutics; Assistant Professor, UC College of Medicine
Katherine Sabourin, PhD, MPH, Cancer Prevention and Risk; Assistant Professor, UC College of Medicine · Matia B. Solomon, PhD, Signaling Networks & Metabolic Pathways; Associate Professor, UC College of Arts and Sciences · Eric J. Vick, MD, PhD, Experimental Therapeutics; Instructor, UC College of Medicine · Yingyan Zeng, PhD, MS, Cancer Prevention and Risk; Assistant Professor, UC College of Engineering
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
231 Albert Sabin Way, Suite 2005, Cincinnati, OH 45267
Phone: 513-585-7333