Your donations allow SAA to provide funding to some of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions. This is the third in a series featuring the SAA LABS that our beneficiaries have named in honor of the efforts of Swim Across America.

This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rush University Medical Center. This lab, and a Patient Procedure Suite, were named for SAA in 2015 after more than $1 million was raised by SAA since 2011.

Each year, Rush University Medical Center runs an internal, peer-reviewed process to distribute the funds from SAA – Chicago. Rush researchers submitted more than 20 proposals for consideration for the proceeds from last year’s Chicago events, which included the open water swim at Ohio Street Beach and the 2^nd Swim Across Lake Michigan. Four research projects will be funded from 2015 and the awards have been made to support projects focused on a variety of treatment disciplines that impact patients with breast, colon, liver, and lung cancers, among others.

Kevin Gray, Director of Development at Rush University Medical Center was kind enough to answer some of our questions.

Can you shed some light on the cancer research being done in the SAA lab??

The cancer research being done with SAA funds varies from breast, gastro, lung and other. Dr. Jeff Borgia’s lab, which was named the Swim Across America Laboratory for Cancer Research, focuses on two areas: 1) Identifying a genetic marker within specific proteins that determine a person’s likelihood that they have or could develop lung cancer. And 2) fine-tuning a blood test – finger prick – that could be used in all primary care offices, but specifically in underserved communities and areas with high incidence of lung disease.

Dr. Borgia leading a team of SAA staff, swimmers and committee members on a tour of the SAA Laboratory for Cancer Research

What kind of grants have been acquired through the research?

There have been more than two dozen grants from various sources that continue to help all investigators during the timeframe of the SAA relationship. Most notable, two investigators, Drs. Carl Maki and Amanda Marzo, have leveraged SAA dollars to garner NIH funding. Dr. Marzo received $425,000 earlier this month and Dr. Maki received $375,000 last year.

What exciting plans does Rush have for 2016 and beyond?

The most exciting plans are technology and equipment investment. A computer-based initiative called bioinformatics and a biorepository will take Rush to the next level in terms of productivity and competitiveness. Bioinformatics is the ability, through extremely fast computers, to process an enormous amount of data in an extremely short time. Information that used to take weeks now can be processed in days or hours. It will be paired with the biorepository, which is housed in the SAA lab, which can process and store large amounts of tissue or blood samples for study. This enables the investigators to work faster and more efficiently, revealing new answers and results that potentially lead to a treatment or cure.

What does the lab mean to Rush?

It means a myriad of things:  1) It enables Rush to conduct meaningful research with an almost instant impact on patients. 2) It attracts the best and the brightest to Rush as the institution is tackling cutting-edge work. 3) It makes Rush a stronger academic institution as tomorrow’s doctors, nurses and other medical professionals get to work side-by-side with the best And 4) It puts Rush and those with SAA backing in a position to find the best solutions for new treatments and possibly a cure.

Your donations allow SAA to provide funding to some of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions. This is the second in a series featuring the SAA LABS that our beneficiaries have named in honor of the efforts of Swim Across America.

This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. The trials center was named for SAA in 2013 and features some treatments that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. Dr. Alan M. Miller, MD, PhD and Director of the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and Carlos Becerra, MD were kind enough to answer some of our questions. 

What does the ICTC mean to the doctors and patients that use it?

The Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor University Medical Center is a clinical facility where patients come to receive treatments that are available at only a few specialized centers in the country or may only be available at the ICTC.

These trials provide options for patients whose cancer has resisted standard therapies.  Many fall into the category, Phase 1 trials. These require a specialized staff with experience in treating patients with new therapies.

What kind of cancer research is being done in the ICTC?

In the past few years, the physicians and staff of the Swim Across America ICTC have participated in some of the most exciting studies using precision medicine and immunotherapy. Precision medicine involves analyzing the genes of the cancer and applying drugs that specifically target abnormalities in the cancer cells that are not in the individuals’ normal tissue. Immunotherapy harnesses the body’s own immune system to help attack the cancer.

What plans are in store for 2016 and beyond?

An exciting trial starting in 2016 involves the use of a dendritic cell vaccine to treat pancreatic cancer.  Dendritic cells are cells of the immune system that identify abnormal cells like a bacteria or a cancer cell and then call in other components of the immune system to attack the invader. This dendritic cell vaccine was developed in the laboratory of the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research and is only available at the ICTC.

“Thanks to the funding from Swim Across America we have been able to explore new and very encouraging therapeutic targets for otherwise deadly diseases such as pancreatic cancer or refractory colon cancer and have been able to provide patients with novel therapies that would not otherwise be possible. We have taken discoveries from the lab of our scientists and tested the concept in the clinic thanks to the support of SAA, an example of translational work done within the walls of Baylor University Medical Center.” – Carlos Becerra, MD

For further information about the Swim Across America ICTC, please view the following video (the ICTC is featured at 3:38) or see more info on all the studies to the trials currently going on here.