UCI leadership, Drs. Jackson Orem, executive director (front row - 3rd from left), and Victoria Walusansa, deputy director (front row - 5th from left), joined by Fred Hutch and Global Oncology leadership and colleagues, including Drs. Gary Gilliland, president and director (second row - left) and Bruce Clurman, executive VP and deputy director (first row - center) at the UCI-Fred Hutch Cancer Centre in Kampala.
2019 Year in Review
Fred Hutch's Global Oncology program, under the scientific leadership of Dr. Edus H. Warren, program head, and Dr. Thomas Uldrick, deputy head, accelerated cancer research with global impact, in collaboration with its partners — especially the Uganda Cancer Institute — and with support from its funders and donors. We are thankful for your support and wish you a productive year ahead!
Launched Two Clinical Trials
Global Oncology implemented capacity building efforts that laid the foundation to conduct innovative clinical trials at the UCI-Fred Hutch Cancer Centre in Kampala, Uganda. Our program activated two clinical trials in 2019.
The first trial, co-led by Dr. Manoj Menon (FH) and Dr. Jackson Orem (UCI), is focused on determining the feasibility of an all-oral cancer regimen for breast cancer patients and is an aim of the ongoing study funded by GSK's Africa NCD Open Lab to define the molecular profile of breast cancer in Uganda and explore clinical implications. Preliminary data suggest that most women present in advanced stages of breast cancer and have hormone receptor-positive disease.
The second trial, in partnership with Roche and the UCI, will evaluate a novel-targeted treatment, Rituximab, that can be administered under the skin of adult and pediatric patients with lymphoma. This trial is led by Global Oncology Deputy Head Dr. Thomas Uldrick and Drs. Henry Ddungu, Joyce Balagadde-Kambugu, and Jackson Orem of the UCI.
Specimens are being examined at a histopathology lab at UCI-Fred Hutch Cancer Centre by Diana Basemera.
Noteworthy Publications
Global Oncology faculty and colleagues published 26 articles in peer-reviewed, scientific journals in 2019. A few noteworthy publications resulting from the UCI-Fred Hutch collaboration include:
Celgene Cancer Care Links, East African Adult Hematology-Oncology Fellowship International Exchange Program
Three Internal (Fred Hutch) Awards:
Immunotherapy Integrated Research Centre Tumor Microenvironment, PIs: Warren, Phipps
Public Health Sciences Pilot, PI: Adams
Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center Innovation Grant, PIs: Phipps, Koelle (UW), Warren
Annual Grant Funding
New Pilot Grants on Next Generation Sequencing
Global Oncology awarded two $75,000 pilot grants as an initiative seeking proposals on next generation sequencing applications for prevalent solid and liquid tumors in low and middle-income countries, which could transform how cancers are diagnosed or treated.
The research teams of Principal Investigator Dr. Soheil Meshinchi (FH) and Co-PI Dr. Joyce Balagadde-Kambugu (UCI) aim to incorporate advanced diagnostics into routine care of patients diagnosed with acute leukemias at the UCI to define the molecular landscape of acute leukemias in Uganda.
Dr. Soheil Meshinchi
Dr. Joyce Balagadde-Kambugu
The research teams of Principal Investigator Dr. Alice Berger (FH) and Co-PI Dr. Nixon Niyonzima (UCI) aim to assess the utility of a liquid biopsy in patients with lung cancer at the UCI.
Dr. Alice Berger
Dr. Nixon Niyonzima
East African Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship
The East African Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship finished its first year strong, and the first cohort began their second year in September. Ten faculty from Fred Hutch and SCCA visited the UCI, giving over 30 lectures. Ugandan faculty gave lectures and ongoing supervision. The fellowship is co-directed by Dr. Abrahams Omoding (UCI) and Dr. John Harlan (UW).
AHO fellows with Dr. Marc Stewart, SCCA medical director (back row, 2nd left), Dr. Warren Phipps (back row, center), and Dr. Abrahams Omoding, AHO co-director (back row, 2nd right) in Kampala, Uganda.
“We are raising up the future oncologists, hematologists, researchers, faculty and advocates of cancer care… the robustness of visiting faculty and the enthusiasm and encouragement we have gotten is beyond words.”
– Dr. Abrahams Omoding, co-director, AHO fellowship and medical oncologist, UCI
Oncology Nursing Training Program
Global Oncology partnered with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to train Ugandan nurses on research implementation and on lymphoma, chemotherapy complications, sepsis, and hazardous drug handling. 80% of UCI nursing staff were trained.
Engaging Partners
In June 2019, Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann visited Kampala, together with Dr. Gary Gilliland, and toured the UCI-FHCC — a place where the link between infectious diseases and cancer is witnessed daily. Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, lived in Kampala in the late 1980s studying HIV/AIDS and cancer at the UCI.
Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, center, and Fred Hutch President Dr. Gary Gilliland visit with the medical staff of the Uganda Cancer Institute.
First UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration Faculty Retreat
Our program held the first annual UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration Faculty Retreat in Kampala, Uganda in September 2019. The events included an opening dinner with Uganda’s Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Acheng, and a two-day retreat with the participation of over 20 Fred Hutch and UCI colleagues. Participants discussed collaborative scientific and training successes, areas for improvement and new opportunities.
Fred Hutch and UCI staff in Kampala, Uganda.
External Advisory Board
Global Oncology launched a new External Advisory Board that will offer high-level scientific guidance. Our External Advisory Board members are:
Dr. Richard Ambinder, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Professor, Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Dr. Groesbeck Parham, M.D., Professor, OB/GYN & Director of the CIDRZ Cervical Cancer Prevention Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Connect with Us
We are kicking off a new Global Cancer Community in Seattle in collaboration with UW and other Seattle-based institutions. Email globaloncology@fredhutch.org to learn more.
Global Oncology hosted seven lectures in 2019 with dynamic and engaging global cancer experts. We will be hosting more exciting and interesting lectures in 2020. Join us at an upcoming lecture.
