
Pinder named Cancer Moonshot Scholar by NCI
College of Medicine faculty member among first receiving honor
Leeya Pinder, MD, MPH, associate professor in the UC College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, is among the first 11 people named as Cancer Moonshot Scholars by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is designed to advance cancer science while also diversifying the pool of researchers and the approaches to cancer research that NCI funds. The program is supported by the White House’s Cancer Moonshot initiative and aligns with NCI’s Equity and Inclusion Program and NIH’s UNITE Initiative. The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is led by the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. NCI intends to fund up to 30 additional Cancer Moonshot Scholars.
Leeya Pinder, MD, MPH, associate professor in the UC College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Photo/Dan Davenport/UC College of Medicine
Pinder’s project is “Repurposed Antiretroviral Therapies to Eliminate Cervical Cancer (POLESA Trial).” Her R37 is a seven-year award totaling $2.75 million during the first five years, with additional funding coming during the project’s last two years.
The overall goal of Pinder’s project is to find new, non-invasive, easily scalable solutions that address the profound gap in secondary cervical cancer prevention, particularly among women living with HIV. The study, which will enroll 180 women who present for cervical cancer screening in a Cervical Cancer Prevention Program clinic in Zambia, will also assess the safety and acceptability of a vaginal capsule containing the protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir given alone or in combination with thermal ablation to treat screened women found with precancerous abnormalities that are eligible for ablative therapy.
Related Stories
UC cancer research presented at national meeting
May 26, 2023
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers will present abstracts at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting 2023, held in Chicago June 2-6.
55KRC: UP-NEXT study tests ovarian cancer treatment
April 13, 2023
The University of Cincinnati's Amanda Jackson joined 55KRC's Simply Medicine program to discuss the UP-NEXT ovarian cancer clinical trial.
UP-NEXT study tests ovarian cancer treatment
March 21, 2023
Amanda Jackson, MD, is the site principal investigator at the University of Cincinnati for the UP-NEXT trial that is testing a new treatment for a subset of ovarian cancer patients.