'Cancer Curathon' Research Event to Bring Scientists, Community Together

CINCINNATI—For the second year, the University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute will host a half-day retreat Tuesday, July 14, for multidisciplinary researchers from across both campuses with hopes of developing new collaborations and research ideas.

The event, being held at the Kingsgate Marriott and titled "University Retreat for Research: Cincinnati Charge Against Cancer/Cancer Curathon,” will be an organized meeting of the minds, where both cancer-type specific and randomized groups will be formed and will work together on a previously unfunded scientific project, with hopes of impacting the field of cancer research. 

Some groups will be randomly assigned from 10 UC colleges and departments—Medicine; Nursing; Pharmacy; Allied Health; Business; Engineering; Physics; Biology; Chemistry; and Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. As a new component to this year’s event, other groups will be formed with members from the designated cancer centers within the institute to allow colleagues with similar interests to work together. Centers include breast, lung, brain, gastrointestinal and head and neck. 

After only a few hours, each of the anticipated 11 teams will present its idea, and then, guest judges and speakers Max Wicha, MD, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Robert Coleman, MD, and Anil Sood, MD, both from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will decide the winning teams. 

Three awards will be given: one $50,000 prize and two $25,000 prizes. The announcements of these awards will be made at an invitation-only reception downtown at Phelps Residence Inn during Major League Baseball’s All-Star game that evening. 

"Last year’s event was a complete success, and we’re so excited to do it again this year,” says William Barrett, MD, director of the UC Cancer Institute, chair of the UC Department of Radiation Oncology and medical director for UC Health’s Barrett Center. "We hope to build on the existing internal and external enthusiasm for the cancer program and its research strengths.”