These researchers dedicate their careers to finding new treatments and cures for people with cancer.
Conquering Cancer with Dr. Churpek
For Dr. Jane Churpek, Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, her 2011 Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award was a critical first step in making her research career possible.
“The YIA was instrumental in allowing me protected research time during my fellowship to gain experience and the critical research skills necessary to continue on the pathway of becoming an independent translational cancer researcher,” she said.
Thanks to that initial support, Dr. Churpek was able to dive in to her work studying portions of the genomes of patients with a strong family history of hematologic malignancies like leukemia and lymphoma. She’s found several potential causative genes, and continues to study them alongside her work as the Associate Director of the Cancer Risk Program at the university.
Alongside her YIA mentor, Dr. Lucy Godley, who is herself a 2003 Conquer Cancer YIA recipient, Dr. Churpek has also helped to form a research consortium to collaborate with other scientists pursuing similar work.
“The goals are to help recognize individuals and families with an inherited increased risk of developing blood and bone marrow cancers, to define the genes responsible for these new syndromes, and to study how these genes cause blood and bone marrow cancers,” said Dr. Churpek. “This work has the potential to provide a deeper understanding of why and how these cancers develop and help us identify new treatments and ultimately methods of prevention.”
Dr. Churpek is grateful for Conquer Cancer donors that helped launch her career. “Their support allowed me to gain the skills and research foundation that have made my translational research career possible,” she said. “I am very passionate about my work and can already see how it impacts patients directly. I hope to continue to make them proud of their investment.”
