Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Research Symposium Inspires and Builds Collaboration

On November 9 and 10, over 225 Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences researchers gathered on the MSU campus for the 3rd Annual Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Research Symposium.

“Our focus is health, hope, and healing for all people, and we're not going to get there without focus and a sense of urgency, and what you feel in this room today is that urgency and vibrancy,” said Norman Beauchamp Jr., M.D., M.H.S., Henry Ford + MSU board chair and MSU Health Sciences executive vice president. “We've seen so many examples already of people coming together where it's clear that our impact is being exponentiated.”

The two-day event focused on advancing research through innovation and collaboration. With more than 30 research presentations from Henry Ford and MSU, topics ranged from experimental and clinical therapeutics to opportunities for clinical trials and interventional studies.

“We must continue to find innovative ways to tackle cancer and cancer disparities,” said Jeff MacKeigan, Ph.D., Henry Ford + MSU cancer committee member and MSU College of Human Medicine assistant dean for research. “And there is a powerful synergy within the partnership that can meet that challenge.”

Later in the evening, Henry Ford + MSU researchers gathered at the Spartan Stadium for a reception and Poster Session. Posters were judged before the symposium and the awardees presented their research on the first day. The 2023 Poster Session awardees are:

• Adriana Ponton-Almodovar (MSU) - Experimental & Clinical Therapeutics
  • Examining the Metabolic Link between Obesity and Chemoresistance in Ovarian Cancer
• Alicia Speak, D.O. (Henry Ford Health) - Cancer Imaging & Early Detection
  • The Predictive Value of CA-125 for Radiologic Evidence of Metastatic Disease in Type 2 Endometrial Cancers
• Hilary Skalski (MSU) - Cancer Biology & Immunology
  • Addressing Obesity’s Impact on the PTEN Mutant Endometrium
• Reza Khan Mohammadi (MSU) – Cancer Control & Prevention
  • Enhancing Information Extraction from Electronic Health Records: An Iterative Prompt Engineering Approach Using GPT-4 and Llama2

“I hope the researchers from Henry Ford and Michigan State are excited about the potential for the science they can do working with each other,” said Benjamin A Rybicki, Ph.D. Henry Ford + MSU cancer committee member and Henry Ford researcher. “Hopefully this symposium afforded them the opportunity to meet new potential collaborators and talk about future research.”

After an evening of networking, symposium attendees continued the second day presenting and sharing their research. The day also included a special keynote presentation from Ohio State University Professor and Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Electra Paskett, Ph.D. Dr. Paskett’s presentation focused on a multi-level model to address cervical cancer disparities in Appalachia.