Henry Ford + MSU Announce 2024 Cancer Research Award Recipients

Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences has named the award recipients of the 2024 Cancer Seed Funding Program. Building on the success of the 2022 and 2023 cancer research pilot and integration award funding initiatives, this year the program has awarded 14 new cancer research awards totaling $700,000.

“We are committed to supporting collaborative research to create a national and international destination for access to the most advanced cancer therapies and interventions,” said Ben Movsas, M.D., Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Committee co-chair, Henry Ford Cancer medical director and radiation oncology chair. “This is our third funding year. Our Henry Ford + MSU cancer researchers are demonstrating the power of coming together, with examples of previous recipients moving forward with federally funded research.”

Over the last three years, Henry Ford + MSU has provided a total of about $2.7 million funds through the Cancer Seed Funding Program. Each award includes a principal investigator from Henry Ford Health and a principal investigator from Michigan State University.

“One of our primary goals is to close the gap in healthcare outcomes for cancer patients based on race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status,” Jeff MacKeigan Ph.D., Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Committee co-chair and Michigan State University Office of Research and Innovation senior advisor.

With more than a third of the awards focusing on health disparities, Henry Ford + MSU has also selected unique and collaborative proposals that combine the clinical and scientific strengths of Henry Ford and MSU. In addition, the proposals provided foundational support to advance collaborative cancer projects toward an NCI grant application.

The topic for this year’s program was Future NCI Grant Applications. The recipients of the 2024 Cancer Seed Funding Program are listed below:

• Christina Chan, Ph.D. (MSU) and Ramandeep Rattan, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)
• Sue Catherine Grady, Ph.D. (MSU) and Ikenna Okereke, M.D. (Henry Ford)
• Sachi Horibata, Ph.D. (MSU) and Frederick Valeriote, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)
• Sachi Horibata, Ph.D. (MSU) and Jamie Bernard, Ph.D. (MSU), and Ramandeep Rattan, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)
• Ling Huang, Ph.D. (Henry Ford) and Thomas O'Halloran, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Xiaoyu Liang, Ph.D. (MSU) and Hongsheng Gui, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)
• Jeff MacKeigan, Ph.D. and Katie Martin, Ph.D. (MSU), and Howard Crawford, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)
• Christine Neslund-Dudas, Ph.D. (Henry Ford) and Kelly Hirko, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Olorunseun Ogunwobi, Ph.D. (MSU) and Brian Theisen, M.D. (Henry Ford)
• Amanda Pilling, Ph.D. (Henry Ford) and Jeff MacKeigan, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Bryan Smith, Ph.D. (MSU) and Atsushi Yoshida, M.D. (Henry Ford) and Sunil Chakrapani, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Menghua Tao, Ph.D. (Henry Ford) and Horng-Shiuann Wu, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Kundan Thind, Ph.D. (Henry Ford) and Mohammad Ghassemi, Ph.D. (MSU)
• Tommy Van Vo, Ph.D. (MSU) and Ramandeep Rattan, Ph.D. (Henry Ford)

To further encourage collaboration on cancer projects and programs, Henry Ford + MSU encourages those interested to register for the 4th Annual Henry Ford + MSU Cancer Research Symposium. The symposium will be held this year at the Cambria Hotel in Detroit on November 7 and 8

The theme for the 2024 symposium is Maximum Impact: Working Together to Eliminate Cancer in Our Patients and Community. This multidisciplinary cancer symposium will feature Henry Ford + MSU speakers, including opening remarks from Steve Kalkanis, M.D. and Norm Hubbard, as well as an interactive panel discussion with our cancer leadership triad, Jeff MacKeigan, Ph.D., Ben Movsas, M.D. and Derek Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D.

Learn more about this Henry Ford + MSU symposium HERE.