International Research Chemistry Awards

  Advancements in HIV/AIDS research, drug development and clinical practice since the 1980s have made it possible for people living with HIV to lead long, productive lives and keep the virus in check at undetectable levels and nontransmissible as long as therapy is maintained. However, a cure - completely ridding the body of the virus - has only been documented in a handful of patients who underwent complex and high-risk bone marrow transplants for life-threatening blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma. In a paper published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they may have taken an early step toward a more practical HIV cure. The researchers - in a study done largely with federal funding - focused on a patient undergoing cancer treatment and also living with HIV, who after receiving chemotherapy, had a significant reduction in the number of CD4+ T immune cells that contained an HIV provirus - a key player in HIV's ...

  In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers identified a circadian neutrophil checkpoint that protects against inflammation. Neutrophils are the first responders to infections and trauma. However, their highly cytotoxic activity can cause irreversible damage to bystander host cells. This is particularly relevant in the context of sterile inflammation and infections, conditions in which the affected tissues recruit neutrophils that can increase the area of damage by secreting cellular components and chemicals and inducing the death of unaffected cells. These antagonistic effects of inflammatory injury and immune protection impede therapeutic development, as both properties are deemed inseparable features of neutrophils. However, recent studies report that neutrophils are not homogeneous across disease states, tissues, and diurnal time, suggesting that neutrophils may be targeted in a spatiotemporal manner. Myocardial Infarction as a Circadian M...

  Using menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) was not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women with inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, according to the results of a matched prospective analysis presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held December 9-12, 2025. Women who inherit a pathogenic mutation in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are advised to follow the recommended guidance to have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed (a procedure known as bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy) at relatively early ages to safeguard against their elevated risk of ovarian and/or fallopian tube cancer, said study presenter Joanne Kotsopoulos, PhD, a scientist at the Women's College Hospital Research and Innovation Institute and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto in Canada. Removing the ovaries can induce early menopause. Although MHT can treat the symptoms of menopause, many patients might not want to take ...

  Engineered oncolytic bacteria have emerged as a promising therapeutic platform for precision cancer treatment, offering tumor-specific colonization, immune activation, and controllable therapeutic delivery. This review summarizes recent advances in the design and application of synthetic biological strategies that enhance bacterial precision, safety, and efficacy in tumor therapy. These strategies are categorized into three major regulatory modes: exogenous input–responsive gene circuits, autonomous bacterial signal–responsive gene circuits, and tumor microenvironment-responsive gene circuits. Exogenous input–responsive gene circuits rely on external chemical molecules, light, temperature, or radiation to precisely regulate bacterial gene expression and therapeutic release, enabling spatiotemporally control of bacterial activity. These circuits provide several advantages: (1) precise temporal control over therapeutic delivery, (2) reduced metabolic burden during systemic circulat...

  Cancer immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment, yet many patients experience limited or short-lived responses due to immune evasion, tumor heterogeneity, and immune-related adverse events. While the role of MHC-I in antigen presentation and immune surveillance is well established, MHC-II expression in tumor cells has remained far less explored. Recent findings indicate that tumor-expressed MHC-II not only reflects the immune environment but actively directs CD4⁺ T-cell activation, shaping the quality and durability of antitumor immunity. Its involvement in therapeutic resistance and treatment outcomes highlights the need to better understand its regulatory mechanisms and functional implications. Given these challenges, deeper investigation of tumor-cell MHC-II expression and immune function is urgently needed. Researchers from Zhejiang Cancer Hospital , Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have published (DOI: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0248) a ...

  The DNA inside our cells is constantly being damaged, and one of the worst kinds of damage is a double-strand break-when both sides of the DNA helix are cut at once. Healthy cells can normally fix these breaks using highly precise repair systems, but when those systems fail, cells sometimes resort to a less accurate backup method. Now, scientists at Scripps Research have discovered when and how this backup repair pathway gets activated, and how the process could be turned against cancer cells that rely on it to survive. The study, published in Cell Reports on October 28, 2025, focused on a protein that unwinds twisted strands of genetic material, including RNA-DNA tangles called R-loops. These temporary, harmful "knots" form when newly made RNA sticks to its DNA template instead of detaching, leaving one DNA strand exposed. The study zeroed in on a type of helicase protein-a class of molecular motors that unwind genetic tangles-called senataxin (SETX). SETX mutations are kn...

  In a new preclinical study, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center developed an antibody therapy called 77A that showed an ability to overcome treatment resistance in blood cancers, such as myeloma and lymphoma, as well as solid tumors. The study was led by Jun Wei, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Lymphoma & Myeloma, and principal investigator Robert Z. Orlowski, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Lymphoma & Myeloma. Wei presented the results today at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 388). All ASH content from MD Anderson can be found at MDAnderson.org/ASH. How does the 77A antibody work to activate the immune system against cancer? The 77A antibody targets HSP70, a heat shock protein that helps tumors evade the immune system. HSP70 often is overproduced in certain blood cancers and solid tumors, contributing to a hostile tumor environment by suppressing immune responses and promoting cancer cell...

  It's not often that a pathologist gets to make a diagnosis that works for the patient by preventing treatment from occurring. But thanks to a Johns Hopkins Medicine doctor and his newly reported definition and classification of a previously unknown, novel type of benign soft tissue tumor, that's exactly the desired outcome. In a paper appearing in the December 2025 issue of the journal Modern Pathology , John Gross, M.D., associate professor of pathology and orthopedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, describes in detail for the first time a slow-growing, bone-covered, noncancerous mass that he named the ossifying spindled and epithelioid tumor, or OSET. The danger for patients with an OSET, he explains, is not from the tumor itself, but that it could be mistaken for a malignant growth and lead to a patient receiving unnecessary chemotherapy or radiation treatments. "In fact, the sample looked totally different from any bone-covered tumor I had...

  An international research team led by RMIT University have created tiny particles, known as nanodots, made from a metallic compound that can kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells largely unharmed. While this work is still at the cell-culture stage – it hasn't been tested in animals or people – it points to a new strategy for designing cancer treatments that exploit cancer's own weaknesses. The particles are made from molybdenum oxide, a compound based on a rare metal called molybdenum , which is often used in electronics and alloys. The study's lead researcher Professor Jian Zhen Ou and Dr Baoyue Zhang, from the School of Engineering, said tweaking the chemical makeup made the particles release reactive oxygen molecules – unstable forms of oxygen that can damage cell components and trigger cell death. In tests, the particles killed three times more cervical cancer cells than healthy cells over 24 hours. Importantly, they worked without needing light, which is unus...

  A new targeted alpha therapy is showing promise for patients whose thyroid cancer no longer responds to radioactive iodine, the standard beta-emitting treatment. In a first-in-human study, investigators found that a single dose of the alpha-emitting radionuclide 211At (astatine) was both well-tolerated and effective, achieving disease control without molecularly targeted drugs. The findings were published in the December issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Beta-emitting radioactive iodine is the standard treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after total thyroidectomy. However, despite repeated administration, some patients experience disease progression and are classified as refractory to radioactive iodine. At that point, molecular -targeted agents, such as kinase inhibitors, are used to treat radioactive iodine-resistant DTC. To address this issue, Watabe and colleagues developed a targeted alpha-therapy using the radionuc...

  Researchers have discovered that analyzing specific patterns of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentation in a simple urine sample can effectively diagnose and stage bladder cancer, offering a much-needed alternative to invasive procedures like cystoscopies. This novel approach, detailed in a new study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, could reduce the need for frequent cystoscopies, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient comfort and outcomes. Bladder cancer remains a major clinical challenge as it is one of the most common and deadliest urological cancers with a high recurrence rate. Yet its diagnosis still relies heavily on invasive and costly procedures like cystoscopy (inserting a thin, tube-like instrument through the urethra) or cytology, a noninvasive test that can identify tumor cells shed in urine but has limited sensitivity. Investigators of the current study were motivated to find a simpler, more comfortable way to detect and monitor bladde...

  Breast cancer is able to modify the lymphatic vessels through which it travels to the draining lymph nodes. From there, it can then spread to other parts of the body. A new finding by Finnish researchers may help develop targeted therapies that could prevent this spread. The most dangerous feature of breast cancer is its ability to spread elsewhere in the body. Usually, the first sign of metastasis is that cancer cells are found also in the lymph nodes draining the tumor area. The first lymph nodes that cancer cells can reach via the lymphatic vessels are located in the armpit. Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland analysed the cancer-originated changes in the lymphatic vessels. They found that significant molecular changes take place in the lymphatics when cancer spreads into the lymph nodes. Those changes support cancer cell travelling into the lymph nodes and further metastasis of the cancer elsewhere in the body. The study also identified a specific protein, Matr...