Fundraising to support discovery grants at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. 

By personally supporting and raising funds for grants through the Victory Over Cancer fund, the Ambassadors spark the beginning of new major research initiatives.

Advocating for Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. 

Through their personal and professional networks, the Ambassadors spread the word about how Vanderbilt-Ingram is leading the way in cancer treatment and research and work to identify and recruit new Ambassadors.

Participating in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center community. 

The VICC Ambassadors support the services provided at Vanderbilt-Ingram as active members of the community through attending meetings and events, hearing from Vanderbilt-Ingram leaders and partnering with Medical Center Development staff.

To inquire about joining the VICC Ambassadors, email viccambassadors@vumc.org.

Developing early phase clinical trials for therapies directed at genetic changes in tumors and for novel immunotherapeutic combinations

Investigating why some tumors become resistant to immunotherapies and genetically targeted therapies and developing new strategies to prevent and overcome resistance

Applying and enhancing innovative immunotherapeutic strategies and cellular therapies for cancer

-Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) as a strategy to abrogate antiestrogen resistance in HR+ breast cancer
-FGFR pathway as a strategy to abrogate CDK4/6 inhibition and antiestrogen resistance in HR+ breast cancer
-RSK2 as a regulator and therapeutic target for HR+ breast cancer
-CDK4/6 inhibitors, anti-tumor immunity and the pro-inflammatory secretome

-Refinement of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) molecular subtypes: Implications for neoadjuvant chemotherapy selection
-JAK2 amplification as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in TNBC
-Strategies to improve outcomes for TNBC patients integrating subtype-specific genomic and immune-based discoveries

-Targeting antigen presentation to improve immunotherapy responses in breast cancer
-Mutant spliceosomes as a predictor for immune checkpoint blockade therapies

-Image integration to breast cancer biology and clinical trials
-Evaluating non-invasive imaging technologies to predict anti-cancer drug action and treatment response

-Targeting the DNA damage response and resistance in breast cancer

-Identifying mechanisms of tumor dormancy in the bone marrow

-Breast cancer in blacks: impact on genomics, healthcare use and lifestyle on outcomes (BRIGHT)
-Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS): Relationship between obesity and breast cancer
-Optimization of care delivery in breast cancer, focusing on novel methods for dissemination of new data and cutting-edge technologies, as well as implementation of recent guidelines and approved therapies for breast cancer

-Electronic health record (EHR) decision support for genetic testing to inform clinical management, including eligibility and enrollment on clinical trials
-Molecular tumor board to evaluate CLIA-grade reports for actionability and make recommendations based on current knowledge and available clinical trials
-Structural Biology Precision Medicine Working Group

-Ongoing basic and translational discoveries provide a steady pipeline for novel interventional trials with innovative approaches.
-Systematic liquid biopsy using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and tissue repository protocol for all stages and types of breast cancer
-Extensive scientific collaborations with multiple national and international institutions, as well as consortia and pharma

- Unique genomic alterations that lead to inflammatory phenotypes
- New models of inflammatory Breast Cancer

Identifying how changes in key cell cycle proteins help tumor cells escape the typical response of cell death and lead to uncontrollable growth

Finding and developing compounds that inhibit key drivers of cancer formation

Combining ‘big data’ experimental approaches to understand the changes in signaling networks that drive cancer formation

Determining how cancer-initiating stem cells continuously renew and seed distant sites to promote metastasis, and understanding the role of these cells in resistance to chemotherapies

Uncovering basic immune regulatory mechanisms in anti-tumor immunity and how inflammation can be exploited to eliminate cancer or can trigger and promote tumors

Establishing single cell biology and modeling approaches to assess the composition and roles of the heterogeneous cell populations in tumor progression or therapeutic responses.

Integrating and developing molecular imaging technologies to understand and monitor how tumors evolve in a changing microenvironment

How environmental agents and the products of natural cellular metabolism cause mutations and lead to cancer

How the epigenome contributes to genome integrity and expression and how it goes awry in cancer

How DNA damage response pathways are activated and how they function to maintain genome integrity and suppress cancer

How DNA damage is repaired and how defects in these processes lead to cancer

How control of gene expression is central to normal cellular homeostasis and cancer mechanisms

Determining the etiology and pathogenesis of gastrointestinal cancers

Developing biomarkers and imaging techniques to improve detection and predict efficacy of current and novel therapeutics for gastrointestinal cancers

Developing and studying novel laboratory models of cancer to improve understanding of human cancers

Translating laboratory discoveries into clinical investigations

Identifying genetic factors linked to cancer susceptibility

Evaluating the impact of dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors on cancer risk

Identifying genetic and lifestyle factors that predict cancer survival and recurrence

Understanding the differences in cancer risk and mortality in different populations