Media Archive
UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center
Director Thomas P. Loughran Jr.,
MD, and Professors of Medicine/
Hematology and Oncology Charles
Chalfant, PhD, and David Feith,
PhD, have been awarded a new
five-year, $13 million National
Cancer Institute (NCI) program
project grant to lead a multiinstitution,
interdisciplinary study
seeking new therapies for acute
myeloid leukemia (AML).
A rare cancer and the deadliest
form of leukemia, AML is primarily
diagnosed in older patients with a
median age of 68. It occurs when
myeloid cells mutate and multiply
in the bone marrow and blood,
crowding out the healthy blood cells
that carry oxygen, form clots, and
fight infections.
“We’ve made great progress
understanding how AML works and
how patients respond to treatment
differently,” Dr. Loughran said.
“This project will build on that,
drawing on disciplines ranging from
hematology to the engineering
of nanotechnology to deliver new
therapies directly to cancer cells.
We’re thrilled to continue this
collaborative work to reduce the
impact of this devastating disease.”
Several types of blood cancers can present in many ways.
Some blood cancers can be associated with environmental exposures; however, those exposures are rare.
Symptoms vary between different kinds of blood cancers. There are treatments available, and several blood cancers are even curable.
Becker’s Hospital Review included UVA Health and UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center on its 2025 list of 100 hospitals and health systems with great oncology programs. “These leading institutions have earned national distinction for advancing cancer care through groundbreaking research, innovative treatments, and transformative clinical trials,” the national health care publication’s editors wrote.
The fifth Michael J. Weber symposium brought experts from across the country to share new discoveries on what they call “drugging the undruggable” in cancer.
“This is a great celebration of legacy of the former director of the UVA Cancer Center Mike Weber,” current director Thomas Loughran said.
She was only 66 and in excellent shape, but we did not have access to a transplant in India,” recalls Indumathy Varadarajan, MD, of her personal loss that continues to shape her work today at UVA Health.
The hematologist-oncologist’s maternal grandmother died from acute leukemia, a cancer of the blood-forming tissues.
Francine Garrett-Bakelman, now a cancer doctor and researcher
at UVA, helped NASA compare blood samples from astronaut
Scott Kelly and his identical twin, Mark. Read Morehttps://news.med.virginia.edu/blog/a-uva-doctor-reflects-on-her-work-with-nasa/
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly came home from a yearlong stay on the International Space Station, and a young physician-scientist, Francine Garrett-Bakelman MD, PhD, was waiting anxiously. She had important work to do and only one shot to do it.
Dr. Thomas P. Loughran Jr., director of the University of Virginia Cancer Center, discusses an experimental new treatment approach for a rare, deadly leukemia that can send the disease into remission even in patients for whom the standard therapy has failed, buying them more time to have the stem cell transplant that could save their lives.
Dr. Kelly Davidson discusses sickle cell disease. Watch video…
Dr. Trish Millard, MD talks about the education and fellowship program in the division of Hematology & Oncology with in the Department of Medicine at UVA.
Dr. Kelly Davidson answers questions about misconceptions about SCD among family and friends, the general public, as well as health care providers which exacerbates the situation and make it more challenging for patients to get the care and support they need.
