Pamela B. Davis, dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president for medical affairs, was honored at the Ohio Cancer Research Associates’ (OCRA) Singular Sensations event this week. The dean also is a new member of the OCRA’s campaign committee.
In her role as dean, Davis is integral in the university’s partnership with Cleveland Clinic to create a state-of-the-art medical education building. In addition, Davis is the principal investigator for the school’s $64.6 million Clinical and Translational Science Award program, continued for a second five-year period in 2012. She is a prolific researcher whose work focuses largely on cystic fibrosis. She has published more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than three decades.
Justin Lathia, assistant professor of molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, also was recognized.
Lathia leads a translational cancer stem-cell research laboratory, where he focuses on how the stem cell state is regulated in advanced cancers. Projects in the lab involve understanding how cancer stem cells interact with their surrounding microenvironment as well as one another with the goal of identifying unique pathways for therapeutic development. Lathia has co-authored more than 80 publications and work in his lab is supported by multiple NIH grants. His lab previously received funding from Ohio Cancer Research Associates.
The Singular Sensations event, now in its 14th year, is a benefit gala for OCRA that celebrates the achievements of leading researchers.
OCRA has awarded nearly $1 million to Case Western Reserve in support of cancer researchers who are early in their careers.
The nonprofit organization is dedicated to the cure and prevention of the many forms of cancer and the reduction of its effects through basic seed money research, cancer information and awareness. More than $6.8 million in seed money provided to researchers by OCRA has generated more than $205.8 million in new money from other sources to continue basic cancer research and translational clinical trials.