Jose Nunez Rodriguez, MD, MSc
Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Odette Cancer Centre

NTIG

The North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) congratulates Jose Nunez Rodriguez, MD, MSc, Fellow at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Odette Cancer Centre, in Toronto, ON, Canada as the 2023 recipient of NANETS Theranostics Investigator Grant (NTIG). Dr. Nunez Rodriguez was awarded this scholarship for his proposal: Personalized Patient Derived Xenografts (PDXovo) to test the synergistic effect of PRRT and Immunotherapy for NENs.

After finishing a year-long neuroendocrine program with Dr. Rachel Riechelmann at the AC Camargo Cancer Centre in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr. Jose Nunez Rodriguez moved to Toronto to work as a Medical Oncology Clinical Fellow with a focus on neuroendocrine tumors at the University of Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Odette Cancer Centre. Dr. Simron Singh, his mentor, was crucial in bringing Dr. Nunez Rodriguez on board. 

Nunez Rodriguez’s interest in neuroendocrine neoplasms led to multiple publications during his training. This project will reflect his group's strategic objective of personalized care for patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms. With the mentorship of Dr. Singh, and in collaboration with Dr. Iacovos Michael and Dr. Hon Leong, they will evaluate the potential synergism of alpha-particle PRRT and immunotherapy in PDXovo preclinical models.

“As co-director of the Susan Leslie Clinic for Neuroendocrine Tumors, I am thrilled to be able to mentor and collaborate with Dr. Nunez Rodriguez,” said Dr. Singh. “Dr. Nunez Rodriguez has already collaborated with members of our team and obtained funding to launch a number of important initiatives. This grant's focus is on advancing personalized treatment for neuroendocrine patients, which is one of our primary objectives.” 

Nunez Rodriguez’s hypothesis is that the combination of alpha-particle PRRT and immunotherapy will increase antitumor activity in PDXovo preclinical models of NENs.

NANETS is proud to support Dr. Nunez Rodriguez in this project in the area of theranostics, which was developed to push forward the boundaries of molecularly targeted radionuclide therapy and diagnostics for patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

The NTIG award is a two-year, $100,000 grant made possible through generous support from the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) and supported by an educational grant from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

NANETS is grateful to Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, whose generous investment and support of this annual research grant will make a difference in the NET medical community and the patients we serve. The NANETS Scientific Review & Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process, and independently selects the recipient.

Abhay Singh, MD, MPH
Cleveland Clinic

NCIS                                        

The North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society congratulates Abhay Singh, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, as the 2023 recipient of NANETS Clinical Investigator Scholarship (NCIS). Dr. Singh was awarded this scholarship for his proposal: A Study of the Evolution of Radio Peptide and Cytotoxic Therapy-related Hematopoietic Molecular Signatures and Role in Predicting Resultant Hematological Toxicity.

Dr. Singh’s goal is to accelerate our understanding regarding radio-ligand therapies and associated hematological toxicities, and implement these discoveries into clinical care for NET patients. Since joining Cleveland Clinic in August 2021, he has built a robust clinical and research practice focused on the care of cancer survivors at risk for developing myeloid neoplasms (MN). He plans to further build multi-disciplinary collaborations to study radioligands, toxicities and associations with clonal-hematopoiesis-of-indeterminate-potential (CHIP). CHIP is a mutational signature observed in the blood and bone marrow that increases risk for subsequent hematological-toxicity.

Dr. Renuka Iyer, his mentor, is a nationally known expert in NET and director of NET BioBank. Dr. Singh became interested in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) during his first rotation as a first-year hematology-oncology fellow at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2018. Under Dr. Renuka Iyer’s leadership, Roswell Park was one of the first centers to offer the novel treatment of peptide-receptor-radionuclide-therapy (PRRT).

After completing his fellowship in 2021, he joined the leukemia faculty at the Cleveland Clinic (CCF) where there is one of the nation’s very few CHIP clinics. At CCF, he is the head of the CHIP/CCUS clinic and serves as the principal-investigator on the 10-year CHIP study. In addition, he serves as a guide to major cancer centers to help initiate their ‘CHIP/CCUS clinic.’

Dr. Singh hypothesizes that CHIP augmentation/evolutionary trajectories can be traced while on TEM and PRRT and these will be distinct to each exposure. Deeper investigation into the clinical utility of monitoring CHIP lesions to predict the risk of hematological toxicity is an unmet need for our NET patients.

NANETS is pleased to support Dr. Singh’s work on this research proposal. The NCIS award is a two-year, $100,000 grant made possible by NANETS. The NANETS Scientific Review & Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process, and independently selects the recipient.

Iacovos Michael, PhD
Sunnybrook Research institute and University of Toronto

BTSI

The North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) congratulates Iacovos Michael, PhD, Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and Assistant Professor at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, as the 2023 recipient of NANETS’ Basic/Translational Science Investigator Award (BTSI). Dr. Michael was awarded this scholarship for his proposal: Development of MicroRNA-based Liquid Biopsies for Small-bowel NETs.

Dr. Iacovos Michael joined the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as a Scientist after completing his postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Douglas Hanahan at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Dr. Simron Singh, his mentor, played an instrumental role in the recruitment of Dr. Michael to the Sunnybrook Institute.

“One of our key priorities is to assess the potential of miRNAs as biomarkers used in liquid biopsies for NETs, which is the focus of this grant,” said Dr. Singh. “I am thrilled to be mentoring Dr. Michael in this area. This grant may be the beginning of the development of a larger career for Dr. Michael in translational science and bench-to-bedside research.”

The proposed project covers two important research areas: to identify new pathways involved in the progression of NETs and to evaluate miRNAs as biomarkers for NET liquid biopsies. The project will take advantage of the established Biobank at Sunnybrook and the biospecimens available from the two clinical trials, STOPNET and NET-RETREAT, led by Dr. Simron Singh. Dr. Michael, in collaboration with Dr. Hon Leong, Dr. Neil Renwick, and Dr. Kathrin Tyryshkin, will evaluate the role of a set of miRNAs for diagnosing and monitoring small-bowel NETs. Overall, this project is expected to provide novel insights into the role of miRNAs as drivers and biomarkers for small-bowel NETs and instigate future projects in the Michael lab.

The BTSI award is a two-year, $100,000 grant made possible through generous support from the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF). The purpose of the BTSI Award is to encourage scientists at the end of their fellowship who have secured a faculty appointment or scientists beginning their faculty appointment to pursue research focused on neuroendocrine tumors.

NANETS is grateful to NETRF, whose tremendous investment and support of this annual research grant have made a difference in the NET medical community and the patients we serve. The NANETS Scientific Review & Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process, and independently selects the recipients.