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Events | Funding Opportunities | Announcements | News | Resources
 
 
 October 1, 2025
 
 
Events
 
 
 
OCTOBER 3, 5:00–11:00 PM
Drugging the Undruggable in Cancer, UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center - Virtual & Free
The fifth annual Michael J. Weber Symposium to honor Dr. Weber’s life and achievement
 
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OCTOBER 3 & 24, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
ICTS Responsible Conduct of Research Workshop
Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Bldg., room 3130. Questions? nardoy@hs.uci.edu
 
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OCTOBER 6-7, 6 AM–3 PM; 5:30–11:30 AM
Childhood Cancer – Data Initiative (CCDI) Symposium – Advance research and clinical care
Hosted by NCI, Bethesda, MD or Virtual
 
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OCTOBER 9, 11:00 AM
NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) - LIVE Technical Assistance Webinar
An In-depth look at the application process. Registration required.
 
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OCTOBER 10–11
NCCN 2025 Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies
The latest insights in hematology and connections with leading experts from across the country. ​​​​
 
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OCTOBER 11, 6:00 AM–2:00 PM
Anti-Cancer Challenge
Ride, run or walk with us on Challenge Day, and enjoy a family-friendly festival featuring musical entertainment, awards and more!
 
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OCTOBER 15–17
ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Denver, CO. How oncology professionals are shaping real-world advances
 
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OCTOBER 20-21
Member, Peter D. Chang, MD - Co-Chair - Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging
Location: UC Irvine
 
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October 21, 10:00 AM
You Are Not Alone: Compassion Fatigue, Self-Care, Peer Support - Free CBRA Webinar
Support for compassion fatigue when working with animals in research, teaching, and training
 
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OCTOBER 23, 2:30–6:30 PM
Members, Steve Goldstein, MD, PhD, FAAP, and Daniel Chow, MD, MBA – Speakers
At the Business of Interprofessional Healthcare Conference
 
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OCTOBER 23, 4:00–5:00 PM
Miguel Villalona-Calero, MD - Hosted by PSCN
Navigating Through Research & Administration in Academic Medicine: Pursuit of a Dream, Decision Points & Reflections on the Paths Not Taken
 
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OCTOBER 23–26
27th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium  2025 – Chicago
Practice-changing research in medical, surgical, and radiation oncology.
 
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OCTOBER 24, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
Mapping Stromal-Immune Communication in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
Courtney Johnson, MD, PhD, Clinical Associate, Johns Hopkins Medicine
 
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October 30, 9–10:30 AM
November 6, 13, 20, 9–10:30 AM
ICTS K Club Grant Writing Workshop Series - Register by October 28
1022-1082 Health Sciences Rd, Hewitt Hall #1042
 
Learn more
 
NOVEMBER 7, 7:45 AM–5:00 PM
NCCN 2025 Lung Cancer Congress - Philadelphia or Virtually
Unique patient cases and how best to apply NCCN Guidelines. CE/MOC credit is available.
 
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NOVEMBER 12, 10:30 AM–12:30 PM
A Capturing Patient Reported Outcomes in Cancer Care: Why, Who, What, When, and How
Reception 10:30–11:00 AM; Seminar 11:00 AM–12:30 PM; COHS, Sue Gross Auditorium
 
Learn more
 
 
 
Funding Opportunities
 
 
 
St. Baldrick's 2026 Spring Cycle
Up to $110,000 per year | Internal Deadline: October 10

The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center is seeking to nominate one candidate for each funding opportunity.​​​​​​

1. Scholar Award 
3 years | Up to $110,000
Renewable for 2 years based on progress
Award funds early-stage investigators conducting pediatric oncology research

2. International Scholar Award 
3 years | Up to $110,000
Renewable for 2 years based on progress
Award funds training of researchers from low- and middle-income countries to fill specific stated needs in an area of childhood cancer research in their country of origin.

3. Research Grant 
2 years | Up to $100,000
Grants fund basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological research relevant to childhood cancer.

 
Submit Application
 
ICTS K12 Scholar Program
2–3 years | Up to $120,000/year (includes salary + research funds) 
Mentored training to prepare for research independence and advance contributions. ​​​​​​
Deadline: October 5, 2025
 
Learn more
 
Melanoma Research Alliance Seeks Proposals for 2025–2026 Funding Cycle

Special Opportunity Team Science Award 
3 years | Up to $300,000/year (up to $900,000 total) 
LOI due October 27 – RFP here

Pilot Award 
2 years | Up to $50,000/year (up to $100,000 total) 
Full proposal due November 25
 
Learn more
 
NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) – Application Cycle Opens September 1
2 years | Up to $50,000/year in loan repayment 
Substantial debt relief and tax support in exchange for a commitment to cancer-focused research. 
Deadline: November 20 
 
Learn more
 
Research Support Opportunity
1 year | $2,500
UC Irvine Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute
Funds research using NIH All of Us data to advance precision medicine.
Rolling Deadline
 
Learn more
 
A1 Bridge Funding
1 year | $20,000
UC Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Supports cancer research with strong potential to improve treatment, diagnosis, prevention, and patient outcomes. Designed to strengthen and resubmit NIH grant applications.
Rolling Deadline
 
Learn more
 
 
 
Announcements
 
 
 
Welcome to Vy Luong, Clinical Research Coordinator!
Vy joined the Cancer Center with a B.S. in biochemistry and a minor in global health, along with two years of experience as a Clinical Research Coordinator at UW–Madison, where Vy coordinated phase I–IV device and drug trials. vyl8@hs.uci.edu
 
Welcome to Bianca Le, Principal Data Analyst!
Bianca joined the Cancer Center with a B.S. in computer science from UC Irvine and brings extensive experience in data reporting systems, grant data management, and AI model training to support current and future data initiatives. bule@hs.uci.edu
 
Welcome to Melisa Duvnjak, Clinical Research Coordinator!
Melisa joined the Cancer Center with extensive experience as a clinical research coordinator at the Lighthouse Institute of Chicago, where she managed more than 13 research studies and oversaw their execution across over 70 sites. mduvnjak@hs.uci.edu
 
Congratulations to Emanuel Cosio-Lopez, Assistant Clinical Research Finance Analyst!
Emanuel was promoted into a career position at the Cancer Center. He has a double major B.S. from Cal State Long Beach in finance and management information systems and is contributing to the clinical trials team. ecosiolo@hs.uci.edu

 
NCI Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Plan & Professional Judgment Budget Proposal
The proposal represents NCI’s assessment of the optimal Congressional funding needed to harness the many extraordinary opportunities that present themselves in cancer research.
 
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NIH Announces New Tool to Explore Grant Opportunities
NIH launched a new tool to search grant opportunities with advanced filters; Funding notices will now post only on Grants.gov.
 
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NIH Establishes Standardized Organoid Modeling Center
The new center at Frederick National Lab will expand cancer research by advancing organoid models and reducing animal use.
 
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NIH Introduces New Framework for Funding International Research Partners
NIH will shift from using foreign subawards to a new system where international collaborators receive direct support as independent subprojects under multi-project grants, starting January 25, 2026.
 
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Mandatory Flu Compliance Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
  • September 15–December 5: UCI Health Launches Its Annual Flu Vaccination Campaign
  • Offering Free Flu Shots to All UCI Health Co-Workers With a Goal of 90% Participation 
  • You will be issued an Orange badge tag once you have received your 2025-26 flu vaccination 
  • Co-workers who do not have the appropriate colored badge tags by Friday, December 5, will be required to mask while at any UCI Health location
 
Learn more
 
Join the Chao Cancer Center Director's Team
Choose to give today or join our team! When you join the team, your fundraising dollars will contribute to our team's overall fundraising goal.
 
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ICTS Officially Launches Membership
Free and required to access ITCS services and resources which enhance and accelerate clinical translational science. ​​​​​
 
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Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE)
Strengthen your research impact, enhance clinical trial success, gain trusted community insights, increase study relevance, and accelerate accruals.
 
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News
 
 
 
Member, Quinton Smith, PhD - Lab-Made Organoids Could Point to Treatments for Common Conditions Such as Pre-Eclampsia and Endometriosis
 
Read more
 
Member, Michael Demetriou, MD, PhD - Velcro-Like Pan-Cancer Immunotherapy Destroys Tumors Without Harming Healthy Tissue
 
Read more
 
Member, Zhongping Chen, PhD - UC Irvine Team Receives $3 Million NIH Award for Revolutionary Deep Tissue Imaging
 
Read more
 
Member, Jeremy Harris, MD, MPhil - SWOG Cancer Research Network Unveils LeAP-D Course and  Welcomes 28th Cohort of Early Career Investigators
 
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Members, Denise Payán, PhD and Matthew Landry, PhD, RDN - Cal-IHEA Health Policy Forum
 
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Member, Matthew Landry, PhD, RDN - What Happens to Your Body When You Take Pumpkin Seed Oil
 
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Member, Selma Masri, PhD - What Researchers Suspect May be Fueling Cancer Among Millennials
 
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Members, Darci Trader, PhD and Lauren Albrecht, PhD - New Targeted Protein Degradation Mechanism
 
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Members, Brian Paegel, PhD and Alexandre Chan, PharmD - Appointed Faculty Administrative Roles at UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
 
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Member, Peter Burke, PhD - UC Irvine’s Electronic Nose May Transform Fields like Public Safety and Environmental Protection
 
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UC Irvine’s New All-electric Hospital - Slated to admit patients on December 7, a seven-story, 144-bed facility, the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital
 
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Member, Gary Deng, MD, PhD - Acupuncture Deemed Effective for Chronic Lower Back Pain in Seniors
 
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Members, Munjal Acharya, PhD, and Alexandre Chan, PharmD, MPH - Pilot Study Tests ALS Drug to Treat Chemo Brain in Cancer Patients
 
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Members, Maheswari Senthil, MD, and Farshid Dayyani, MD, PhD - Successful STOPGAP Study Receives Approval for a Multi-site, National Trial
 
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Member, Cholson Jang, PhD - Understanding How Fiber Improves Metabolic Health “by identifying specific gut bacteria and metabolic pathways...”
 
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Member, Ariana Nelson, MD -  Expert Leader in Space Medicine Education, UC Irvine's First-of-Its-Kind Program in the US
 
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Members, Jacqueline Kim, PhD, Jennifer Valerin, MD, PhD, Kai Zheng, PhD - Refinement and Usability of E-support for Pancreatic Cancer Patients grant
 
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Member, Dabao Zhang, MS, PhD - Groundbreaking miRNA-Based Therapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
 
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Robert Fearn, MD – Gastrointestinal Cancers Increasing in Young Adults
 
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Cancer In Focus prior to June 2025
Contact Information
 
UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, 200 S. Manchester Ave, Orange, CA 92868, US

cfccccommunications@hs.uci.edu
Phone 714-456-8000
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