Drs. Kirane, Dionne Receive SCI Award
December 5, 2023
Drs. Amanda Kirane and Jennifer Dionne have received funding as one of the Stanford Cancer Institute’s March 2024 SCI Innovation Awards for their project: Label-Free Spatial Profiling of the Tumor Microenvironment for Therapeutic Prediction.
Kirane and Dionne plan to expand upon current precision medicine cancer treatments that harness the power of the patient’s own immune system. In the hopes of identifying which patient’s will respond to treatment without the most servere adverse effects, the team will study the immune ecosystem in cancer tissues, specifically looking at which proteins are in an activated state.
“We have brought together a unique, cross-disciplinary team in engineering, materials science, machine learning, and tumor immunology with the expertise to explore Dr. Dionne's patented meta-surfaces in the enhancement of Raman spectroscopy to distill the cell surface molecules, tissue cellular makeup, and functional activity of tumors at very high resolution.” said Kirane. “In contrast to available assays in this space, our assay is unique in being a purely optical assay, without requiring antibody-labeling or sequencing technologies that are currently extremely expensive and labor-intensive.”
Kirane says the aim of the project is to accelerate the development of assays into precision tests useable in cancer clinics and will study this approach first in a unique sample of melanoma patients. However, they hope their technique could eventually be applied broadly to all cancer types.
Related News
– SurgeryDelitto, Kirane Named Warnock Faculty Scholars
Drs. Dan Delitto and Amanda Kirane have been named John and Marva Warnock Faculty Scholars. This faculty scholar fund was established with a gift from John and Marva Warnock to support named positions for faculty or clinical educators in the field of cancer research.
– SurgeryDr. Kirane Receives SCI Grant
Dr. Amanda Kirane received a 2022 ACS IRG Pilot Grant from the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI). The award will support her proposal, “Biomarker Analysis of Neoadjuvant Intralesional Therapy in High-Risk Melanoma."
Media Contact
Bio
About Stanford Surgery
The Stanford University Department of Surgery is dedicated to inventing the future of surgical care through:
• pioneering cutting-edge research,
• developing the next generation of leaders, and
• healing through incomparable surgical skills and compassion.
To learn more, please visit surgery.stanford.edu
The Latest
– SurgerySurgIQ Celebrates First Graduation
General Surgery Resident Dr. Dong Hur and team are the first to graduate from SurgIQ; a resident- and OR staff–driven quality improvement initiative designed to turn frontline insight into meaningful change.
– SurgeryStanford/ReSurge Hand Surgery Workshop in Kampala, Uganda
Plastic surgery faculty from Stanford and ReSurge delivered a 2-day, hands-on hand surgery and cadaver dissection course for surgeons as part of the COSECSA Annual Meeting in Kampala, Uganda this past December.
– SurgeryINSIDE: PCSA2026
Two general surgery residents won awards at the Pacific Coast Surgical Association's 97th annual meeting this year in Oahu, Hawaii.
– SurgeryINSIDE: ASC2026
Stanford Surgery trainees from across several disciplines presented at the 21st annual Academic Surgical Congress held in Orlando, Florida last week.
– SurgeryExploring the Intersection of Surgery and Cancer Research with Dr. Dan Delitto
Dr. Dan Delitto is an assistant professor of surgery at Stanford University specializes in surgical oncology and holds a PhD in immunology. On this episode, Dr. Delitto reflects on his decision to pursue an MD-PhD pathway during residency and discusses the recent advancements in single-cell RNA sequencing technology that his lab has acquired. He explains the complex role of fibroblasts in cancer development, particularly in pancreatic ductal carcinoma, highlighting how these cells can both promote and hinder tumor growth.