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Margenthaler Named Inaugural Endowed Chair for Surgical Excellence in Breast Cancer

New endowed chair honors renowned breast surgeon and will advance innovative care and research

WashU Medicine surgeon Julie Margenthaler, MD, FACS — nationally recognized for her surgical expertise and compassionate, personal approach to care — has been installed as the inaugural Endowed Chair for Surgical Excellence in Breast Cancer through The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

The endowed chair was made possible by donors, many of whom have been patients of Margenthaler at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

“It’s about how many patients she took care of and how many patients she helped and how many patients she cured,” Siteman Cancer Center Director Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, a breast surgeon himself, said during the installation ceremony. “I don’t think there is a better person who could be better feted with this endowed chair than Julie Margenthaler because, as many of you in the audience will attest, she is the most caring, compassionate but superb physician.”

Margenthaler has taken a holistic approach to patient outcomes that incorporates the three pillars of academic medicine: clinical care, research and educating the next generation of physician-researchers.

In the clinic, she is both a surgical oncologist and director of Breast Surgical Services at the Joanne Knight Breast Health Center at Siteman, which emphasizes screening and imaging excellence.

On the research side, Margenthaler’s interests include identifying minimally invasive approaches to breast cancer staging using imaging combined with molecular techniques. She also studies the identification of non-BRCA genes responsible for the development of breast cancer in young women under the age of 40, as well as the design of novel gene-specific approaches to breast cancer treatment.

To prepare those following in her footsteps, Margenthaler is both a professor of surgery and director of the Surgical Fellowship for Advanced Training in Breast Disease at WashU Medicine.

“This endowed chair will allow us to continue to push the envelope in research for advances to come 10 or 20 years from now,” she said. “And it will allow us a regenerating mechanism for research, specifically research that may not be traditionally funded by the National Institutes of Health. It also creates a legacy that will allow us to recruit the best people who want to continue our mission.”

Pam Nicholson is one of Margenthaler’s patients whose generosity led to the creation of the Endowed Chair for Surgical Excellence in Breast Cancer.

“You’re in such a vulnerable position when you’re first diagnosed,” Nicholson said. “Dr. Margenthaler is just that right person who is so calming, and she instills confidence. Your doctor matters and where you go matters. I think Dr. Margenthaler is a jewel for the hospital, for St. Louis and for all the Midwest.”

Nationally, Margenthaler has served in many roles, as well, including as president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. Currently, she is section editor for the Annals of Surgical Oncology and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Surgical Research. She also reviews 12 other journals and is the author of more than 240 peer-reviewed publications, reviews, editorials and book chapters.

For the past decade, Margenthaler has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, a recognition of excellence in clinical care, education and research for the top 7% of practicing U.S. physicians. She is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). She also is a specialist focused on early detection, genetic counseling and proactive management for women with an increased risk of breast cancer.

Read more about Margenthaler’s path to becoming a physician, and her impact. Watch video of her chair installation.

Renowned Gastroenterology Leader at Siteman Cancer Center Honored for Mentorship

Nicholas O. Davidson, MD, DSc, AGAF, will receive the 2026 Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association.

Nicholas O. Davidson, MD, DSc, AGAF, the John E. and Adaline Simon Professor of Medicine and Developmental Biology and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at WashU Medicine and a nationally recognized physician-scientist who treats patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, is the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). He will be honored during the AGA’s annual Digestive Disease Week symposium, to be held May 2-5 in Chicago.

Davidson, who has been chief of Gastroenterology since he joined the WashU Medicine faculty in 1998, is a leading expert on hereditary and familial gastrointestinal cancers. At Siteman Cancer Center, he also is a research collaborator in the Hereditary GI Cancer Program.

The AGA Distinguished Mentor Award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their careers to mentoring the next generation of leaders in gastroenterology. It is a noteworthy tribute to Davidson, who has consistently credited his own mentors who helped shaped his career.

“Mentorship has been one of the most rewarding threads running through my career,” he said. “When we invest in training the next generation of gastroenterologists and physician-scientists, our patients benefit longer-term from better science, better treatments and more compassionate, informed care.”

For almost three decades, Davidson has mentored more than 200 fellows, residents and medical undergraduates in the Division of Gastroenterology — many of whom have gone on to become prominent clinicians and physician-scientists, themselves. Several have served as division chiefs, program directors or department chairs.

For 20 years, Davidson also has served first as principal investigator and now as associate director of a prestigious federal T32 Institutional National Research Service Award within the Clinical and Laboratory Research Training Program in Gastroenterology at WashU Medicine. As part of the program, he meets regularly with trainees to guide and support them in the early stages of their academic careers in basic or clinical translational research.

Additionally, at WashU Medicine and Siteman, Davidson is director of the Silvio Conte Digestive Disease Research Core Center, which provides access to core services to complement research in digestive and liver disease. The core center is funded by a prestigious and longstanding federal P30 Center Core Grant.

In 2017, Davidson was recognized by the AGA as a Council Section Research Mentor for his record of outstanding research mentorship. Davidson also has directed several academic skills workshops for the association, extending the reach of his passion for mentoring.

Davidson’s own research focuses on the molecular genetics of lipid transport and intestinal lipid metabolism. He studies how the body handles fats in the gut and liver and how problems in that process can lead to fatty liver disease and some cancers. His published research offers groundbreaking insights into the epidemiology and risk factors of liver-related diseases and liver cancer.

Davidson earned his medical degree from King’s College Hospital Medical School in London and completed his gastroenterology fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He was an academic researcher and faculty member of the University of Chicago for 12 years before being recruited to join WashU Medicine.

Grants Bolster Research on Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Foundation awards $1.5 million total in grants to WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center to advance precision diagnosis and treatment for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes

The Edward P. Evans Foundation has awarded separate three-year Discovery Research Grants to Jeremy Baeten, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, and Matthew Walter, MD, the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professor of Myelodysplastic Syndromes, both in the Division of Oncology at WashU Medicine. Walter treats patients at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine. He and Baeten are research members at Siteman.

The awards, which total $1.5 million, represent an investment in research that is advancing the field of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood cancers characterized by low blood cell counts.



Baeten aims to improve treatments for patients who have MDS with mutations in an important gene called TP53, which causes resistance to current therapies. Baeten will study how a new drug combination kills these cancer cells better than available drugs and how blocking another gene might make these treatments even more effective.



Walter will explore using whole-genome sequencing to monitor mutated blood cells in patients with MDS or clonal cytopenias of undetermined significance, a disease that predisposes patients to developing MDS, including tracking whether changes in mutations are linked to disease progression. The funding also will help advance his work in collaboration with Kelly Bolton, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in oncology and a Siteman research member, to examine how mutated cells respond to targeted treatments, which could help guide more personalized treatment choices.

The Edward P. Evans Foundation previously provided grant funding to WashU Medicine, including support for Baeten and Walter. In 2019, the foundation established the Edward P. Evans Center for Myelodysplastic Syndromes at WashU Medicine, one of four MDS-supported centers nationally. The foundation also funded the endowed professorship that Walter holds.

Siteman Cancer Center Prevention Expert Named Guggenheim Fellow

With the prestigious award, Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, will write a book examining why cancers are increasingly occurring earlier in life — and how this shift can be better understood, communicated and prevented.

Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, has been named a 2026 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors recognizing exceptional scholarship and creativity.

Selected from nearly 5,000 applicants as part of the foundation’s 101st class of fellows, Cao is recognized for her leadership in integrating data science, cancer etiology and population health. She is a molecular epidemiologist and an associate professor of surgery and of medicine in the Public Health Sciences Division at WashU Medicine and a research member of Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

This year’s class of 223 distinguished honorees work across 55 disciplines, each awardee selected based on past career achievements and exceptional promise. Cao is one of only two fellows recognized in data science.

“Our new class of Guggenheim Fellows is representative of the world’s best thinkers, innovators and creators in art, science and scholarship,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and president of the Guggenheim Foundation. “As the foundation enters its second century and looks to the future, I feel confident that this new class of 223 individuals will do bold and inspiring work, undaunted by the challenges ahead. We are honored to support their visionary contributions.”  

Cao leads a research program focused on one of the most urgent questions in modern health: why cancers are rising among younger adults. Anchored in a multidimensional lens spanning exposures, tissues, life stages and populations, her group integrates epidemiologic and biological insights, empowered by data science, to uncover life course risk factors that contribute to cancer risk and tumor progression in younger generations

In recent work, Cao has highlighted the need to transform how cancer risk factors are discovered for prevention. In a perspective in Cell, she and colleagues proposed new interdisciplinary frameworks to accelerate the discovery of cancer causes in the era of rising early-onset cancers. These frameworks for integrating population research, mechanistic biology and data science to understand how exposures accumulate over time, interact across biological systems and shape disease risk long before diagnosis.

“I am deeply honored to receive this Guggenheim Fellowship,” Cao said. “It provides the rare space to think more deeply and creatively about what is needed for the community and to tell a bigger, more connected story — one that brings together science, patients and the public. Our goal is not only to understand why cancer is rising, but to change its trajectory, so fewer young people develop cancer and more are diagnosed earlier and live longer, healthier lives. We cannot achieve this alone, and progress will depend on working together across disciplines and communities.”

Building on years of work she has led to uncover the causes of early-onset colorectal cancer and advance earlier diagnosis in younger populations, Cao now leads a $25 million international initiative through Cancer Grand Challenges, a global team science initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With support from the Guggenheim Fellowship, her work will bring this urgent scientific question into a broader public conversation — providing clear, evidence-based understanding to patients, families and communities, helping to strengthen public trust and highlighting prevention as an increasingly important priority for younger generations.

Siteman Catalyst Awards Support Groundbreaking Science

Four researchers receive new funding to explore brain‑sparing radiation, smarter leukemia drugs, better BRCA1 risk prediction and new strategies against aggressive pancreatic cancer

Four WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, have received Siteman Catalyst Awards to pursue innovative ideas that could change how cancers are detected and treated.

Each awardee is receiving $100,000 for an early-stage project that is too new for traditional funding but has strong potential to benefit patients. Together, these efforts aim to move promising science from the lab toward real advances in cancer care.

The researchers are:

  • Adam Bauer, PhD, associate professor of radiology and of biomedical engineering, who aims to better protect memory and cognitive ability in people who need whole-brain radiation.
  • Alireza Ghanbarpour, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, who is researching a new weak point in leukemia cells’ energy machinery, which could lead to new therapies.
  • Priyanka Verma, PhD, associate professor of medicine, who seeks to improve how doctors interpret BRCA1 gene changes that affect breast cancer risk, information that could sooner mitigate the chances of breast cancer development.
  • Max Wattenberg, MD, associate professor of medicine, who is studying new ways to treat pancreatic cancer that has spread to the lining of the abdomen.

Please see below for more details on each project.

Reducing Radiation Induced Cognitive Decline Through Inhibiting Neuroinflammation

Principal Investigator: Adam Bauer, PhD

Goal: To determine whether a drug called azeliragon can help protect memory and thinking after whole-brain radiation treatment


Summary: Many brain tumor survivors experience progressive and disabling cognitive decline within months of radiotherapy, leading to impairment and reduced quality of life. The underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, and there are currently no strategies to accurately predict, monitor or prevent this decline. This project will leverage novel optical neuroimaging to establish how radiotherapy and neuroinflammation separately influence brain activity in mice to determine early biomarkers of radiation-induced cognitive decline. Researchers will also determine whether inhibiting radiation-induced neuroinflammation using a novel drug prevents cognitive decline and corresponding changes to neuroimaging biomarkers. Their long-term goals are to develop neuroimaging-based biomarkers to predict cognitive decline in brain tumor survivors after radiotherapy and to develop novel, preventative treatments for brain tumor patients.

Elucidating the Molecular Mechanisms of Mitochondrial Protein Degradation in Cancer

Principal Investigator: Alireza Ghanbarpour, PhD

Goal: To understand how a special protein called ClpXP supports survival in leukemia cells. By better understanding how this process works, researchers will have the knowledge to guide the development of new cancer therapies for leukemia


Summary: Cancer cells require large amounts of energy to grow and divide rapidly. To meet this demand, they rely heavily on mitochondria, the structures in cells that produce energy. Because mitochondria in cancer cells operate under high stress, they depend on systems that remove damaged proteins and maintain mitochondrial function. One such system is ClpXP, a molecular machine that keeps mitochondria healthy by identifying and destroying damaged or unnecessary proteins. Cancer cells appear to depend on ClpXP more than normal cells, meaning that blocking its activity could selectively harm cancer cells while causing fewer side effects in healthy cells. This project will identify the mitochondrial proteins controlled by ClpXP and determine how this system recognizes and destroys its targets, which may help guide the development of new cancer therapies.

Defining the Pathogenicity of BRCA1 Germline Mutations in Predisposition to Breast Cancers

Principal Investigator: Priyanka Verma, PhD

Goal: To develop a platform to predict breast cancer preposition risk in individuals with mutations in the BRCA1 gene


Summary: This project aims to develop ways by which an individual’s genetic information can be used to predict if they are more susceptible to developing breast cancers as compared to general population. Having this information in a timely manner can be used to undertake available preventive measures to mitigate the chances of breast cancer development.

Investigating Peritoneal Anti-Metastatic Programs in Pancreatic Cancer

Principal Investigator: Max Wattenberg, MD


Goal: To understand how the immune system interacts with pancreatic cancer cells in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) and find new ways to treat cancer that spreads to these sites

Summary: Pancreatic cancer often spreads to the peritoneum, the lining of the belly, causing serious health problems such as pain, bowel obstruction and fluid buildup. These sites of cancer spread are hard to treat because they resist current drugs, and there are no effective treatments specifically for them. This project uses studies with mice and patient samples to examine how pancreatic cancer cells and the body’s immune system interact in the peritoneum. By understanding these interactions, researchers hope to develop new treatments to help the immune system better fight pancreatic cancer.

mRNA Technology Opens Doors for Potential New Ways of Preventing and Treating Cancer

WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center are leading next-generation cancer vaccine development.

The advent of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the Nobel-prize–winning technology is being adapted to fight cancer, with mRNA vaccines in clinical trials for melanoma, small cell lung cancer and bladder cancer, among others, opening the door to new ways of preventing and treating the disease.

Scientists assumed that one specific immune cell subtype was required for mRNA vaccination to activate the immune system. But WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center show in a new study in mice that even without these cells, the mRNA vaccine still triggers strong cancer‑killing responses. That’s because, they found, a cousin to this subtype of immune cell can also stimulate anti-tumor immune activity — an unexpected finding given that this related subtype is not involved in responses to other vaccines.

The findings are published April 15 in Nature, offering a deeper understanding of how the immune system responds to mRNA vaccination and guiding the optimal design of a cancer vaccine.

“There is a lot of interest in applying the mRNA vaccine approaches used during the COVID-19 pandemic to the problem of inducing anti-tumor immunity,” said senior author Kenneth M. Murphy, MD, PhD, the Eugene Opie Centennial Professor of Pathology & Immunology at WashU Medicine and a leader in cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center. “By dissecting which immune cells are involved and how they coordinate the response, we’re offering vaccine developers some additional mechanistic insights to consider in their goal of optimizing these vaccines against tumor proteins.”

Unconventional immune pathway

mRNA vaccines work by delivering instructions, in the form of messenger RNA biomolecules, for immune cells to produce bits of protein that trigger the immune system to destroy cells bearing these proteins. So-called dendritic cells produce the protein bits from the mRNA instructions, and T cells — another immune cell — are the ones that seek and destroy. mRNA vaccines can be designed to generate protein bits unique to a tumor so that T cells eliminate those cancerous cells.

cDC1, a classical type 1 dendritic cell, has long been known to be an effective teacher, priming T cells to attack cells infected by a virus. But less is known about how T cells become activated after an mRNA vaccine, whether against a virus or a tumor. In collaboration with the study’s co-corresponding author William E. Gillanders, MD, the Mary Culver Professor of Surgery at WashU Medicine and a leader in cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center Murphy and members of his lab used mouse models that lacked cDC1 or a related cell subtype known as cDC2 to tease out the role that different groups of dendritic cells play in priming T cells after mRNA cancer vaccination.

Gillanders, a physician-scientist and surgical oncologist who also has developed an investigational vaccine against triple-negative breast cancer, treats patients at Siteman Cancer Center.

The researchers found that mice immunized with an mRNA vaccine generated strong T-cell responses even in the absence of cDC1s. In addition, they found that immunized mice without cDC1s were able to clear sarcoma tumors — cancers that develop in connective tissues such as fat, muscle, nerves, blood vessels, bone and cartilage. This indicated that some other cell type must be stimulating the T-cell response.

Indeed, their study found that cDC2s also participate in generating an immune response from T cells and preventing tumor growth. The study also found that T cells turned on by cDC1s and cDC2s each showed slightly different molecular “fingerprints.” These differences could help scientists design better versions of vaccines in the future.

Similarly, immunized mice lacking cDC2s and mice that had both cell subtypes produced an immune response and rejected tumor growth, demonstrating that mRNA vaccination uses both dendritic cell subtypes to stop cancer.

Further investigation of cDC2s suggested they activate T cells through an outsourcing process that relies on other cells to use the mRNA instructions to make the protein, chop it up and present small fragments on its surface. Once the protein is processed and presented, those cells then transfer the membrane complex that holds the fragment in place on the cell’s surface to the cDC2 to engage with the T cells — through an already-known process referred to as “cross dressing.”

“This work uncovers a new way mRNA vaccines engage the immune system — through both cDC1 and cDC2 — which helps explain their power and gives researchers concrete targets for making future mRNA cancer vaccines more effective,” Gillanders said. “It could improve vaccine formulation and dosing, potentially explain why some patients respond better to vaccines than others and guide strategies for making vaccines more effective.”

Siteman Cancer Center Experts to be Recognized, Present Key Research at AACR Annual Meeting

Two WashU Medicine physician-scientists will be honored, and 30 faculty members and others will present findings at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, taking place April 17-22 in San Diego.

At the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, WashU Medicine scientists and physician-researchers at Siteman Cancer Center are demonstrating the scale, depth and translational impact of cancer research. With national leadership represented across scientific presentations, prestigious honors and governance of one of the field’s leading research organizations, Siteman’s presence at AACR underscores its role as a driving force in advancing cancer outcomes worldwide.

More than 20,000 scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients and advocates gather at the annual conference each year to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs. Topics range from population science and prevention to cancer biology, translational and clinical studies to survivorship and advocacy.

Thirty WashU Medicine faculty members, fellows and others associated with Siteman Cancer Center will present their findings this year. They include two researchers who will each receive one of AACR’s highest honors and a third who will be installed as one of the newest members of the AACR Board of Directors.

“Siteman Cancer Center is proud to continue our strong presence at the AACR Annual Meeting, where collaboration and discovery are accelerating progress against cancer at an unprecedented pace,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of Siteman, which is based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine in St. Louis. “The work our researchers are sharing reflects not only scientific excellence, but also a deep commitment to improving outcomes for patients everywhere. Being part of this global exchange of ideas helps ensure that innovations developed here can translate into real-world impact for the communities and individuals we serve — and beyond.” 

Prestigious Awards for Two Internationally Renowned Siteman Cancer Center Investigators

Two preeminent WashU Medicine physician-scientists from Siteman will be honored with prestigious awards at the ACCR Annual Meeting:

John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunology, will receive the ACCR’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research.

Internationally recognized for oncology research and clinical breakthroughs, DiPersio is a pioneer in advancing treatment options in hematologic malignancies such as leukemia as well as advances in stem cell transplantation and cellular immunotherapy. His work has been essential to the development of the hematopoietic stem cell mobilizing agents plerixafor and motixafortide. Among his most recent accomplishments is an innovative immunotherapy for rare and aggressive types of blood cancer — called WU-CART-007 — that received Breakthrough Therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March. DiPersio will lecture at the AACR Annual Meeting on the latest advances in leukemia biology and emerging cellular therapies.

Award Presentation: AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research
Lecture: Killing the bad without the good: CART for T-cell malignancies
When: April 21, 4:15-5 p.m. PT
Where: Room 30, San Diego Convention Center



Kenneth M. Murphy, MD, PhD, will be presented with the ACCR-Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology. The award recognizes scientists whose outstanding research has a major impact on the understanding of cancer. Murphy, the Eugene Opie First Centennial Professor in pathology and immunology at WashU Medicine, is credited for groundbreaking research showing how different types of dendritic cells develop and take on specific roles in controlling the body’s immune responses. He uncovered the genetic “programs” that tell immature cells to become specific kinds of dendritic cells, including discovering how a gene called BATF3 helps create a specific dendritic cell that is critical for activating “killer” T cells to destroy infected or cancerous cells. His work has been noted as not only advancing but also reshaping the field of cancer biology and immunology. His latest paper, published April 15 in Nature, shows how mRNA technology further opens doors for potential new ways to prevent and treat cancer.



Award Presentation: ACCR-Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology
Lecture: DC subsets: Why so much specialization?
When: April 21, 3-3:45 p.m. PT
Where: Room 30, San Diego Convention Center

Leading Scientist Joins AACR Board of Directors

Sheila A. Stewart, PhD, Associate Director for Basic Science and Co-Leader of the Mechanisms of Cancer Biology Program at Siteman Cancer Center, was recently elected to the AACR Board of Directors and will begin her official duties at the annual meeting.

A leading cancer scientist, Stewart also is the Gery Cori Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at WashU Medicine. She studies how age-related changes to noncancerous cells called stroma modulate immune responses and promote the development of cancer. As a board member, Stewart will help oversee the strategic direction and governance of the AACR, one of the world’s largest cancer research organizations.
In addition to her board installation, Stewart will chair a discussion on cancer therapy-induced comorbidities and present specifically on chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.

Chair: Session ED01 – The Dark Side of Cancer Therapies: Therapy-Induced Comorbidities Across the Lifespan
Presentation: Therapy-induced senescence drives chemotherapy-induced neuropathy
When: April 17, 3-4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Room 28, San Diego Convention Center

Other Notable Key Presentations

Multiple other researchers from Siteman and WashU Medicine will present lectures and key findings during the AACR Annual Meeting on topics such as:

  • Advances in immunotherapies
  • Novel therapeutics, combination drug therapies and new cellular drug targets
  • Multiomic insights for next generation cancer research
  • Cancer prediction models
  • Radiomics and artificial intelligence in medical imaging
  • Oncology clinical trial updates

Below are highlights. All presentations will be at the San Diego Convention Center.

Friday, April 17


Li Ding, PhD, the David English Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Section Director of Computational Biology, and Assistant Director of The McDonnell Genome Institute at WashU Medicine



Ding will discuss how ecological and evolutionary principles, combined with the extensive data resources of the Human Tumor Atlas Network, are informing new strategies to predict and overcome tumor progression and therapy resistance. She is lead investigator of the HTAN at WashU Medicine.

Presentation: From precancer to metastasis: Evolution and microenvironment of breast and prostate tumors
When: 3:36-3:56 p.m. PT
Where: Room 30

Sunday, April 19



Graham A. Colditz, MD, DrPH, the Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery and Chief of Public Health Sciences at WashU Medicine and Associate Director of Prevention and Control at Siteman Cancer Center

Presentation: Translating absolute risk of breast cancer into screening frequency: A framework to guide precision screening
When: 1:05-1:25 p.m. PT
Where: Room 5

Monday, April 20

Carl DeSelm, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiation oncology at WashU Medicine

Presentation: 4008 – A novel, first in class chimeric antigen receptor dendritic cell platform driving broad and durable antitumor immunity in solid tumors
When: 3:05-3:20 p.m. PT
Where: Ballroom 20 AB

Xue-Yan He, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology at WashU Medicine



Presentation: 4080 – The neural bridge: Stress-remodeled enteric nervous system (ENS) in the colitis-cancer transition
When: 3:05-3:20 p.m. PT
Where: Ballroom 6 CF

About Siteman Cancer Center

Siteman Cancer Center is one of only a few cancer centers to receive the highest rating of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) — “exceptional.” Comprising the cancer research, prevention and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine in St. Louis, Siteman treats adults at six locations, including the new Gary C. Werths Building for outpatient care and an inpatient hospital on the Washington University Medical Campus, and partners with St. Louis Children’s Hospital in the treatment of pediatric patients at Siteman Kids. All locations offer patient-focused, multidisciplinary care driven by scientific breakthroughs and powered by WashU Medicine physicians.

Quick Facts

  • Established in 1999, Siteman is recognized as a leading cancer center by its peers and the NCI.
  • Every year, 75,000+ people are treated at Siteman, including 12,000+ who are newly diagnosed.
  • Siteman is powered by 600+ WashU Medicine physicians and scientists focused on the latest in cancer treatment and research.
  • With 9,000+ patients enrolled every year in 1,600+ clinical research studies, including 600+ therapeutic clinical trials, Siteman offers access to investigational therapies not generally available to the public.
  • Siteman has held NCI’s highest rating — “exceptional” — since 2015, based on a rigorous review of its research programs.
  • Siteman is also proud to receive more than $185 million annually for basic and clinical oncology research grants, including $66 million from the NCI, funding 1,400+ research projects. This includes three Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants, for endometrial, leukemia and pancreatic research.
  • In 2024, WashU faculty at Siteman filed for 198 patents.
  • WashU Medicine has the second-largest research funding portfolio from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among U.S. medical schools.

Siteman Leader Installed as President of Society of Gynecologic Oncology

Matthew Powell, MD, to head national efforts to advance innovative gynecologic cancer care for patients

Matthew A. Powell, MD, the Ira C. and Judith Gall Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at WashU Medicine and a nationally recognized physician-scientist who treats patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, has been installed as president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO).

With more than 3,000 members, the organization brings together gynecologic oncologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, patient advocates and other experts dedicated to advancing innovative, high-quality, equitable and comprehensive gynecologic cancer care. Among this distinguished group of leaders, Powell has emerged as a trusted voice, recognized by his peers nationwide for his commitment to progress and excellence in the field.

He began his term at the conclusion of the 2026 SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer after having served as president-elect for the previous two years.

“Being elected to SGO leadership by colleagues from across the country is a tremendous privilege,” said Powell, who specializes in ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancers. “I am committed to using this opportunity to support the Society and its members in driving progress in gynecologic oncology, always keeping our focus on better treatment, better outcomes and better experiences for our patients.”

Outside of the SGO, Powell also serves as chair of the NRG Oncology Uterine Corpus Cancer Subcommittee, which focuses on developing and testing innovative advanced therapies and technologies for patients with uterine cancer. He also has been a member of the boards of the Foundation for Women’s Cancer and the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation.

For the past 15 years, Powell has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, a recognition of excellence in clinical care, education and research for the top 7% of practicing U.S. physicians. He is board-certified in both gynecologic oncology and obstetrics and gynecology.

Powell’s clinical research interests are primarily in the diagnosis and treatment of uterine and ovarian cancers with chemotherapy and radiation. He also studies pharmacologic treatment of preinvasive abnormalities of the uterine cervix to help some patients avoid surgery and loss of fertility. Powell’s laboratory research focuses on endometrial cancer etiology and tumor marker development.

At this year’s SGO Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, held April 10-13, he presented on the lasting positive effects of a chemotherapy-immunotherapy treatment, dostarlimab in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, for patients diagnosed with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

Powell was senior author and lead U.S. investigator for the underlying research, including a paper titled “Dostarlimab for Primary Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer,” published in 2023 in the The New England Journal of Medicine.

He will serve as SGO president until the conclusion of the 2027 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

Podany Named to Inaugural NCCN Advocacy Academy

WashU Medicine physician-scientist Emily L. Podany, MD, MPHS, has been selected for a new fellowship program that aims to connect people on the front lines of cancer care to share their knowledge and experience with federal policymakers.

Launched by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the Advocacy Academy aims to provide oncology fellows and junior faculty at NCCN member institutions with advocacy skills and training to champion policies that will improve the lives of those affected by cancer.



Podany is an assistant professor of medicine at WashU Medicine and a medical oncologist who treats patients diagnosed with breast cancer at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.

Her selection highlights her leadership at the intersection of cancer care and public policy. As part of this inaugural fellowship, she will focus on a critical regional and national issue: improving education around cancer risks linked to Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County and helping affected individuals navigate the newly expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

Through the program, Podany will participate in policy education sessions, receive mentorship from national experts, and collaborate with congressional offices to advance meaningful cancer policy reform.

In addition to this recognition, Podany was also recently named a 2026 Young Investigator Award recipient, further underscoring her commitment to improving cancer care, particularly for patients facing social and structural barriers. Her research focuses on implementing navigation interventions for breast cancer patients with high-risk social determinants of health.

The NCCN is a nonprofit alliance of 33 cancer centers, including Siteman Cancer Center, that is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of cancer care, research and education.

DiPersio Honored with National AACR Research Award

American Association for Cancer Research highlights physician-scientist’s pioneering advances in leukemia biology, stem cell transplantation and cellular immunotherapy

John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, a pioneering WashU Medicine physician-scientist at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, will be recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to science at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026 in San Diego.

The AACR will present DiPersio with its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research, honoring his decades of innovation that have transformed the understanding and treatment of hematologic malignancies.



Nationally renowned for his work in the lab and clinic, DiPersio specializes in bone marrow transplantation and treats patients diagnosed with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at Siteman Cancer Center. As a researcher, he is recognized for pioneering advances in leukemia science and stem cell biology.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by AACR,” said DiPersio, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Endowed Professorship of Medicine, Pathology & Immunology and director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at WashU Medicine and Siteman. “This award reflects the collaborative work of many colleagues dedicated to improving the lives of patients with blood cancers.”

The award highlights DiPersio’s essential contributions to the development of the hematopoietic stem cell-mobilizing agents plerixafor, known commercially as Mozobil, and motixafortide, also known as Aphexda. His research identifying JAK 1/2 signaling in graft-versus-host disease led to the identification and approval of JAK inhibitors, including ruxolitinib, known commercially as Jakafi.

In addition, DiPersio’s discoveries defining clonal evolution in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have transformed the understanding of cancer relapse and have advanced novel CAR T and CAR-iNKT (invariant natural killer T) therapies for AML and multiple myeloma, expanding treatment options for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.

In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for an innovative immunotherapy he led the development of for rare and aggressive types of blood cancer. The therapy — called WU-CART-007, also known as soficabtagene geleucel, or sofi-cel — targets T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LL) in patients who haven’t responded to earlier treatments or who have relapsed.

In the clinic, DiPersio is also known for his bedside manner and care and concern for those he treats.

“Dr. DiPersio is an amazing doctor,” one patient said on the clinician’s WashU Physicians profile page. “I cannot say enough good things about him. I consider myself blessed to have him as my doctor.”

In 2014, DiPersio received the AACR-Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research.

This year’s AACR award presentation will coincide with DiPersio’s lecture at the annual meeting, which runs from April 17–22. His talk, titled “Killing the bad without the good: CART for T-cell malignancies,” is at 4:15 p.m. PT in Room 30 in the upper level of the San Diego Convention Center.