Fred Hutch Cancer Center shared on LinkedIn:
“Sita Kugel, pancreatic cancer researcher and a professor at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, is determined to translate her research into new tailored treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer. Kugel, the inaugural recipient of the Leung Roy Family Endowed Chair, investigates the molecular drivers of cancer and looks for ways to target them with small molecules and immunotherapies.
After decades of hard work by researchers and frustratingly few advances for patients, new treatment options for metastatic pancreatic cancer may be just around the corner.
As excitement in the field builds, Kugel is preparing to launch a clinical trial later this year based on discoveries made in her lab – in partnership with medical oncologist Rachael Safyan. Safyan is director of the Clinical Research GI Oncology Program and an assistant professor at Fred Hutch and UW Medicine.
Yin Ling Leung, a patient of Safyan, benefited from the years of incremental progress by researchers that made the recent breakthroughs possible. Now, she and her husband, Shaibal Roy, have established this endowed chair to accelerate the pace of urgently needed pancreatic cancer research and change the outcome for other families in the same situation.
‘By supporting the research happening in the Kugel Lab, I get to touch the future.’
Leung said.
‘It’s a future that I may or may not be around to see, but I’m hoping that the world will be a better place for patients because of this work.’
You can also read ‘FDA Accepts Daraxonrasib NDA for Review in Previously Treated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer‘
