UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA at Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers Johannes Czernin, MD, and Caius Radu, MD, have been awarded a 2017 Challenge Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation to fund their preclinical studies and clinical trials testing the efficacy of 177-Lu-PSMA-617, a novel radiation-emitting targeted therapy for prostate cancer.
Johannes Czernin, MD
Caius Radu, MD
The Challenge Awards recognize teams of scientists worldwide who are conducting groundbreaking research that supports potential breakthrough treatment for prostate cancer patients. Each team will receive $1 million over 2 years to fund their projects.
Drs. Czernin and Radu were 1 of 8 teams selected out of 92 international applications following an extensive review process to assess each project’s scientific research and its potential benefit to patients.
Drs. Czernin and Radu are both Professors and Vice Chairs in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The focus of their research is to improve the outcome of cancer patients by identifying cancer cell liabilities that can be exploited therapeutically. The prostate cancer research project combines radioligand therapy targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen with various pharmacologic approaches.
“We are grateful for this opportunity provided by the Prostate Cancer Foundation that allows us to further intensify our translational research program to improve patient outcomes,” said Dr. Czernin. ■
