ECOG-ACRIN Names New Committee Leaders

At the Spring 2026 Group Meeting, the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN) announced the following committee leadership appointments:

• Stephanie J. Reyes, RN, MSN, OCN (Georgia NCORP/Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion at St. Joseph's/Candler Health System), is chair of the Oncology Nursing Committee, succeeding Bridget O’Brien Fagan, DNP, APN, FNP-BC, AOCNP
• Shishir K. Maithel, MD (Northwestern University/Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center), is chair of the Surgery Committee, succeeding Charles A. Staley III, MD
• Michael D. Farwell, MD (University of Pennsylvania/Abramson Cancer Center), is chair of the Immuno-Oncology Working Group (part of the Imaging Diagnostics and Biomarker Committee), succeeding Umar Mahmood, MD, PhD
• Amir Iravani, MD (University of Washington), is co-chair of the Experimental Imaging Working Group (also part of the Imaging Diagnostics and Biomarker Committee), succeeding Anthony F. Shields, MD
• Anant Madabhushi, PhD (Emory University/Winship Cancer Institute), is co-chair of the Image Analytics Working Group (part of the Data Science Committee), succeeding Paul E. Kinahan, PhD

View the roster of voting members of the Principal Investigator Committee at ecog-acrin.org.

Welcome New Principal Investigators

At a recent meeting, the Principal Investigator (PI) Committee approved requests by member institutions to change their PIs for ECOG-ACRIN. The institutions and their new PIs are as follows:

• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center: James You, MD, PhD, replaces Stanley Hamilton, MD
• Columbus NCORP: Malolan S. Rajagopalan, MD, replaces Timothy D. Moore, MD
• Emory University/Winship Cancer Institute: Michael C. Lowe, MD, MA, replaces Charles A. Staley III, MD
• Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey: Neil D. Palmisiano, MD, MS, replaces Howard S. Hochster, MD
• Upstate Carolina NCORP: Amarinthia (Amy) E. Curtis, MD, replace James D. Bearden III, MD

View the roster of voting members of the Principal Investigator Committee at ecog-acrin.org.

Giants of Cancer Care Inducts Heather Wakelee

Heather A. Wakelee, MD (Stanford University/Stanford Cancer Institute), was recently announced as an inductee into the 14th Annual Giants of Cancer Care recognition program for her achievements in lung cancer research and clinical practice. Giants of Cancer Care, presented by OncLive®, aims to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of leading researchers and educators whose discoveries have propelled the field and set the groundwork for future advancements.

Dr. Wakelee is an internationally renowned researcher who focuses on the treatment of patients living with lung cancer, thymoma, and mesothelioma. She is the deputy director of the Stanford Cancer Institute and the division chief of oncology at Stanford Medicine. At ECOG-ACRIN, she serves on the Executive Committee, the Task Force on Career Advancement, and the Thoracic Cancer Committee. She previously served as principal investigator for Stanford on the Principal Investigator Committee and as chair of the Thoracic Cancer Committee. In 2015, she was named Young Investigator of the Year by ECOG-ACRIN. Read the OncLive® press release.

Naomi Haas on Rapid Changes in Kidney Cancer Treatments

ECOG-ACRIN Genitourinary Cancer Committee Chair Naomi B. Haas, MD (University of Pennsylvania/Abramson Cancer Center), recently shared her insights on the rapidly changing treatment landscape for people with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Dr. Haas talks about advances in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, patient selection, and the tailoring of treatment strategies for individual patients.

She also explains that the distinction between clear cell and non-clear cell histology is important in adjuvant therapy decisions, particularly because, although FDA approval for immune checkpoint inhibitors is broad, data for non-clear cell histology are lacking, except for the sarcomatoid subgroup. “As such, caution is advised when considering treatment for non-clear cell patients outside of this subgroup,” she says. She discusses a new phase 3 trial in development (EA8252) that aims to help answer that question. Read the full interview for more insights.

ECOG-ACRIN Awards 2026 Paul Carbone, MD Fellowship

Olisaemeka Ogbue, MBBS (Mayo Clinic), is the recipient of the 2026 Paul Carbone, MD Fellowship Award, a research grant that aims to develop and promote excellence in clinical trials leading to improvements in cancer care. Since 2004, ECOG-ACRIN annually names one outstanding senior oncology or hematology research fellow at a member institution to receive this award and associated professional recognition. Dr. Ogbue’s research project is titled Therapy-Related Somatic Mosaicism and Epigenetic Aging for Predictive Modeling of Late Adverse Outcomes in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors.

ECOG-ACRIN at ASCO 2026

Researchers affiliated with ECOG-ACRIN will be active at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, where they will present findings from a diverse portfolio of clinical trials and translational research. Among their clinical presentations are a late-breaking update in Merkel cell carcinoma (STAMP/EA6174), as well as trial results in glioblastoma (EAF151) and lung cancer (EA5142 ALCHEMIST). Other researchers will highlight emerging approaches in precision oncology, such as  AI-driven insights from the TAILORx study and a comparison of ctDNA versus tissue profiling in the NCI-MATCH study. To learn more, read the Guide to ECOG-ACRIN at ASCO 2026.

Spring Group Meeting Session Recordings Now Available

Did you miss the Spring 2026 Group Meeting? If you are an ECOG-ACRIN member, you can now catch up on important study updates and trainings by viewing our library of session recordings. These are available for both attendees and those who missed the meeting. Attendees can simply visit the Attendee Hub Website and log in with the information provided during registration. Everyone else should first register for the meeting and then visit the Attendee Hub to view session recordings on demand.

After registration, users should go to the Attendee Hub and log in with the information they provided. Navigate to ‘Schedule,’ and then select ‘On Demand’ from the dropdown list. Note: The Attendee Hub Website will expire 90 days following the meeting (late July 2026).

In the coming weeks, we will also post select session recordings and resources from the Spring Group Meeting on the members’ section of the ECOG-ACRIN website. These materials will be available to anyone with member login credentials, regardless of meeting attendance.