Dustin A. “Dusty” Deming, MD, is the young investigator of the year for the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN)—one of the Group's highest distinctions. Dr. Deming is the ACI/Schwenn Family Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health. He is a medical oncologist at the UW Carbone Cancer Center, where he co-leads its Developmental Therapeutics Program and Precision Medicine Molecular Tumor Board.

An early-age onset rectal cancer survivor himself, Dr. Deming’s primary clinical focus is on patients living with gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal cancer and esophageal cancer. His research program focuses on developing precision medicine treatments for different subtypes of colon cancer. For example, his laboratory has developed 3-dimensional cell culture techniques for clinical cancer research and is identifying new and improved biomarkers.

Group Co-Chairs Peter J. O'Dwyer, MD, and Mitchell D. Schnall, MD, PhD, announced the award on May 2 during the General Session of the Spring 2024 Group Meeting in Baltimore. The ECOG-ACRIN Young Investigator Award recognizes extraordinary scientific achievements and research leadership contributions made by investigators during the early years of their careers (under the age of 46) within ECOG-ACRIN and, more broadly, throughout the scientific community. A committee composed of previous recipients and ECOG-ACRIN scientific leaders selects one awardee annually. The award was established in 1992 and is funded by the ECOG Research and Education Foundation.

As part of the honor, Dr. Deming will present his research at the Fall 2024 ECOG-ACRIN Group Meeting (November 6-8 in Fort Lauderdale).

Dr. Deming is chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Developmental Therapeutics Committee and an active member of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Committee. He served as chair of the GI Committee’s Colorectal and Anal Cancer Working Group from 2017-2022. Dr. Deming was co-chair of NCI-MATCH Arm Z1F (EAY131-Z1F), evaluating copanlisib in patients with tumors with PIK3CA mutations, and he is now translational co-chair of ComboMATCH Treatment Trial E5 (EAY191-E5), testing the use of sotorasib and panitumumab for patients with KRAS G12C mutant solid tumors.

In addition to the ECOG-ACRIN Young Investigator Award, Dr. Deming’s other key accolades are inclusion in the Best Doctors in America list on multiple occasions, designation as UW Health Patient Experience Physician Champion on the basis of patient satisfaction, appointment as Young Investigator to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Rectal and Anal Cancer Task Force, and receipt of the Award of Distinction for Translational Research at the 2014 ECOG-ACRIN Young Investigator Symposium. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, The V Foundation, the Wisconsin Partnership Program, and the American Cancer Society, among others.

Dr. Deming attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin, where he also completed his residency in internal medicine, a medical oncology fellowship, and post-doctoral research training. He joined the faculty at UW in 2012.

Watch the video below, in which a mentor of Dr. Deming’s, Dr. Al B. Benson, III, MD, discusses his attributes.