Heather Jacene Named President of SNMMI

Heather Jacene, MD (Harvard University/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), is the new president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). Dr. Jacene is chief of molecular imaging and theranostics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is also clinical director of nuclear medicine/PET-CT and a senior physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as an associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School.

At the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN), Dr. Jacene co-chairs EA1183/FEATURE, an imaging trial for patients with breast cancer that has advanced primarily, or only, to the bones—a historically understudied group. Results from FEATURE were presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, demonstrating that metabolic changes measured by FDG-PET/CT can accurately predict progression-free survival as early as 12 weeks after treatment initiation. Read the SNMMI press release.

Robert Ferris Elected Vice President of SITC

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center), is the newly elected vice president of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Dr. Ferris is executive director of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and chief of oncology services at UNC Health.

A head and neck surgical oncologist and an expert in cancer immunotherapy, he currently co-chairs the ECOG-ACRIN Head and Neck Cancer Committee. Dr. Ferris co-led the practice-changing E3311 trial that showed the benefits and safety of transoral surgery and low-dose radiation without chemotherapy for patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer at medium risk. He is also study chair for the ongoing EA3132 trial for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Read his Election Platform Statement on the SITC website.

Remembering Maura Gillison

Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, a great physician-scientist, medical oncologist and molecular epidemiologist whose seminal work defining and characterizing human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharynx cancer shaped vaccination guidelines and transformed research and treatment for this disease, passed away this week at the age of 61. She was a professor of medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she also ran the Gillison Laboratory, focused on the role of HPV infection in head and neck malignancies. Dr. Gillison was a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, and several other professional societies. She received the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, the David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the VinFuture Grand Prize Award.

Dr. Gillison received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. She trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in medical oncology at Johns Hopkins. She received her PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her work in the Keerti Shah laboratory established the link between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer. Her strong association with ECOG began at that time, when she analyzed specimens from the E2399 trial of induction chemotherapy and chemoradiation, demonstrating the distinct treatment responsiveness and curability of HPV-associated oropharynx cancer. This work led to a series of pioneering ECOG-ACRIN studies investigating treatment deintensification and immunotherapy for HPV-associated oropharynx cancer. Dr. Gillison is also remembered for her dedication to patients, her remarkable mentorship—particularly of young women in cancer research—and her puckish wit. ECOG-ACRIN extends its deepest condolences to her family and to the many in our community who mourn and miss her.

Amy Curtis Interviewed by The Cancer Letter

In the latest episode of The Directors podcast by The Cancer Letter, Amarinthia (Amy) Curtis, MD (Upstate Carolina NCORP), and Jeffrey Berenberg, MD (Hawaii Minority/Underserved NCORP), discuss challenges and opportunities in the National Cancer Institute’s NCORPs. Topics covered include ECOG-ACRIN’s TMIST breast cancer screening trial, workforce shortages, the burden of regulatory oversight, and more. Dr. Curtis is the ECOG-ACRIN principal investigator at Upstate Carolina NCORP and the community co-chair for the TMIST trial.

Of the NCORP, Dr. Curtis says, “What I’m most proud of is the bidirectional symbiotic relationship that on one hand the NCORP is really jet fuel for the national research agenda … the other is the dissemination into the community that we’re able to be the hands and feet of cancer advances really in populations that are sometimes hard to reach.”

Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Reminder: Trial Educational and Recruitment Materials

The ECOG-ACRIN Clinical Education and Awareness Team, together with the Marketing Team, produces many educational and recruitment materials for active trials, in consultation with the study chairs and study teams. The array of materials is individually tailored to fit study needs and therefore varies by study. They may include:

• For physicians and research staff: physician fact sheets (for all active ECOG-ACRIN studies), pocket reference cards, referring physician letter templates, FAQs, site checklists/process summaries, study flowcharts, protocol overview slides, and recorded webinars
• For patients and advocates: study summaries, brochures, patient-directed videos, and communication plans (patient-friendly text and images for websites, social media, etc.). These materials are reviewed by ECOG-ACRIN's patient advocates and are CIRB-approved.

For each trial, resources are reviewed and revised as needed to reflect all protocol amendments up until study closure to accrual.

Additionally, the Clinical Education and Marketing teams support the development and deployment of trial-specific newsletters and e-blasts. The target audience is clinical sites, to share amendment highlights, study reminders, and enrollment tips.

All educational and recruitment materials are available for download 24/7 via:

• The members’ section of the ECOG-ACRIN website under Protocols > Complete Protocol Information > Protocol # > Other Study-Specific Tools & Information
• Ctsu.cancer.gov under the Protocol # > Protocol Related Documents > Education & Promotion

All publicly available educational and recruitment materials can also be accessed from the Active Clinical Trials: Resources page on the ECOG-ACRIN website (click or tap the trial ID to view associated materials).

New materials appear on a rolling basis for active trials, so please check back often. ECOG-ACRIN notes the availability of new or revised materials in its routine announcements, and the CTSU includes them in its bimonthly broadcasts.

Questions? Contact the Clinical Education and Awareness Team at EAClinEd@ecog-acrin.org or the Marketing Team at EAMarketing@ecog-acrin.org.