Since 2005, our Seed Grant Program has fostered an environment for research to bloom. As we mark 20 years since our first cohort of grantees, it is more exciting than ever to look back and see all that is being accomplished.

Andrea Bullock, MD, MPH, received a 2011 Seed Grant, a pivotal milestone that helped shape her career as an investigator dedicated to pancreatic cancer research. Now, as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a medical oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Bullock continues her work as an academic medical oncologist and clinical investigator.

Thanks to early funding from her Seed Grant award, Dr. Bullock was able to focus on pancreaticobiliary cancers, spearheading collaborations that continue to this day on translational early detection efforts. Her work contributed to significant clinical advancements, including the routine use of germline and somatic genetic testing, the integration of PARP inhibitors into treatment strategies, and an increased focus on homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) in pancreatic cancer. These efforts have directly influenced patient care and the development of targeted therapies.

Dr. Bullock is committed to understanding cancer pathogenesis and developing therapeutic strategies that can be rapidly translated into clinical practice. Her research explores the intersection of DNA repair mechanisms and mitogenetic signaling in pancreatic cancer, including the role of somatic BRCA mutations and receptor tyrosine kinase growth factor signaling in the EGFR and PI3K pathways. She oversees multiple phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials exploring novel targeted and immune therapies for pancreatic cancer. As a medical oncologist and clinical translational investigator, Dr. Bullock is dedicated to advancing research that enhances outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.

Dr. Bullock envisions a future where early detection efforts are prioritized and immuno-oncology breakthroughs lead to durable responses for pancreatic cancer patients. Thanks to early-career funding from the Hirshberg Foundation’s Seed Grant Program, she continues to drive transformative research that brings hope to those affected by pancreatic cancer.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been planting seeds of hope through our Seed Grant Program for 20 years. It’s a delight to watch research grow from the lab to the clinic and bloom into clinical trials and new treatment options.

Help us continue to sow seeds of hope for a cancer-free future, donate today.

Since 2005, our Seed Grant Program has fostered an environment for research to bloom. As we mark 20 years since our first cohort of grantees, it is more exciting than ever to look back and see all that is being accomplished.

Ken Herrmann, MD, MBA, is a global leader in oncologic nuclear medicine with a career dedicated to advancing theranostics, an innovative field that combines diagnostics with targeted therapies.

Dr. Herrmann completed his residency in nuclear medicine at TU Munich, where he focused on PET imaging in oncology. He then completed a fellowship at Hokkaido University and earned an executive MBA from the University of Zürich. In 2015, as an Associate Professor in the Ahmanson Translational Imaging Division, he was awarded a Seed Grant that helped create the theranostic program at UCLA. Dr. Herrmann’s Seed Grant helped advance his career and laid the foundation for UCLA’s theranostic program, which is now recognized as one of the world’s leading centers for research and clinical application.

Theranostics is a fusion of therapeutics and diagnostics, representing a precision medicine approach that combines targeted diagnostic imaging with precise therapeutic interventions. This often involves using radiopharmaceuticals designed to identify and treat cancer cells. For example, a radioactive compound that detects cancer cells via positron emission tomography (PET) imaging techniques is used. Subsequently, a therapeutic radioactive agent targets and destroys these identified cancer cells. This method allows for precise treatment delivery, minimizing damage to healthy tissues and enhancing treatment efficacy.

Currently, Dr. Herrmann serves as Chair of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Universitätsklinikum Essen in Germany, leading groundbreaking research and clinical applications. His influence extends across the field as a past Chair of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Oncology & Theranostics Committee and as a Section Editor for the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. He is actively involved in European Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) grants, securing over €25 million ($27 million) in funding. These projects aim to foster national and international alliances in pancreatic cancer research, with the goal of curing metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Herrmann’s pioneering work in theranostics has significantly influenced research and clinical practices, offering hope for more effective and personalized treatments for patients with challenging cancers, such as metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Herrmann envisions establishing a theranostic approach for treating metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), integrating diagnostics and therapeutics to enhance patient outcomes.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been planting seeds of hope through our Seed Grant Program for 20 years. It’s a delight to watch research grow from the lab to the clinic and bloom into clinical trials and new treatment options.

Help us continue to sow seeds of hope for a cancer-free future, donate today.

Since 2005, our Seed Grant Program has fostered an environment for research to bloom. As we mark 20 years since our first cohort of grantees, it is more exciting than ever to look back and see all that is being accomplished.

Dr. Ethan Abel, a 2021 Hirshberg Foundation Seed Grant recipient, has continued to make significant strides in pancreatic cancer research. Now in his sixth year as an Assistant Professor at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Abel leads a dedicated research lab focused on uncovering new mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

The Hirshberg Foundation’s Seed Grant was crucial in launching Dr. Abel’s independent research career. His early work understanding how the HNF1A protein impacts drug resistance in pancreatic cancer led to a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) R37 grant. This grant supports his work in understanding the novel roles of HNF1A, a transcription factor in pancreatic cancer, and new proteins of interest with underappreciated roles in pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Abel’s lab is preparing two research manuscripts, one of which is under review, based on findings supported by the Seed Grant and R37 funding. His team includes a technician and two Ph.D. students, one of whom will defend her thesis this summer, an exciting milestone for the next generation of pancreatic cancer researchers.

With his R37 grant, Dr. Abel is investigating how HNF1A contributes to resistance against KRAS-targeted therapies. Once deemed "undruggable," KRAS has now become a viable target, opening the door to new treatment strategies. However, as with many targeted therapies, resistance remains a challenge. Dr. Abel’s research aims to uncover how HNF1A interacts with BRD4 and BET inhibitors to drive resistance, with the goal of identifying ways to overcome these barriers.

Beyond drug resistance, his lab is also exploring the potential role of HNF1A in pancreatic cancer metastasis, illustrating how this protein may contribute to disease progression. These discoveries could open new avenues for therapeutic intervention, potentially improving outcomes for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Abel is optimistic about the future of pancreatic cancer research. With the recent breakthroughs in KRAS and pan-RAS inhibitors, he envisions a shift in treatment paradigms, potentially replacing or enhancing traditional chemotherapy. He anticipates that much of the field’s focus will be on understanding and overcoming therapy resistance in the next five years, ensuring that these promising new treatments can benefit more patients.

His work exemplifies the impact of private funding in fostering innovative research that leads to major scientific advancements. As the Hirshberg Foundation celebrates 20 years of our Seed Grant program, Dr. Abel’s career stands as a testament to the power of early funding in accelerating progress toward a cure.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been planting seeds of hope through our Seed Grant Program for 20 years. It’s a delight to watch research grow from the lab to the clinic and bloom into clinical trials and new treatment options.

Help us continue to sow seeds of hope for a cancer-free future, donate today.

At the Hirshberg Foundation, we remain dedicated to funding groundbreaking research, supporting patients and caregivers, and rallying communities to raise awareness.

From research to education to fundraising, we are united in advancing pancreatic cancer research and supporting those affected. Whether you attend our Symposium, ride in the Tour de Pier, or learn more about our Seed Grant Program, you play a vital role in our progress.
Together, we can move closer to a future where proactive prevention, early detection, and new treatment options transform outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients. Thank you for being part of this journey!

A new study led by Hirshberg-funded investigators at UCLA sheds light on how chronic stress and an unhealthy diet may work together to accelerate the early development of pancreatic cancer. These findings provide critical insight into how lifestyle factors contribute to this disease and reinforce the urgent need for prevention and early intervention strategies.

Researchers identified a key molecular mechanism by which stress and obesity trigger changes in pancreatic cells that may lead to cancer. Specifically, stress-related neurotransmitters and obesity-related hormones activate a protein called CREB, which is linked to cancer cell growth. While stress hormones stimulate the β-adrenergic receptor/PKA pathway, obesity-related signals primarily use the PKD pathway. These findings suggest that both stress and obesity fuel pancreatic cancer growth through similar mechanisms, providing a new understanding of how lifestyle factors contribute to disease progression.

In preclinical models, mice fed a high-fat diet developed precancerous pancreatic lesions. However, when combined with social isolation stress, these mice developed even more advanced lesions, demonstrating the compounding effects of chronic stress and obesity on cancer risk. Notably, social isolation stress had a more pronounced impact on female mice than males. Researchers hypothesize that biological differences, including estrogen levels and increased β-adrenergic receptor activity in females, may contribute to this heightened susceptibility.

These findings underscore the urgent need for a multifaceted approach to pancreatic cancer prevention, addressing both biological and lifestyle-related risk factors. Encouragingly, researchers suggest that existing medications could potentially mitigate these risks. Since β-adrenergic receptors play a crucial role in stress-related cancer growth, beta-blockers, commonly prescribed for high blood pressure, are being explored as a possible strategy to counteract these effects.

The study’s first authors are Yaroslav Teper, a 2021 Seed Grant awardee and project scientist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Xiaoying Sun, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. The senior authors are Dr. Guido Eibl, director of the Hirshberg Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory at UCLA and Dr. Enrique Rozengurt, distinguished professor of medicine and chief of research in the division of digestive diseases at UCLA and Ronald S. Hirshberg Chair in Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research.

It is thanks to our Seed Grant funding of Drs. Eibl and Teper, and our investments in our UCLA labs that this research has deepened our understanding of how lifestyle factors contribute to pancreatic cancer development. In today’s uncertain funding landscape, we remain steadfast in our mission to advance breakthrough pancreatic cancer research that changes and saves lives.

For nearly three decades, the Hirshberg Foundation has nurtured nearly every major advance in pancreatic cancer research, to ensure that pioneering ideas receive the support they need to grow into life-saving discoveries.

Learn more about Dr. Guido Eibl’s research →

Read more about this study from UCLA →