Emergent Issues in Public Health Awardees
The Emergent Issues in Public Health Grant supports research that aims to address an emergent issue regarding cancer and public health, which may include the next phase of COVID-19 and cancer research, or other cancer research related to an emergent public health issue. This was formerly the COVID-19 Response grant.
Cycle 3
November 2022
Building Capacity of Bilingual and Bicultural Community Health Workers to Implement Evidence-based Cancer Prevention and Control Interventions to Promote Health Equity
University of Washington (Principal Investigator: Linda Ko, PhD)
This study aims to increase cancer screening among limited English proficient (LEP) populations by building the capacity of community health workers (CHWs) to select, adapt, and implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for cancer prevention and control. Cancer prevention and control among LEP communities is a national priority, and National Cancer Institute (NCI) has identified implementation science as key to increasing adoption of EBIs. However, EBIs are underused in these communities due to low awareness and use of EBIs. Dr. Ko’s research team has developed an implementation strategy (coined Implementation Studio) to build the capacity of CHWs employed by community-based organizations (CBO) to select, adapt, and implement EBIs for cancer prevention and control with funding from CDC. The objective of the Implementation Studio is to build knowledge of EBIs and skills on the implementation of EBIs in CBO setting. Implementation Studio was pilot tested with CHWs who serve Spanish speaking Latinos in rural communities through virtual training. Building on the success of their pilot study, Dr. Ko and the team will expand the training beyond Spanish speaking CHWs and rural communities. The project aims to conduct and evaluate the Implementation Studio with CHWs who serve LEP communities to select, adapt, and implement EBIs to promote cancer screening. The project will build the institutional capacity of CBOs and interpersonal capacity of CHWs and aims to address cancer screening disparities among LEP communities in Washington State.
Cycle 2
February 2021
Note: awarded as COVID-19 Response Grants
Discerning the dysfunctional immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Institute for Systems Biology (Principal Investigator: Wei Wei, PhD)
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most commonly diagnosed leukemia in the Western world and disproportionately affects older adults. Although there have been observational studies that have highlighted the susceptibility of CLL patients to viral infections such as COVID-19, a deeper understanding of this susceptibility is needed in order to develop new treatment strategies. The research team will leverage samples and data collected in an extensive Institute for Systems Biology/Swedish Medical Center COVID-19 trial to investigate the urgent and often fatal problem of viral infections in CLL patients through orchestrating single-cell multi-omics and a collection of novel systems biology computational approaches. The research aims to provide an improved understanding of how the altered epigenetic landscape and transcriptional reprogramming in CLL patients influences the activation, differentiation, and function of immune cells upon COVID-19 infection, and how these dysregulated processes lead to a compromised anti-viral response.
Assessing COVID-19 related cancer care disparities among an aging population: A population-based study
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Principal Investigator: Garnet Anderson, PhD)
This research aims to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on older women. This will be a follow-up to a survey conducted in mid-2020 that collected data on COVID-19 associated effects on health care utilization, difficulties in obtaining medications, quality of life, mental health, compliance with prevention guidelines, and rates of testing and infection in subgroups at high risk for adverse effects. The research team will conduct a follow-up survey to assess rates of infection and testing, prevention behaviors, mental health, access to health care (e.g., delays in receiving care and conversion to telemedicine), and vaccination rates and reasons for not having a vaccination. In addition, they will examine disparities associated with race and ethnicity, and between urban and rural residences. This information will help determine successes and failures in protecting the elderly from the pandemic’s impact on cancer screening and treatment and on broader health needs of this large and vulnerable population and guiding interventions to promote vaccination.
Efficacy of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia
University of Washington (Principal Investigator: Chaitra Ujjani, MD)
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common adult leukemia and typically affects older patients, often with co-morbidities. As CLL patients have impaired immune systems and can have varied responses to vaccinations, they have traditionally been excluded from vaccine trials, including many of the ongoing COVID-19 studies. This research project aims to evaluate the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine in patients with CLL. Patients’ immune status will be evaluated pre- and post-vaccination to assess the vaccine’s success in stimulating an effective immune response. These findings will also assist physicians as they educate CLL patients about the ongoing need for safety precautions to avoid COVID-19.
Cycle 1
June 2020
Note: awarded as COVID-19 Response Grants
A Scalable Platform for Multiplexed Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and Protein in Human Tissues
University of Washington (Principal Investigators: Brian Beliveau, PhD; Shreeram Akilesh, MD, PhD)
Currently, there is a lack of a cost-effective, scalable, and robust clinical assay to map this interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA, protein components, and human tissues. The research team will be creating a simple, inexpensive method for the multiplexed imaging of both the host and SARS-CoV-2 RNA and protein in human tissue samples. This direct visualization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus within the native tissue context will be essential to understanding the pathology of COVID-19 infection and inform cancer providers and surgeons of how COVID-19 interacts with cancer cells and the altered immune environment of the tumor.
Targeting of Interleukin 6 Signaling as a Key Pathway in Cancer and Severe COVID-19
University of Washington (Principal Investigators: Christine Queitsch, PhD; Richard James, PhD)
This research will investigate the impact of protein drugs that inhibit the Interleukin 6 (IL6) receptor signaling, which plays a key role in cancer and severe COVID-19. The proposal aims to develop a high-throughput low-cost method to identify protein inhibitors that interfere as dominant negatives with IL6 and its receptor components. Protein inhibitors are easily generated, can be improved by mutagenesis or modification, and are highly specific and act rapidly. In addition, the research’s aims to provide cheap and readily generated drugs for treating cancer and alleviating COVID-19 will have a significant impact on economically disadvantaged and indigenous populations that suffer higher rates of severe COVID-19 and mortality.
Evaluating the Impact of Deferred Cancer Preventive Care in the Era of COVID-19
Washington State University (Principal Investigator: Ofer Amram, PhD)
This research aims to understand the patterns of deferred or missed cancer screening for MultiCare members across Washington state while taking into consideration the inequities in the uptake of cancer prevention services. The research team will use de-identified administrative data from MultiCare clinics throughout Washington State to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lock-down on cancer screening by gathering data regarding the cancellation of screenings or preventative visits, delay in care, as well as the number of positive cervical, breast, or colon cancer cases that went undiagnosed between March and May in 2020. This data will then be compared with data from March through May in previous years. The results from this study will provide timely evidence on unintended consequences of COVID-19 related public health measures and enable decision-makers to better maintain health services for cancer prevention.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Well-Being of Rural and American Indian Cancer Patients in Washington State
Washington State University (Principal Investigator: Patrik Johansson, MD, MPH)
This research is a seminal investigation of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of cancer patients living in rural and tribal communities in Washington State. The research team will conduct a cross-sectional study to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on selected measures of health, healthcare, personal, socio-cultural, and economic outcomes among cancer patients from 15 clinics serving these constituencies. The study, conducted by the Northwest Health Education Research Outcomes Network (known as NW HERON), an interdisciplinary practice-based research network at Washington State University, will capitalize on an existing network of healthcare facilities affiliated with the Elson S. Floyd School of Medicine.
Development of Single-Chain Variable Fragment Antibodies to Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Bloodworks Northwest (Principal Investigator: Jóse López, MD)
This research seeks to develop antibody-based reagents that will block SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells while avoiding worsening clinical outcomes in immune-compromised patients, such as cancer patients. Unlike many other approaches to developing antibodies, this particular strategy is unique in that it recognizes and avoids the potential hazards associated with conventional antibody strategy, specifically antibody dependent enhancement (ADE), and complement activation, both of which have the potential to exacerbate rather than improve COVID-19, particularly in immunocompromised populations.