PHILADELPHIA — Dr. Joseph Van Galen, a Chief Fellow at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been recognized with the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award. This accolade is awarded to promising young researchers in clinical oncology to support their transition from fellowship to faculty positions.
Dr. Van Galen expressed his gratitude for the award, stating, “Receiving this award is an incredible honor. The funding will allow me to remain engaged with productive mentors and collaborators in the Fox Chase community and to see a multidisciplinary project through to completion.” His research focuses on translational immunology, malignant hematology, transplantation, and cellular therapies.
The ASCO award includes a one-year grant of $50,000 aimed at covering research expenses and travel for the Conquer Cancer Grants & Awards Ceremony at the ASCO Annual Meeting held from May 30-June 3 in Chicago.
Dr. Van Galen’s research project is supported by mentorship within Fox Chase Cancer Center. The project involves collaboration with other faculty members to understand immune-related adverse events caused by cancer-treatment drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs can sometimes lead to overactivation of the immune system resulting in complications affecting healthy tissues.
A clinical trial designed by Dr. Van Galen and Zibelman will investigate patient responses to treatment for these adverse events. The ASCO funding will be used for analyzing patient blood samples to study how immune cells are affected by complications arising from checkpoint inhibitor therapies.
“As a hematologist and oncologist, I am drawn to studies of immunology that I hope will improve care for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers in the future,” said Dr. Van Galen about his motivation for pursuing this line of research.
