👏 Congratulations to Cancer Center at Illinois researcher Auinash Kalsotra on his investiture as the Phillip A. Sharp Professor of Biochemistry! 🔗 go.illinois.edu/KalsotraInve...

☀️ Pool day? We've got you covered. You can find free sunscreen at Crystal Lake Park Family Aquatic Center and Sholem Aquatic Center thanks to a partnership between the Cancer Center at Illinois, Champaign Park District, and Urbana Park District. 🌞 🔗 go.illinois.edu/SunSafety2026

🧬 Researchers have discovered the influential role of structural chirality of a DNA nanostructure to dictate cancer cell response to targeted therapeutics. 🔗https://go.illinois.edu/XingWang

A cancer diagnosis changes everything. For Tai R. Shin, his own experience and that of his late wife, You H. Shin, facing the disease, ignited a determination to do something about it. That determination is now the heart of a $6 million gift to advance cancer research. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/ShinGift

NEW: With support from the Cancer Center at Illinois, researchers are using advanced imaging techniques to better understand cancer cells that survive chemotherapy. Their findings could help identify biomarkers that identify resistant tumors earlier. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/MultiscaleIm...

📷 Researchers have developed a new camera system that could help surgeons make faster, more informed decisions during cancer surgery by identifying whether lymph nodes contain metastatic cancer cells in real-time. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/LymphNodes See less

A new study from Cancer Center at Illinois researchers offers insight into how tumors grow and respond to treatment. The team found that higher levels of collagen and fibrin around tumors can make the tissue softer rather than stiffer. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/StructuralPr... See less

A historic milestone for the Cancer Center at Illinois: We are now an NCI-designated Basic Cancer Center — the first new designation of its kind in nearly 40 years and one of only eight in the country. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/NCI-Designat...

🟠🔵 NEW: Researchers have launched a collaborative research project to develop a technology that will target and tag red blood cells in the human body. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/RedBloodCell

A new study from #ILLINOIS researchers shows a receptor linked to chronic inflammation may help identify which cancers are more aggressive and harder to treat. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/RAGEReceptor

Researchers are taking a new approach: using spatial mapping techniques to better understand tumor structure and how tumors may respond to treatment. go.illinois.edu/SpatialMapping

Researchers at #ILLINOIS have developed a 4D model of a living cell, capturing how it grows and divides over time. This breakthrough provides a powerful way to study cell behavior and could help scientists explore how diseases like cancer alter cells. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/LutheySchulten

🎥 Save the date! 🟠 April 23 | 4 PM 📍 Beckman Institute Join us for a screening of “Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution." 🔗 Please register for reception planning purposes: go.illinois.edu/CrackingtheC...

The growing “femtech,” industry has transformed how women monitor and manage their health - but questions linger about privacy, bias, regulation and more. CCIL member Sara Gerke is working to navigate those issues by bridging law, ethics, and medicine. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Gerke

Congratulations to CCIL researchers Hyunjoon Kong and Xing Wang, who have been named Senior Members by the National Academy of Inventors! 👏 🔗 go.illinois.edu/KongWang

Join us for a special documentary and reception! 🎥 🟠 April 23 | 4 p.m. | Beckman Institute The CCIL will host a screening of "Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp the Biotech Revolution." 🔗 go.illinois.edu/CrackingtheC...

CCIL Director Rohit Bhargava joined News-Gazette Radio on #WorldCancerDay to talk about how far cancer research has come, and promising advancements in the works. 🔗 Listen here around the 2 minute mark: go.illinois.edu/WorldCancerDay

Congratulations to Dhanush Gandavadi and Revathi Manoharaan - both members of CCIL research labs - for receiving a Biohub Spark Award! 🎉 🔗 Learn more about their projects and Biohub: go.illinois.edu/SparkAward

New research from #ILLINOIS fills in critical gaps when it comes to understanding the relationship between testicular cancer growth and PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances also known as "forever chemicals." 🔗 go.illinois.edu/SinghSpinella

A new initiative between the CCIL and National Center for Supercomputing Applications - NCSA unites scientists working on cancer with experts in artificial intelligence to support projects that will accelerate cancer research. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/CDI

NEW: Researchers studying #breastcancer have identified a protein that can help shift immune cells into "attack cancer mode." The team will now work to boost this protein's activity in tumors and evaluate if it can be combined with existing therapies. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/NelsonProtein

🎥 IN THE NEWS: CCIL researcher Erik Nelson shared his lab's recent breast cancer research on @wcia3news.bsky.social, explaining a link they found between cholesterol and cancer progression. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/WCIANelson

Congratulations to CCIL Phillip and Ann Sharp Director Rohit Bhargava, who has been named a National Academy of Inventors fellow! 👏 Jean-Pierre Leburton, Gregory Stillman Emeritus Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Emeritus was also named a fellow. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/BhargavaLebu...

It's been a year of meaningful progress at the CCIL! Our researchers have pushed the boundaries of cancer discovery and expanded opportunities for the student scientists who will shape tomorrow's treatments. We're looking forward to new opportunities in 2026! 🎉 🔗 go.illinois.edu/2025Review

A new study from #ILLINOIS researchers found that patients with ER-positive breast cancer who lived in disadvantaged neighborhoods showed higher levels of inflammation- and stress-related biomarkers compared with those in more affluent areas. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/HannahHeath

New findings from #ILLINOIS researchers show that a small molecule in our DNA (called snaR-A) could drive cancer growth. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/VanBortle

#ILLINOIS researchers have developed a simpler and faster way to build DNA nanostructures, allowing them to perform better in biological environments. CCIL member Xing Wang has used DNA nanostructures targeted cancer drug delivery. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/DNAnanostruc...

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month! A team led by CCIL researchers is improving an imaging system used in bronchoscopy procedures to find small lung nodules. Their new camera has improved the system's imaging sensitivity by 10 times. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/LungCancer2025

💡 NEW DISCOVERY: Researchers have found that a naturally occurring protein boosts the effectiveness of certain breast cancer treatments, helping with the rupture of cancer cells. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Shapiro

NEW: #ILLINOIS researchers have discovered a communication pathway that helps breast cancer spread. The team will now work on developing treatment strategies that disrupt the pathway, with a goal of preventing metastasis. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/NelsonBreast...

NEW OPPORTUNITY: The CCIL introduces the Cancer Education Undergraduate Certificate! This certificate program is open to undergraduate students who demonstrate a sustained commitment to cancer education through interdisciplinary learning, outreach, and research. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Undergraduat...

EMPOWERING STUDENT RESEARCHERS 🔶🔷 Ph.D. student Rana Abbed is researching breast and ovarian cancers. The Deborah M. House Fund for Cancer Research recently supported Abbed’s work through a collaboration with Siteman Cancer Center. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/HouseFund

Researchers at #ILLINOIS have developed a way to track chemotherapy drugs inside of cancer cells. This ground-breaking research focuses on a transformed version of a widely used chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin, which makes the previously undetectable drug, detectable. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Richard

New research from #ILLINOIS shows that measuring a key hormone could help predict fertility outcomes for women with cancer who choose fertility preservation. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/KlonoffCohen

SCIENCE IN ACTION 🔬🧬 10 students from #ILLINOIS presented at the 2025 International Cancer Education Conference, a national forum that brings together researchers, educators, health professionals, and students. Congratulations to all who presented! 🎉 🔗 go.illinois.edu/ICEC

#ILLINOIS researchers have developed a model that uses a patient's blood to predict how likely they are to respond to immune checkpoint blockade drugs, a type of immunotherapy treatment. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/KunWang

🎥 IN THE NEWS: Breast Cancer Awareness Month 💗 CCIL researcher Michael Oelze shared his ultrasound technology research with @WCIA 3 News, highlighting the ways it holds potential to help patients. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/OelzeWCIA

#ILLINOIS researchers are developing technology that will make sure tumor tissue and cells are completely removed during surgery. 🔗 The principal investigator is reflecting on what the team has accomplished in the first year of a five-year project: go.illinois.edu/Boppart

New federal grants totaling $2.6 million will support CCIL researcher Michael Oelze's efforts to solve problems with existing ultrasound technologies and increase accessibility to new breakthroughs in the field. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Oelze

The Cancer Voices Project is designed to capture the perspectives of people who experience cancer - from patients and survivors to family members and doctors. 📣 The team is collecting interviews through the end of THIS MONTH. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/CancerVoices...

In a recent study, #ILLINOIS researchers identified how PFAS disrupt cells and found a way to repair them. The team is now collaborating with surgeons to identify patients with a higher risk of developing kidney cancer based on PFAS levels. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Irudayaraj

CCIL Distinguished Lecture Series: 📆 October 8 | 1 - 2 p.m. 📍NCSA 1040 | Teams ▶ Speaker: Elaine Fuchs 🔗 Registration required: go.illinois.edu/ElaineFuchs Fundamental discoveries from Elaine Fuchs shape our understanding of how stem cells cope with stress, including aging, inflammation and cancer.

Illinois researchers have developed a new method that could drastically accelerate the development of antibody-based treatments, immune therapies, and vaccines for various diseases, including cancer. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/NicholasWu

#ILLINOIS researchers have developed a framework for understanding and controlling the flow behavior of granular hydrogels — a material that mimics the mechanical properties of living tissue and holds potential for use in medicine and tissue repair. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Harley

NEW: An analysis from #ILLINOIS researchers reveals the nutrition therapies that are most effective at easing GI symptoms for cancer patients. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Loman

Researchers at #ILLINOIS are working to make mRNA cancer vaccines more effective. Scientists have created a hydrogel that recruits immune cells from all over the body to the injection site, instead of relying on the vaccine to reach them. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/WangmRNA

👏 Congratulations to CCIL program leader Erik Nelson, who recently received a prestigious 2025 Laureate Award from the Endocrine Society. Nelson's research has contributed to new therapeutic approaches being explored as breast cancer treatments and preventatives. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Nelson

👩🔬🥼That's a wrap! Students in this year's ResearcHStart program have completed their summer of cancer research. ResearcHStart allows high school students to get hands-on lab experience and build a network of mentors. 🔗 Learn more about their journey: go.illinois.edu/ResearcHStar...

NEW: A study from CCIL researcher Hong Chen revealed that gut microbe balance could be a key factor in early-onset colorectal cancer. 🔗 go.illinois.edu/HongChen

CCIL members Erik Nelson and Nien-Pei Tsai have both been promoted to full professors in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology 👏 🔗 go.illinois.edu/Promotions