Eye and Ear

Jennifer R. Grandis, MD, FACS
Vice Chair for Research, Department of Otolaryngology
Director of Head and Neck Cancer Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
Professor of Otolaryngology and Pharmacology
Bio

 
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Grandis sees the effects of head and neck cancer and its treatments firsthand.  The current standard of care delivers far too much toxicity and morbidity to patients in her view and drives her work in gene therapy – developing methods to identify a cancer gene early on, at the molecular level, and working on ways to curtail its development.

 

Head and neck cancers, which are often advanced by the time they are diagnosed, accounted for 11,000 deaths last year.  For survivors, quality of life is often severely impacted, leading to deep depression.

 

The Grandis Lab began research efforts in this field over10 years ago, with incremental breakthroughs and concern for the plights of patients driving the momentum along the way.  “If we don’t persist, there’s no hope,” she says.  Today, Dr. Grandis believes the steadfast investment is showing promising returns.

 

Dr. Grandis and her lab identified variation in certain genes of head and neck cancer patients that might indicate persons more likely to get the cancer.  They're developing ways to block the translation of these genes into proteins that could support cancer growth.  This “antisense” therapy effectively inhibited tumor growth and resulted in cancer cell death in laboratory mice and a Phase I clinical trial is now underway.

 

“For 10 years, it felt like we were walking on this path – now we’re putting the rollerblades on,” she says.

 

As rewarding as the research and clinical practice work is for Dr. Grandis, she sees mentoring other physicians and scientists as her most important work.

 

“I’ve had really good mentors and know that the day-to-day interaction is critical,” she says.

 

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Bio

Jennifer Rubin Grandis, MD, FACS, is associate professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and is director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

 

Consistently funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, Dr. Grandis’s research laboratory is devoted to the study of TGF-a/EGF-R, autocrine signaling pathways in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.  Her research interests include growth factor signaling pathways, the mechanism and efficacy of selective retinoids and antisense gene therapy approaches to head and neck cancer treatment.

 

In addition to her research, Dr. Grandis actively mentors fellows, post-doctoral and pre-doctoral students at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Dr. Grandis completed medical school, residencies in otolaryngology and surgery and a fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  During this time she received many awards and distinctions, including the Kenneth H. Hinderer Award in Otolaryngology and the Leo H. Criep Award in Medicine.

 

Dr. Grandis has contributed numerous articles and abstracts to the scientific literature and holds patents for novel concepts pertaining to cancer treatments and diagnostics.  She maintains membership in a number of professional societies, including the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Medical Association, American Association for Cancer Research and Women in Cancer Research.  She is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological (Triologic) Society.