Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men with about 1 in 7 men being diagnosed during in his lifetime. The majority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from the disease. However, those who do (nearly 30,000 each year) develop aggressive tumors that grow and spread rapidly, sometimes even after radical surgery to remove all cancerous tissue. The goal of this Center of Excellence is to better understand lethal prostate cancer in order to identify treatments that will improve patient care and survival.

Directors:
Nima Sharifi, MD
Eric Klein, MD

Pulmonary vascular diseases (PVD) are a diverse group of heart and lung disorders made up of overlapping syndromes that commonly present as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The goal of this Center of Excellence is to better understand the mechanisms of vascular dysfunction that lead to PVD, including the various forms of PAH, and to develop new targets and strategies for individualized therapies. To achieve this goal, the center’s clinical and basic investigators are engaging in four distinct yet synergistic projects: 1) identifying mechanisms of abnormal cell proliferation, 2) examining the role of thrombosis in the development of PAH, 3) studying the role of nitric oxide deficiency in PAH, and 4) testing two existing drugs to restore lost cellular function due to a genetic mutation related to PAH.

Director:
Raed Dweik, MD

Cancer-associated thrombosis (blood clot formation) occurs in approximately one-fifth of all cancer patients and remains the second leading cause of death in hospitalized and ambulatory cases. Research suggests that several forms of cancer as well as some cancer treatments, such as certain types of chemotherapies, increase the risk of blood clots, which cause death by blocking or obstructing blood flow in the body and preventing vital organs from receiving oxygen and nutrients. The goal of this Center of Excellence is to better define thrombus development in patients with cancer, test the efficacy of novel therapies, develop new preclinical models, and create and expand biorepositories to provide a valuable resource to researchers across Cleveland Clinic.

Directors:
Keith McCrae, MD
Alok Khorana, MD

With awareness increasing and colonoscopy widely available, colorectal cancer can be a preventable disease. However, for the 20-30 percent of patients who develop metastatic disease, the discovery of new treatment options is critical. In patients whose colon cancer has spread (most often to the liver), current treatments extend life by, at most, less than two years.

To help combat this problem, this Center of Excellence harnesses expertise from research and clinical areas of Cleveland Clinic to understand the causes of colon cancer metastasis and to improve prevention, treatment and, ultimately, patient outcomes. The center is undertaking several projects, including examining colon cancer’s cellular microenvironment, reversing the effects of angiogenesis and understanding how genetic changes may make colon cancer cells more aggressive in some individuals and how those changes may be reversed.

Directors:
Emina Huang, MD
Xiaoxia Li, PhD

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a type of cancer that occurs when the blood contains an abnormally high amount of white blood cells. Affecting approximately three in 100,000 Americans each year, CMML is a rare disease that generally affects older adults and is found in more men than women. Currently, the cause of CMML remains unknown and treatment options are limited. This Center of Excellence aims to improve the management of CMML and develop curative therapies for the disease. Initial projects further examine recently discovered mutations that are found in more than 80 percent of CMML patients. These projects are exploring therapeutic options, including developing targeted gene therapies and novel epigenetic therapies.

Directors:
Jaroslaw Maciejewski, MD, PhD

Current treatments for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, the most common type of liver cancer) do not work for all patients and only offer a modest benefit. This Center of Excellence team will focus on obesity-driven HCC. The diverse group of experts has developed a biorepository of patient-derived tissues, which will be used for testing investigational drugs in preclinical models. Several novel therapeutic targets have already been identified, and drug discovery efforts continue.

Directors:
J. Mark Brown, PhD
Federico Aucejo, MD

J. Mark Brown, PhD

Lerner Research Institute - Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Federico Aucejo, MD

General Surgery, Transplantation Center

Daniela Allende, MD

Pathology

Eren Berber, MD

Center for Endocrine Surgery

Bassam Estfan, MD

Hematology and Oncology

Justin Lathia, PhD

Lerner Research Institute - Cellular and Molecular Medicine

K.V. Narayanan Menon, MD

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Gordon McLennan, MD

Diagnostic Radiology

Carlos Romero-Marrero, MD

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Takuya Sakaguchi, PhD

Lerner Research Institute -Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine

Yogen Saunthararajah, MD

Hematology and Oncology

Kevin Stephans, MD

Radiation Oncology

Ex-vivo organ perfusion (EVOP), pioneered at Cleveland Clinic, is rapidly emerging as a potential superior preservation technology over cold storage in clinical transplantation. To date, 10 patients have received successful transplants using EVOP. The goal of this center is to advance basic and clinical liver preservation research and to establish the world’s first clinical “organ ICU.” Since liver transplantation remains the only chance of a cure for end-stage liver disease, improving transplant organ quality is critical for caring for these patients and will help close the gap between patient need and available organs.

Directors:
Cristiano Quintini, MD
Robert Fairchild, PhD

Cristiano Quintini, MD

General Surgery

Robert Fairchild, PhD

Lerner Research Institute -Immunology

William Baldwin, MD, PhD

Lerner Research Institute -Immunology

Gail Cresci, PhD, RD

Pediatric Institute

Qiang Liou, MD, PhD

Charles Miller, MD

General Surgery

More than 50 percent of patients with cancer receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment. However, radiation is still delivered in a “one size fits all” manner. The goal of this center is to bring radiotherapy into the era of personalized medicine by identifying genetic markers of radiotherapy resistance and uncovering how heterogeneity within tumors affects radiotherapy efficacy. The long-term goal of the center is to develop novel, individualized therapeutic strategies to increase the cure rate for lung cancer.

Directors:
Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD

Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD

Radiation Oncology

Francisco Aécio Almeida, MD, MS

Pulmonary Medicine

Ming Hu, PhD

Tae Hyun Hwang, PhD

Omar Mian, MD, PhD

Translational Hematology and Oncology Research

Craig Peacock, PhD

Translational Hematology and Oncology Research

Nathan Pennell, MD, PhD

Hematology and Oncology

Daniel Raymond, MD

Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Jacob Scott, MD

Translational Hematology and Oncology Research

Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD

Hematology and Oncology

Ping Xia, PhD

Radiation Oncology

Tingliang Zhuang, PhD

Radiation Oncology

The main goal of this Center of Excellence is to identify and evaluate new approaches to enhance stroke recovery for patients with motor and cognitive deficits by bridging the divide between preclinical research and clinical trials. Projects include developing a novel preclinical model of ischemic stroke and applying functional MRI to characterize brain changes, improving measures of post-stroke clinical assessment, and combining brain stimulation with directed rehabilitation.

Directors:
Andre Machado, MD, PhD
Kenneth Baker, PhD

While many patients have familial cardiovascular conditions, genetic testing is not always used effectively in the clinical setting. This center aims to identify and address critical gaps that could enhance personalized care. The team plans to accomplish this goal by expanding whole genome or exome sequencing for patients, using patient-derived cells to discover new disease mechanisms, and personalized drug library screening. Studies will focus on three main disease areas: arrhythmias; heart failure; and aortic, vascular or valve diseases.

Directors:
Mina Chung, MD

Vice-Director:
Wilson Tang, MD

Co-Directors:
Eric Roselli, MD
Jonathan Smith, PhD