Hoosier Cancer Research Network announces the appointment of Shilpa Gupta, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, and Rana McKay, MD, of the University of California San Diego, as co-chairs of the organization’s Genitourinary Clinical Trial Working Group.

The new co-chairs succeed Noah Hahn, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Matthew Galsky, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Guru Sonpavde, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who led the group for a decade of highly productive collaborative research. In 2020 alone, HCRN investigators presented seven abstracts at scientific meetings, including an oral abstract at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, and published a manuscript in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. More than 75 investigators and 45 institutions compose the working group, and the group’s portfolio includes about 20 active studies and approved Letters of Intent.

Dr. Gupta (pictured left) is a medical oncologist and researcher in the Department of Hematology and Oncology and Leader of the Bladder Cancer Program at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute. Her research is focused on bladder and prostate cancer and she has led several early- and late-phase clinical trials using novel targeted therapies and immunotherapies in genitourinary cancers. Dr. Gupta is studying mechanisms of response and resistance to immunotherapy in bladder cancer and she is the recipient of the 2020 Department of Defense Idea Award and is Co-PI on a Department of Defense Translational Team Science Award.

Dr. Gupta earned her medical degree at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, India. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and fellowships in Hematology-Oncology and Genitourinary Oncology Translational Research at Georgetown University and Thomas Jefferson University. After completion of her fellowship in 2011, Dr. Gupta served as an Assistant Member at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, in the Departments of Genitourinary Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics where she had clinical, teaching, and research responsibilities. She then joined the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, where she led the Interdisciplinary Solid Tumor Phase 1 Program until June 2019, prior to joining the Cleveland Clinic.

Her work has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, European Oncology, and others. Dr. Gupta serves on the ASCO Annual Scientific Committee for Genitourinary Cancers and SITC Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Resistance Task Force. She is also on the panel of the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines and has been appointed to the International Bladder Cancer Group’s core committee and the Society of International Urology Innovators.

“I am excited to serve in this role and work with a remarkable group of investigators to continue the rich tradition of cutting-edge research led by the HCRN GU group,” Dr. Gupta said.

Dr. McKay is a medical oncologist and researcher at UC San Diego Health. She specializes in treating people with urogenital cancers, including bladder, kidney, prostate, and testicular cancers, and leads a multi-disciplinary prostate cancer clinic. As an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Dr. McKay instructs medical students, residents, and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Her research interests include the design and implementation of clinical trials to including novel biomarkers and therapeutic outcomes for patients with genitourinary malignancies. She serves as principal investigator of several early-phase trials in kidney and prostate cancer. As a clinical investigator, she is committed to advancements in cancer care that will improve the lives of cancer patients. Her research interests include mechanisms of response and resistance to cancer therapies. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as Nature, Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and Cancer, among others.

Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. McKay was a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in Boston and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. She completed a fellowship in oncology/hematology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School; a residency in internal medicine at John Hopkins Hospital; and her medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

“It is an honor to serve this incredible group as a co-chair with my colleague and friend Dr. Gupta,” Dr. McKay said. “We look forward to providing continued opportunities for investigators, fostering a collaborative environment of mentorship, and ensuring that we serve the needs of our patients.”

The new co-chairs say a primary goal for the working group in the coming year is to diversify the portfolio, with particular emphasis on renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer, as well as adaptive trial platforms across tumor types, especially in bladder cancer. The co-chairs said they are committed to building well-rounded study teams that include junior investigators and, as applicable, translational, imaging, and quality of life investigators, to allow broader involvement in concept and protocol development. The co-chairs said they will seek opportunities to build on the group’s strong collaboration with industry.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 230 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 9,000 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.