UAB Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery Associate Professor James Donahue, M.D., has been awarded a $110,000 grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Rare Cancers Research Program Concept Awards. The funding began in 2024 and has a duration of two years.

Donahue's research will study the ability of intratumoral administration of the small-molecule survivin inhibitor YM155 encapsulated in a nanoparticle engineered by Dr. Vinoy Thomas in the UAB Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering to enhance the response rates to chemotherapy in esophageal cancer.

Survivin has proven to be a molecule that influences cancer cell survival and resistance to chemotherapy in other types of cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, in addition to esophageal cancer. Given these previous findings, Donahue will investigate the potential of YM155 to inhibit the survivin protein when administered inside an esophageal tumor.

"Our research into the effect of YM155 may potentially affect the success rates of chemotherapy strategies currently used without significantly increasing side effects," Donahue said.

About the DoD Rare Cancers Concept Award

The Department of Defense Rare Cancers Research Program Concept Award supports innovative concepts related to rare cancers. The award is not intended to fund established research projects; instead, it allows Principal Investigators to explore unexpected observations. This award mechanism facilitates high-risk studies that have the potential to uncover entirely new avenues for research.