Featured Stories
Health Foundation: Public Want Strong Safeguards for AI in Healthcare, New Research Finds
LONDON, England, Sept. 10 (TNSxrep) -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2026:
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Public want strong safeguards for AI in healthcare, new research finds
Health Foundation publishes findings from major study of public attitudes on the regulation of AI in healthcare alongside MHRA Commission report.
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The Health Foundation has today published in-depth research exploring the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care. The research was conducted in partnership with Ipsos UK and produced exclusively for the MHRA as research partner
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LONDON, England, Sept. 10 (TNSxrep) -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 9, 2026:
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Public want strong safeguards for AI in healthcare, new research finds
Health Foundation publishes findings from major study of public attitudes on the regulation of AI in healthcare alongside MHRA Commission report.
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The Health Foundation has today published in-depth research exploring the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care. The research was conducted in partnership with Ipsos UK and produced exclusively for the MHRA as research partnerto the National Commission into the Regulation of AI for Healthcare.
The research found that the UK public is open to the use of AI in health care, but want strong safeguards: tools must be accurate, subject to meaningful human oversight, proportionately regulated according to risk, and must not lead to worse care for any group.
Commenting on the new research, Dr Jennifer Dixon DBE, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said:
'The public recognise that AI offers huge potential to improve health and care. But public support is conditional on building in strong safeguards, with a high bar for safety, over speed. Our research shows that the public can support the greater use of AI in the NHS, provided it is used where it demonstrably improves care and the risks are properly assessed and managed.
'That means that regulation needs to be proportionate to the risks AI poses, with clear expectations on accuracy, human oversight and fairness. Ongoing engagement with the public is also essential as these technologies develop and become more widely used in the NHS.'
Responding to the recommendations of the MHRA's Commission, Dr Dixon said:
'The Commission's recommendations are an important step towards the goal of making the NHS a world-leading AI-enabled care system. But to realise that ambition and deliver benefits to the NHS and patients, policymakers now need to strengthen the infrastructure to harness AI's potential.
'This includes making sure NHS staff, and the organisations they work in, can implement AI effectively. It also means developing faster, cheaper ways of testing new technologies in real-world NHS settings to understand what really works. And it means stronger powers for regulators to respond as AI evolves. Without this wider infrastructure, there is a risk that AI may fail to live up to its potential, and weaken public confidence.'
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Notes to editors
1. The Health Foundation partnered with Ipsos UK to conduct deliberative research with 78 members of the public across England and Wales across three locations (Cardiff, Milton Keynes and York) in March-April 2026 to explore the public's views on, and priorities for, the regulation of AI in health care.
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Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/media-office/press-releases/public-want-strong-safeguards-for-ai-in-healthcare-new-research-finds
Freedom From Religion Foundation: EEOC Must Protect Religious Freedom -- Not Christian Privilege
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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EEOC must protect religious freedom -- not Christian privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for implementing the Trump administration's "anti-Christian bias" narrative.
The EEOC has touted its religious liberty enforcement, highlighting more than $63 million recovered on behalf of workers in religious discrimination matters since January 2025 and a record $48 million in fiscal year 2025. While protecting employees from
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MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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EEOC must protect religious freedom -- not Christian privilege
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for implementing the Trump administration's "anti-Christian bias" narrative.
The EEOC has touted its religious liberty enforcement, highlighting more than $63 million recovered on behalf of workers in religious discrimination matters since January 2025 and a record $48 million in fiscal year 2025. While protecting employees fromgenuine religious discrimination is a legitimate function of the EEOC, Title VII protects workers of all or no religions, and requires reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious practices when appropriate. But the EEOC's own account makes clear that its current leadership is doing something more troubling: tying that legitimate mission to the administration's political campaign against supposed widespread "anti-Christian bias."
Revealingly, EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas also sits on President Trump's Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The EEOC says it worked closely with the Justice Department on the task force's April report alleging, absurdly, that the Biden administration engaged in anti-Christian discrimination throughout the federal government.
In March, the EEOC announced that a "leading global technology company" is paying $15 million to settle claims that it illegally refused to grant workers, described as "largely Christian," medical and religious exemptions to Covid vaccine mandates. The EEOC has been in the news otherwise, too, with the New York Times recently suing over records requests. Among the documents requested was correspondence with groups such as the Heritage Foundation, America First Legal and Trump administration pooh-bah Stephen Miller.
The administration's emphasis on Christianity is particularly inappropriate because federal civil rights law does not create a special category of protection for Christians. Religious protections apply equally regardless of whether an employee is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, atheist or holds another religious or nonreligious viewpoint.
One particularly revealing case involves The Rock Snowpark, a Wisconsin ski area that the EEOC sued on behalf of a Christian employee. He was fired following a dispute over posts on his personal social media account, but the resort claims the decision was based on "performance issues and policy violations."
Notably, the EEOC does not disclose the content of those posts. Instead, it describes them simply as containing "Bible verses and religious content" while its complaint acknowledges that the employer specifically raised concerns that some of the posts were discriminatory toward gay people. Without revealing the content at the center of the dispute, the EEOC portrays the case as an employer punishing a worker for expressing his Christian faith.
FFRF has repeatedly warned that the administration's "anti-Christian bias" initiative turns the constitutional principle of religious freedom on its head. The First Amendment demands governmental neutrality toward religion. It does not authorize the federal government to elevate Christianity, treat Christians as a favored class or deploy federal agencies to reinforce a political narrative that Christianity is under siege.
The EEOC should remember that its obligation extends to the growing number of Americans, some three in 10, who are not religious. Title VII's prohibition against religious discrimination protects atheists and other nonbelievers, including their right not to participate in religious practices or have religion imposed upon them in the workplace.
"Real religious freedom requires a government that neither favors nor disfavors religion," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The moment an agency starts viewing its civil rights mission through the lens of combating 'anti-Christian bias,' equal protection becomes preferential treatment. The EEOC needs to be reminded it is not an arm of a White House campaign to falsely portray the nation's dominant religion as uniquely persecuted."
The EEOC needs to return its focus to what the law actually requires: protecting all workers from unlawful discrimination and enforcing religious accommodation requirements neutrally -- rather than helping manufacture a privileged status for the majority faith.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/eeoc-must-protect-religious-freedom-not-christian-privilege/
[Category: Religion]
FFRF Calls Out Hegseth Rant Against Atheists and Non-Christians
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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FFRF calls out Hegseth rant against atheists and non-Christians
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is blasting a social media post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent out scapegoating non-Christians and atheists.
The intemperate post arose from a dispute over repeated religious greetings by gate guards at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported receiving complaints about the guards there repeatedly greeting personnel entering
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MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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FFRF calls out Hegseth rant against atheists and non-Christians
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is blasting a social media post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent out scapegoating non-Christians and atheists.
The intemperate post arose from a dispute over repeated religious greetings by gate guards at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported receiving complaints about the guards there repeatedly greeting personnel enteringthe base with "God bless you." One service member said they heard the greeting consistently over multiple days and viewed the repetition as an officially sanctioned religious message. The practice reportedly stopped after the complaint was received.
Hegseth, a Christian nationalist, responded via social media, savaging the advocacy group as a "radical anti-Christian, pro-atheist group" and stating that the Pentagon would "never cave" to the organization and that the Air Force would "confront this."
Making Hegseth's comments particularly hateful is the reality that, as FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor points out, 18 percent of active military members are atheist/agnostic, and another 32 percent have no religious affiliation, according to research, putting the "Nones" overall at half of current military members!
"Whatever the facts of the matter are, the secretary's vituperative and prejudiced language against non-Christians and atheists is deeply dismaying, disrespectful and unacceptable," she says. "Our military represents Americans of every faith and no faith, and those who serve our country should never be made to feel like their government considers one set of religious believers as favored and the others deserving of public calumny."
The military must distinguish between the private religious expression of individual service members and religious messages delivered as part of an official government interaction. The Air Force's own standards recognize precisely this distinction. Air Force Instruction 1-1 requires leaders to balance constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion with the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion: "Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for free exercise of religion and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions do not discriminate against any individual or group because of their faith, belief, or absence of belief, or extend preferential treatment for the same. Leaders must ensure that their personal expression is not reasonably associated with their government role, but may engage in such expression per DAFI 52-201, Religious Freedom in the Department of the Air Force."
Air Force guidance has stated that its constitutional responsibilities prohibit officially endorsing a particular religion or "the idea of religion over nonreligion." The Air Force has likewise explained that personnel are free to practice their own beliefs while respecting differing viewpoints and that leaders must avoid using their positions to promote personal religious beliefs or give preferential treatment for any religion. The Air Force itself has described pluralism as a source of strength. Its longstanding guidance emphasizes the importance of Americans representing many religions serving "shoulder-to-shoulder with those who claim no religion."
That is the principle that should be guiding Hegseth.
Members of the U.S. military swear an oath to support and defend America's godless and entirely secular Constitution. Maintaining governmental neutrality toward religion honors that oath while preserving the individual religious freedom of every service member.
Hegseth's shameless tirade undermines military regulations, signals that he considers non-Christians and freethinkers alike to be second-class citizens, and undermines the religious freedom protected by the U.S. Constitution itself.
Gaylor notes that if Hegseth cannot carry out his professional obligations to uphold equal protection under the law, he should resign.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-calls-out-hegseth-rant-against-atheists-and-non-christians/
[Category: Religion]
GCF Awards $816,120 to 28 Organizations Through Healthy People Grant Cycle
CINCINNATI, Sept. 9 -- The Greater Cincinnati Foundation issued the following news:
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GCF awards $816,120 to 28 organizations through Healthy People grant cycle
Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) has awarded $816,120 to 28 nonprofit organizations through its Healthy People: Community & Cultural Vibrancy grant cycle, investing in programs that strengthen physical and mental well-being, expand access to essential services, and help residents build healthier, more stable futures.
This work is part of a larger strategic plan to unlock the potential of Greater Cincinnati by investing $1 billion
... Show Full Article
CINCINNATI, Sept. 9 -- The Greater Cincinnati Foundation issued the following news:
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GCF awards $816,120 to 28 organizations through Healthy People grant cycle
Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) has awarded $816,120 to 28 nonprofit organizations through its Healthy People: Community & Cultural Vibrancy grant cycle, investing in programs that strengthen physical and mental well-being, expand access to essential services, and help residents build healthier, more stable futures.
This work is part of a larger strategic plan to unlock the potential of Greater Cincinnati by investing $1 billioninto the region over the next decade, including a historic $150 million in three key areas: housing, education, and community and cultural vibrancy.
The Healthy People: Community and Cultural Vibrancy grant cycle is grounded in GCF's belief that strong communities start with strong people. The funding supports organizations working across three critical areas:
* Lifelong Healthy Well-being: supporting healthy lives across generations through prevention, early support, research, and coordinated care for children, families, and older adults.
* Accessible Health, Wellness & Disability Supports: expanding therapeutic and mobility-enabling services for individuals living with disabilities or chronic conditions.
* Stability, Housing & Integrated Behavioral Health: helping individuals and families facing poverty, food insecurity, or housing instability access behavioral health services and basic needs supports that strengthen long-term well-being.
"We are incredibly grateful to the nonprofit organizations that work every day to improve lives, expand access to care, and strengthen communities," said Kristin Riepenhoff Zelinskas, Director of Community Investments at GCF. "Their dedication, innovation, and deep connection to the people they serve help ensure that all residents, regardless of zip code, have the opportunity to live full, healthy, and connected lives."
Read the full list of Healthy People: Community and Cultural Vibrancy grantees here.
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Original text here: https://www.gcfdn.org/blog/gcf-awards-816120-to-28-organizations-through-healthy-people-grant-cycle/
FFRF Welcomes Positive Ruling in Hometown Case Against Religious Tax Exemption
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 9 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 8, 2026:
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FFRF welcomes positive ruling in hometown case against religious tax exemption
The Freedom From Religion Foundation hailed a ruling today that allows its hometown case against unconstitutional church property tax exemptions to move forward.
This is the second time a Dane County judge has ruled that FFRF and its three Madison residents may proceed in the lawsuit challenging an unconstitutional state property tax exemption unduly benefiting commercial rental properties
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 9 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release on Sept. 8, 2026:
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FFRF welcomes positive ruling in hometown case against religious tax exemption
The Freedom From Religion Foundation hailed a ruling today that allows its hometown case against unconstitutional church property tax exemptions to move forward.
This is the second time a Dane County judge has ruled that FFRF and its three Madison residents may proceed in the lawsuit challenging an unconstitutional state property tax exemption unduly benefiting commercial rental propertiesowned by two local religious organizations.
The property tax exemption was created and later amended to benefit specific church-owned rental properties to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The Pres House and Lumen House Apartments, both serving primarily student renters and owned by two of the defendants, are explicitly exempted from paying their share of taxes. Removing these large, extremely profitable rental properties from the tax rolls forces other property taxpayers to make up the difference.
A judge in February denied an earlier round of motions asking the court to toss out the case. The defendants filed a second round of motions seeking dismissal, which the court has once again denied.
"Plaintiffs' action is not time-barred," Judge Stephen Ehlke said in his order.
"We are pleased to finally move forward with this case," says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. "This suit serves all taxpayers in Madison and ensures that the Wisconsin Legislature is not allowed to favor specific churches for special tax benefits."
FFRF and its three local plaintiff property owners contend that the tax exemption is unconstitutional under the Wisconsin Constitution for several reasons. The exemption undeniably harms all property taxpayers in Madison, including plaintiffs Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker (who serve as FFRF co-presidents) and local resident David Peterson, by forcing them and all other Madison property taxpayers to pay higher property taxes to make up for the unlawful omission of these properties from the tax rolls. The exemption also harms plaintiff FFRF by favoring rental properties owned by two religious organizations to the exclusion of all other nonprofits that may desire to run commercial student apartments in the future.
The Pres House Apartments' current market value likely exceeds $25 million, with estimated property taxes owed in excess of $300,000 annually. The current market value of Lumen House Apartments likely exceeds $7.6 million, with estimated property taxes exceeding $94,000 annually.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Madison working as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church. It currently has nearly 41,000 members nationwide, including 1,600 members in Wisconsin.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-welcomes-positive-ruling-in-hometown-case-against-religious-tax-exemption/
[Category: Religion]
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Awards $4.8 Million to Clinical Cancer Researchers
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release:
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Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $4.8 million to clinical cancer researchers
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named six new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators, exceptional early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research at major research centers under the mentorship of the nation's leading scientists and clinicians. The Clinical Investigator Award program was designed to increase the number of physicians capable of translating scientific
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 -- The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation issued the following news release:
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Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $4.8 million to clinical cancer researchers
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named six new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators, exceptional early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research at major research centers under the mentorship of the nation's leading scientists and clinicians. The Clinical Investigator Award program was designed to increase the number of physicians capable of translating scientificdiscoveries into new treatments for cancer patients by addressing the financial deterrents that often prevent MDs from conducting research. Each awardee will receive $600,000 over three years, and Damon Runyon will retire up to $100,000 of medical school debt.
"It's hard starting out, when you are called to do clinical activities while maintaining a lab and funding on par with senior researchers," said former Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Valia Karantza, MD, PhD, in a past interview. "That's where an organization like Damon Runyon plays a huge role."
The Foundation also awarded Continuation Grants to three Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators for an additional two years of funding, totaling $400,000 each. The Continuation Grants are designed to support Clinical Investigators who are approaching the end of their original award and need more time to work on a promising avenue of research or a clinical trial.
This program is possible through the support of the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation. Through partnerships with generous donors, industry sponsors, and its Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has committed over $92 million to support the careers of 142 physician-scientists across the United States since 2000.
2026 Clinical Investigators
Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD, with mentor John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, at Washington University, St. Louis
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a deadly blood cancer that kills most patients within two years of diagnosis. Chemotherapy can put patients into remission, but the majority relapse because residual leukemia cells survive treatment. The immune system has the potential to eliminate these residual cells, but AML actively suppresses immune responses, preventing the body from finishing what chemotherapy started. Dr. Ferraro aims to understand how AML disables immune defenses and to develop strategies that restore them, so that the immune system and chemotherapy can work together to prevent relapse and improve survival. This work is directly relevant to AML and may ultimately inform treatment approaches for other blood cancers as well.
Gregory Goldgof, MD, PhD, with mentors Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, and Nikolaus Schultz, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are blood cancers that begin in the bone marrow, where blood cells are made. Over time, MDS can progress to acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive and often life-threatening cancer. Diagnosing MDS and predicting how it will behave can be challenging because doctors must look for subtle abnormalities in blood and bone marrow cells under a microscope. Dr. Goldgof is developing artificial intelligence that can analyze these cells automatically and combine what it sees with a patient's genetic and clinical information. The goal is to help doctors detect disease earlier, better predict outcomes, and select the most effective treatment for each patient.
Sydney X. Lu, MD, PhD [Richard Lumsden Foundation Clinical Investigator], with mentors Ravindra Majeti, MD, PhD, and Tait Shanafelt, MD, at Stanford University, Stanford
Dr. Lu studies mutations in a gene called SF3B1 that are commonly found in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common form of adult leukemia. Patients whose leukemia carries SF3B1 mutations often have worse outcomes, but scientists do not fully understand why. This project aims to determine how mutations in SF3B1 change the behavior of leukemia cells to drive cancer growth and identify treatments that may selectively destroy leukemia cells carrying these mutations while minimizing harm to healthy cells. By improving understanding of how SF3B1 mutations contribute to CLL, this work may help guide the development of more effective and more precise therapies for patients.
Lauren E. Merz, MD [Breast Cancer Research Foundation Clinical Investigator], with mentor Moshe Talpaz, MD, at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
There are persistent racial disparities in cancer outcomes. One cause may be a common variant predominantly found in people identifying as Black or African American called the Duffy null phenotype, which results in lower absolute neutrophil counts (ANC), a measure of white blood cells known as neutrophils. The Duffy null phenotype does not increase risk for infection but is linked to higher risk of triple-negative breast cancer. Many cancer treatments are stopped or reduced if ANC falls below certain levels, resulting in worse outcomes. Dr. Merz's work focuses on optimizing cancer screening, risk assessment, treatment selection, and treatment delivery by Duffy status. Dr. Merz uses data from clinical trials and observational cohorts to understand the relationship between ANC, infectious complications, treatment administration, and outcomes by Duffy status. She also plans to complete a clinical trial to assess the safety of lowering ANC thresholds for cancer therapy for people with the Duffy null phenotype. Dr. Merz hopes that this work reduces racial disparities in outcomes and personalizes cancer care.
Juan C. Osorio, MD, with mentors Jonathan Rosenberg, MD and Andy Minn, MD, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Dr. Osorio seeks to improve our understanding of how a newer class of cancer therapies, known as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), can more effectively eliminate tumors while activating the body's immune system to recognize and attack cancer. Specifically, he is studying enfortumab vedotin (EV), an FDA-approved ADC that targets Nectin-4, a protein commonly expressed in several cancer types. The work aims to uncover how these therapies stimulate anti-tumor immune responses and why some patients respond better than others. By identifying the mechanisms that drive effective anti-tumor immune responses, this research could help guide the design and development of safer, more effective treatments and personalized immunotherapy combinations. While his primary focus is on urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer), where EV is already used clinically, the findings may also have broader relevance for other Nectin-4-expressing cancers, including breast, lung, ovarian, and head and neck cancers.
Sneha Ramakrishna, MD, with mentor Crystal L. Mackall, MD, at Stanford University, Stanford
Dr. Ramakrishna aims to improve a promising cancer treatment called CAR T cell therapy for children with an aggressive and deadly brain tumor called diffuse midline glioma (DMG). CAR T cell therapy engineers a patient's own immune system, specifically their T cells, to find and kill cancer cells. While early trials show these CAR T cells can initially shrink tumor cells, the cancer can return, often in the setting of suppressive immune cells, called myeloid cells, which could stop CAR T cells from working. This project will identify how suppressive myeloid cells interfere with treatment and develop new strategies to help CAR T cells fight cancer cells longer, with a goal of turning temporary responses into durable cures for children with this fatal disease.
2026 Continuation Grantees
Sylvan C. Baca, MD, PhD, with mentor Toni K. Choueiri, MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Many promising cancer treatments work by homing in on specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells. The effectiveness of these treatments depends on how much of the targeted protein is present, which varies between cancers and can change over time.
Currently, matching the right treatment to the right patient is challenging because doctors lack reliable ways to tell what protein targets are present in a given patient's cancer. Dr. Baca aims to develop a blood test that can read signals of gene activity from DNA shed by tumor cells into the bloodstream. It will use machine learning to infer which proteins are present on a patient's cancer cells at a given moment. This information will let doctors match each patient to the drug most likely to work for them right now, and to spot when the cancer has changed and a different drug should be tried. If successful, it should allow patients with advanced cancers to live longer by helping doctors find the best treatment for each patient.
Pavan Bachireddy, MD, with mentor Jeffrey J. Molldrem, MD, at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
The incomplete elimination of cancer cells leaves a residue of cancer cells called "measurable residual disease" or MRD. MRD is known to lead to cancer regrowth, but the molecular pathways that sustain and enable it to expand remain unknown. Dr. Bachireddy's lab has developed tools precisely to reveal these MRD pathways and applied them to blood cancers known as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). They have found that all MDS cells do not merely expand from MRD but must adapt to signals from immune cells; only these "adapted" MDS cells become selected to drive regrowth. Now, Dr. Bachireddy seeks to understand the mechanism of these adaptations and whether they occur in other blood cancers (such as leukemia). Such knowledge would highlight new targets for designing treatments to prevent cancer regrowth.
Benjamin A. Nacev, MD, PhD, with mentors Jeremy N. Rich, MD (UNC School of Medicine), and Ronald J. Buckanovich, MD, PhD, at University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Sarcomas are a family of tumors for which there are few targeted treatments and outcomes are poor once the cancer has metastasized. Many sarcomas harbor recurrent mutations in proteins, known as epigenetic regulators, that control which genes are expressed and when. Among the regulators most frequently impacted is ATRX, which condenses regions of DNA into tightly packaged chromatin that cannot be accessed for transcription, effectively "silencing" these genes. The effect of ATRX loss in sarcomas is poorly understood, however, and treatments that leverage ATRX deficiency are lacking. Using patient-derived sarcoma cell lines and tumor samples, Dr. Nacev aims to understand epigenetic dysregulation in ATRX-deficient sarcomas, to determine how this affects antitumor immunity, and to identify new therapies for patients with ATRX-deficient sarcomas.
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Original text here: https://www.damonrunyon.org/news/damon-runyon-cancer-research-foundation-awards-48-million-clinical-cancer-researchers
2027 College Free Speech Rankings: Kirk murder adds another difficult topic to dismal climate for student expression
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Sept. 9 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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2027 College Free Speech Rankings: Kirk murder adds another difficult topic to dismal climate for student expression
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* The University of Chicago takes the top spot, while Texas State University, the University of Washington, and New York University sit at the bottom
* Most difficult topics for students to discuss on campus include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, and abortion
* Some schools fall in rankings following Charlie
... Show Full Article
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Sept. 9 -- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted the following news release:
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2027 College Free Speech Rankings: Kirk murder adds another difficult topic to dismal climate for student expression
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* The University of Chicago takes the top spot, while Texas State University, the University of Washington, and New York University sit at the bottom
* Most difficult topics for students to discuss on campus include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, and abortion
* Some schools fall in rankings following CharlieKirk-related controversies
* 121 of the 261 schools ranked got an "F" for their speech climate
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2026 - The assassination of Charlie Kirk generated a wave of censorship at America's colleges over the past year, further contributing to a climate in which too many students fear expressing themselves on campus.
Encouragingly, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's seventh annual College Free Speech Rankings found the percentage of students who said it was acceptable to shout down a speaker, block entry to a campus speech, or use violence to stop a campus speech declined slightly from last year's record highs.
The survey's average overall score (61.36) is the highest recorded in seven years but still corresponds to a D- on the report's grading scale, an unacceptable state of affairs.
"At a tumultuous time for higher education, we are seeing some progress in campus free speech policies and indications that students may be less willing to tolerate shoutdowns and violence on campus compared to recent years," said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. "But the overall state of free speech on campus is grim. Too many college administrators wield their power to cancel controversial speakers, cave to government or student calls for censorship, and limit academic freedom. This report emphasizes the need for colleges to embrace their constitutional obligations wholeheartedly."
The rankings of 261 schools encompass almost 63,000 student responses to a wide array of free speech-related questions. Looming over this year's report was the September 10, 2025, murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. At 61 of the ranked schools, over half of students say Kirk is "difficult to discuss" on campus, and nine schools that punished faculty over Kirk-related comments lost points in the rankings. Additionally, some campus chapters of Kirk's group Turning Point USA have been denied recognition or faced calls for their derecognition as an official student organization.
"The impact of Charlie Kirk's assassination continues to negatively reverberate on campuses across the country," said FIRE Chief Researcher Sean Stevens. "Rather than view the tragedy as a warning about the extreme results of partisanship and inability to peacefully engage in dialogue, many college admins took it as an invitation to double down on censorship."
The highest-ranked colleges for free speech:
1. University of Chicago
2. Claremont McKenna College
3. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
4. Michigan Technological University
5. Vanderbilt University
6. Dartmouth College
7. Purdue University-Main Campus
8. Appalachian State University
9. University of Virginia-Main Campus
10. George Mason University
The lowest-ranked colleges for free speech:
252. Howard University
253. University of Miami
254. Loyola University Chicago
255. Boston College
256. Indiana University-Bloomington
257. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
258. Northeastern University
259. Texas State University
260. University of Washington-Seattle Campus
261. New York University
EXPLORE THE RANKINGS
Speech controversies at the highest-rated schools are rare, and students say their administrations are more likely to support free speech. For the third time, the University of Chicago has claimed the top spot in the rankings, and the schools that improved their score the most include Harvard University and the University of California, Davis. After coming in dead last in the 2024 and 2025 rankings, Harvard's ranking rose by only a few places last year. But this year, its ranking rose dramatically after students reported that, compared to last year, they felt their administration more strongly protects freedom of speech and that they are more comfortable expressing controversial political views on campus.
One hundred and twenty-one of the 261 schools ranked got an F for their speech climate, while only 24 schools received a speech climate grade of C or higher. The lowest-rated schools have restrictive speech policies and some of last year's most shocking anti-free speech moments. Several incidents cited in the report include:
* The terminations of Thomas Alter, a tenured professor of history, and Idris Robinson, a professor of philosophy by Texas State University, for off-campus protected expression.
* Multiple disruptions, attempted disruptions, and event cancellations -six in total since 2024 -at the University of Washington.
* The cancellation of a planned lecture by Raz Segal, an Israeli historian and genocide scholar, after the Northeastern University Police Department demanded a list of names of all the registered attendees.
* Students at New York University were barred by administrators from inviting multiple performers affiliated with No Music For Genocide to the university's annual V100 concert, which is organized and planned by students and student organizations.
"Even for those schools perpetually at the bottom of the rankings, it's never too late to right the ship," said FIRE Vice President of Research Angela C. Erickson. "Only 40% of students said that it was 'extremely' or 'very' clear that their administration protects free speech on campus. College administrators need the humility to reform policies and systems that leave students afraid to speak their minds, and the courage to shut down deplatformings and disruptions when others try to silence them. A great education requires both: the freedom to speak and the opportunity to hear ideas you might otherwise never encounter."
Explore the full rankings here.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought-the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation's campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.
CONTACT
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org
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Original text here: https://www.thefire.org/news/2027-college-free-speech-rankings-kirk-murder-adds-another-difficult-topic-dismal-climate
