From Bold Resolutions to Big Breakthroughs, CRI Scientists Share Their Goals for 2025

January 1 ushered in a fresh calendar year with many using the new year as an opportunity to level set by making New Year’s resolutions, and Cancer Research Institute (CRI) scientists are no exception. 

Several CRI-funded scientists and CRI Scientific Advisory Council members shared some of their aspirations in the new year. Their resolutions, from spending more time with loved ones to leading exciting new research, might inspire your own.

CRI Scientific Advisory Council’s Hopes for 2025

CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council includes many of the brightest and most dedicated minds in cancer immunotherapy. Scientific Advisory Council members hold leadership positions at some of the world’s most prominent cancer research institutions, and their guidance ensures CRI supports the most innovative and impactful research in the field.

Hao Wu, PhD—Asa and Patricia Springer Professor of Structural Biology at Harvard Medical School, senior investigator, and associate director of cellular and molecular medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital—is a CRI Scientific Advisory Council member focused on advancing tumor-targeting research in 2025.

“I’m excited about our recent discovery of a switch that can turn cold tumors into hot tumors,” Dr. Wu explained. “As my new year’s resolution, we would like to push this discovery into potential clinical application to help patients.” 

Other CRI Scientific Advisory Council members shared Dr. Wu’s enthusiasm for developing pivotal scientific discoveries in 2025. Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, director of immunotherapy and the medical director of the Vaccine and Cell Therapy Core facility at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a CRI Scientific Advisory Council associate director whose attention is squarely on bringing a new vaccine to market. 

“My hope for the New Year is to bring exciting new cancer neoantigen vaccine platforms to all patients who need them, whether personalized or not,” Dr. Bhardwaj said. A neoantigen is a protein that forms on cancer cells due to DNA mutations.

Dr. Bhardwaj isn’t the only scientist on CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council with vaccines in mind for 2025. Elizabeth Jaffee, MD, deputy director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, associate director of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and CRI Scientific Advisory Council associate director has an amitious 2025 goal for combatting gastrointestinal cancers.

“My New Year’s resolution is to double my efforts to push for at least one FDA approval of vaccine-based immunotherapy for gastrointestinal cancers,” Dr. Jaffee stated.

Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, biological sciences division dean for oncology, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago, and CRI Scientific Advisory Council associate director has both research and leisure goals in mind for 2025. 

“My New Year’s professional resolution is to continue advances in cancer immunotherapy in my research lab and to make an impact on treatment for my cancer patients,” Dr. Odunsi told CRI. “Personally, I resolve to spend more quality time with my family and more time fishing.” 

CRI-Funded Scientists’ Resolutions for 2025 

CRI-funded scientists combine exceptional scientific expertise with deep dedication to improving treatments for patients. Rik Lindeboom, PhD, group leader of the Lindeboom Lab at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and CRI Technology Impact Award Grantee, told CRI he is eager to expand his new lab.

“Our resolution for this year is to identify all proteins involved in immune recognition of tumor cells so that we can find new ways to harness the immune system to destroy tumors,” Dr. Lindeboom said. His CRI-funded research focuses on categorizing immune and cancer cell interactions. 

Many CRI-funded scientists work daily to investigate immunotherapy treatments for cancers that are more difficult to overcome with current therapies. Xue Han, PhD, assistant professor of microbial infection and immunity at Ohio State University and CRI CLIP Investigator, researches immune checkpoint pathways. Checkpoints activate the immune system’s ‘brakes’ to prevent harmful overactivity, but this can prevent the body from unleashing its full power against cancer. 

“My resolution for the coming year is to advance our understanding of novel immune checkpoint pathways, with the goal of developing new immunotherapies for patients facing cancers that currently lack effective treatments,” Dr. Han said. Her research focuses on cancer immunotherapy for leukemia patients. 

Drs. Lindeboom and Han are promising scientists from CRI’s recent class of 2024 grantees. A fellow 2024 grantee, Bilal Siddiqui, MD, assistant professor in the department of genitourinary medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and CRI Clinical Innovator, was thrilled to share his exciting work developments and personal milestones. 

“I am most excited about moving forward with our clinical trial of T cell bispecific immunotherapy in prostate cancer. This was supported in part by the Cancer Research Institute,” Dr. Siddiqui explained. “This year, we were also incredibly fortunate to welcome the birth of our baby son, and we are super excited to spend this year and many years to come with him.” He also shared a passion for playing the bassoon and looks forward to performing both solo and as a part of the Texas Medical Center’s orchestra. 

CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council members and innovative CRI-funded scientists work hard to make immunotherapy more accessible and improve treatments for people with dozens of cancer types. We hope their passion and dedication have inspired you, just as their work inspires us every day. Happy new year and thank you for helping us all create a world immune to cancer.