{"id":130282,"date":"2026-03-04T13:14:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T19:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=130282"},"modified":"2026-03-22T20:58:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:58:56","slug":"celebrating-community-impact-in-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/03\/04\/celebrating-community-impact-in-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating community impact in cancer research\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we recognize how much our community matters in cancer research. Discoveries may happen in labs, but\u00a0research starts with people. Patients and community members can help move science forward by joining research efforts. Community members can get involved in many ways; donating tissue samples for research is one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time a patient agrees to donate a small tissue sample, they help researchers learn something new about cancer \u2014 how it starts, grows, and might be stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Dr. Jennifer Black’s lab studies how cellular “control switches” can drive cancer in the colon, pancreas, and uterus.\u00a0These switches control how cells grow and behave; when they\u00a0don’t\u00a0work properly, cancer can form or grow faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Black\u2019s team uses donated colorectal cancer tissue samples to grow small, living tumor models called organoids. “Patient-derived organoids are ideal models because they mimic the structure and properties of human tumors and mirror how the patient’s tumor will respond to treatment,” said Dr. Black.\u00a0\u201cThese models allow\u00a0researchers\u00a0to\u00a0safely test new medicines and see how cancer might respond\u00a0without any risk to patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorectal cancer is one of the\u00a0most commonly diagnosed\u00a0cancers in\u00a0Nebraska, and a top research priority at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind research like Dr. Black’s is\u00a0essential infrastructure: the Institutional Biospecimen Bank (IBB) at UNMC, directed by Dr. Kurt Fisher, collects and preserves donated samples for use across research studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Consenting patients\u00a0make\u00a0lasting contributions to cancer research by sharing their critical samples,” said Dr. Fisher. “Specimens\u00a0from thousands of patients have helped develop early cancer detection tests that save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When patients and healthy donors take part in research, their impact goes beyond their own lives. Their contributions can help shape treatments that\u00a0benefit\u00a0people for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn how you can get involved in research, contact the Community Outreach and Engagement Office at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at\u00a0coe@unmc.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patient-donated tissue samples help Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center researchers unlock new insights into colorectal cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":130335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3650],"class_list":["post-130282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cancer-center-outreach","author_override-audrey-smith-and-nibedita-paul-fred-pamela-buffett-cancer-center"],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating community impact in cancer research\u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Patient-donated 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