Latest news with #Braun
Newsweek
7 hours ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough: What We Know About 'Exciting' Early Data
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Researchers at the University of Florida are moving closer to developing what they have described as a "universal" cancer vaccine, according to a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering on July 18. The vaccine would work by "waking the immune system up against something that looks dangerous, and then that response spills over to recognize and reject the tumor," Dr. Elias Sayour, co-author of the study, director of the Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Initiative, and principal investigator at the RNA Engineering Laboratory at the University of Florida, told Newsweek. Sayour said that he believed the vaccine would apply to all types of cancer, because the treatment would result in the immune system being able to "recognize and reject all forms of cancer." "In active cancers, the immune system has been fooled or lies dormant," he said. "This approach can wake it up, restoring it in the fight against cancer." Sayour said that the concept of the treatment is being investigated in ongoing clinical human trials. If all goes well, it "could be a completely new paradigm to treat all cancer patients." Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty Most people think of vaccines as being "preventive," and taken to "prevent or lessen the impact of certain infectious diseases," David Braun, a professor of medicine and member of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, told Newsweek. While there are some efforts in this field for cancer, the majority of trials investigate "therapeutic" vaccines, which are used to try to treat cancer once it develops, he said. "Most cancer vaccines try to steer the immune system to attack a patient's cancer, which makes it very difficult to create a universal vaccine," Braun, who is not associated with the study, said. Referring to the study, Braun said the research team is proposing "the idea that the vaccination itself, somewhat irrespective of what it is targeting, might stimulate the immune system enough to attack cancer." "It is a very intriguing idea, but would need to be tested very carefully in clinical studies," he added. What Does This Mean for Cancer Treatment? Almost 2 million new cancer cases were reported in the United States in 2022. In 2023, more than 600,000 people died of cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease. In 2022, cancer accounted for almost 19 percent of deaths in the country, according to Statista data. Cancer vaccines have been approved in the past, such as Provenge, the Seattle biotech company Dendreon's shot used to treat certain forms of advanced prostate cancer. There are also others currently undergoing the clinical trial process, such as Moderna's experimental mRNA-4157 cancer vaccine, which aims to prevent the recurrence of melanoma and lung cancer and has progressed to Phase 3 in its clinical trials. However, what makes this new study notable is the fact that it is one step closer to researchers finding a vaccine to treat all types of cancer, rather than a specific type. "This strategy could be a promising neoadjuvant therapy prior to checkpoint blockades or other cancer therapies," Hua Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told Newsweek. "With more success of personalized cancer vaccines, the researchers, clinicians, and the patient community will hopefully gain more confidence in cancer vaccines," Wang, who is not associated with the study, said. "At that stage, the goal of developing a universal cancer vaccine will be more reachable." Braun deemed the study "exciting early data," but told Newsweek it still has "a long path to having a major impact on the treatment of cancers in individuals." Potential Challenges While the findings are a "promising" breakthrough in cancer research, Wang said that still "rigorous safety evaluations and the optimization for therapeutic benefits are needed before this strategy can move forward." "Generally speaking, every one of us is hoping for a universal cancer vaccine that can treat or prevent different types of cancers," he said. However, Wang added that practically, "personalized" cancer vaccines are "more likely to cross the finish line because of the higher specificity and thus less off-target effects." While many types of cancer vaccines are currently being tested in clinical trials, Wang said that the challenge largely lies in "the balance of therapeutic benefits and safety." Another key issue is that "very few researchers have the resources and support needed to push forward a clinical trial on cancer vaccine," he added. Braun also said that, while cancer vaccines hold "tremendous promise," they also raise a number of open questions. "What are the best targets for the vaccine, or are more universal vaccines possible?" he said. "In what setting would a vaccine be most effective? What other types of treatments should be given together with the vaccine?" He added that in the coming years, "it will be critical to answers these questions while also having definitive clinical studies to prove that cancer vaccines help patients to live longer." Full Interview Below Q1: What does this study mean for the general public? How could this change the prevalence and treatment of cancer? Hua Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: "This paper reports that the early stimulation of IFN-I pathways could increase the sensitivity of poorly-immunogenic tumors to checkpoint blockades. The researchers performed the IFN-I stimulation by using unmodified mRNAs (without a specific target). This strategy could be a promising neoadjuvant therapy prior to checkpoint blockades or other cancer therapies. However, rigorous safety evaluations and the optimization for therapeutic benefits are still needed before this strategy can move forward." David Braun, a professor of medicine and member of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at Yale Cancer Center: "This study has two important goals: (1) to understand why current immune-based treatments work so well in some patients, and (2) to try to use that knowledge to design new immune treatments. In animal models, the research team is able to make tumors more sensitivity to immune therapy using this new approach. While exciting early data, we do have to remember that this is early work in animal studies, and so there is still a long path to having a major impact on the treatment of cancers in individuals." Q2: How long do you think it will be before a universal cancer vaccine is made? Wang: "Generally speaking, every one of us is hoping for a universal cancer vaccine that can treat or prevent different types of cancers. However, practically, personalized cancer vaccines are more likely to cross the finish line because of the higher specificity and thus less off-target effects. With more success of personalized cancer vaccines, the researchers, clinicians, and the patient community will hopefully gain more confidence in cancer vaccines. At that stage, the goal of developing a universal cancer vaccine will be more reachable." Braun: "When most people think of vaccines, they think of 'preventive' vaccines—the kind that children and adults typically receive to prevent or lessen the impact of certain infectious diseases. While there are some of those efforts in cancer as well, the majority of efforts are focused on 'therapeutic' vaccines, which are used to try to treat cancer once it develops. Most cancer vaccines try to 'steer' the immune system to attack a patient's cancer, which makes it very difficult to create a universal vaccine. In this study, the research team proposes a major general form of vaccination—the idea that the vaccination itself, somewhat irrespective of what it is targeting, might stimulate the immune system enough to attack cancer. It is a very intriguing idea, but would need to be tested very carefully in clinical studies." Q3: Can you foresee any challenges in the development of a cancer vaccine? If so, what are they? Wang: "Various types of cancer vaccines including neoantigen mRNA vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, tumor exosome vaccines, nanomaterial vaccines, and biomaterial scaffold vaccines are being tested in clinical trials at the moment. The challenge largely lies in the balance of therapeutic benefits and safety, and varies for each vaccine platform. One dramatic challenge, in my opinion, is the overwhelming bar to pursuing the clinical translation of promising cancer vaccines. Very few researchers have the resources and support needed to push forward a clinical trial on cancer vaccine." Braun: "Cancer vaccines hold tremendous promise to 'steer' the immune system to attack cancer cells, but there are a number of open questions. What are the best targets for the vaccine, or are more 'universal' vaccines possible? In what setting would a vaccine be most effective? What other types of treatments should be given together with the vaccine? In the coming years, it will be critical to answer these questions while also having definitive clinical studies to prove that cancer vaccines help patients to live longer."
Chicago Tribune
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana report details ways in which it removed DEI
Until recently, the Indiana Department of Child Services offered online publications such as 'Parenting in Racially and Culturally Diverse Adoptive Families,' and 'Preparing Families for Racially and Culturally Diverse Adoptions.' Now, those publications and others have been removed from the DCS website in an effort to quash examples of diversity, equity and inclusion in government. Gov. Mike Braun's administration released a report earlier this month on its efforts to replace diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, with merit, excellence, and innovation, or MEI. In January, Braun signed an executive order directing state agencies to review their DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures and programs for compliance with the decision in , where the U.S. Supreme Court rejected affirmative action at college and universities. Indiana Black Legislative Caucus Chair State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, said he's concerned by the state's effort to remove diversity, equity and inclusion from state agencies, which follows actions taken by the Trump administration. 'Unfortunately, a lot of things that are happening on the national level are trickling down to states,' Harris said. The report found more than 350 examples of DEI initiatives in state government programs, 70 cases of DEI training, instruction or programming for state employees, 34 grants within Indiana State agencies focused on DEI and 200 DEI initiatives in state agency policy and procedures. 'Indiana has replaced the divisive, politically-charged DEI ideology with merit, excellence and innovation: a level playing field where every single Hoosier has the chance to get ahead with hard work,' Braun said in a statement. The report addresses where agencies had diversity, equity and inclusion language, from website information to candidate hiring, and the removal of the information from the agency's policies, contracts and websites to align with Braun's executive order. For example, under the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's division of mental health and addiction, the report highlighted 53 contracts that include DEI language. Many of the contracts state the vendor has to work within a 'culturally competence framework,' according to the report. The contracts that haven't expired are being amended or edited to remove DEI language, according to the report. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education's graduate medical education board, which focuses on funding physician residency programs across the state, issued a statement in 2020 about efforts to 'combat the scourge of racial and ethnic bias and its negatively associated social determinants of health,' according to the report. That statement was removed from its website, according to the report. The College Success Program was funded in the 2023 budget to 'be used for college success programs including capital investments for minority and first-generation low-income students,' according to the report. Three grants issued through the College Success Program supported first-generation students of color at Indiana State University; Black, Latino and Hispanic students at Purdue University Northwest; and first-generation college students and/or of an underrepresented background in Valparaiso University. Indiana State and VU repurposed their grant funding to other scholarships, but Purdue Northwest had continued its efforts as of April 30, 2025. The upcoming budget does not allocate funding for the College Success Program, so the grants 'will naturally conclude' at the end of the year, according to the report. The Indiana Department of Education has an online learning lab where thousands of educational videos are available for students and teachers, according to the report. When the department reviewed the videos, some with information like 'to support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms' and 'the essential role of equity and inclusion in the new science starnars' were taken down, according to the report. State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, said he hadn't read the report and that legislative leadership hadn't discussed the report with House members. But, Aylesworth said the governor's office has the ability to take some action without the legislature. 'I certainly don't have a problem with (the report). It's the governor's prerogative,' Aylesworth said. Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said he hadn't read the report and didn't want to comment on it without doing so. DEI has been twisted to mean something negative, Harris said, with some people pushing the idea that DEI means unqualified people who are a minority, a woman or a member of the LGBTQ community are getting jobs or contracts or opportunities based on their race, sex or gender. 'That's not what DEI is about. It actually opens up the pool to make sure that all the best have the opportunity,' Harris said. 'This whole DEI gives unqualified people the upper hand is so untrue. It actually means that even more of the best of the best are allowed opportunity.' Harris also focused criticism on the elimination of the Indiana Department of Health's maternal health equity coordinator position. Indiana's rates of maternal mortality, especially among Black women, are some of the highest in the nation — 73% higher than their white peers according to 2021 data. The report also states that 19 contractors who worked under the Office of Minority Health were eliminated. Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, said DEI is the 'alphabet soup of the year' that Republicans are attacking. 'What we're going to see is really more homogeny, more privilege, as opposed to ensuring that we have representation throughout our different communities,' Pol said. 'I think that it's all political theater.' Removing items that address diversity, equity and inclusion will 'cause some issues for our state,' Harris said, and it will hurt all Hoosiers. As the state removes diversity, equity and inclusion from its policies, some Hoosiers may decide to move and those debating whether to move to Indiana for school or work may choose not to, he said. When policies like this are in place, Harris said he takes comfort in knowing 'there will always be another legislative session.' 'Hopefully, as we see where this goes, we can do adjustments. The problem and the fear is what damage will already be done and how long will it take us to get where we were,' Harris said.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scooter Braun's Response to Still-Angry Taylor Swift Fans on Catalog Purchase: 'They Made the Horrible Miscalculation That I Care'
Scooter Braun has a message for Swifties, who are still angry with him over the handling of Taylor Swift's master recordings from six years ago. The music executive and former music manager made a recent appearance on Danielle Robay's Question Everything podcast, where he opened up about the hate he still receives from Swift's fan base years after the original sale of her catalog to Braun's Ithaca Holdings when he acquired her old record label Big Machine Label Group in 2019. The following year, Ithaca sold Swift's masters to Shamrock Capital for a reported $300 million, which the singer infamously criticized, leading her to rerecord her albums. More from The Hollywood Reporter Justin Bieber's 'Swag': A Silver Lining for the No. 2 Chart Debut Why Rock Music Is Thriving in the Streaming Era Laysla De Oliveira to Star in 'Cowboy,' the Debut Feature From Midland's Cameron Duddy (Exclusive) 'You know, me even talking about this now, there's gonna be … They're gonna be yelling and screaming and this, that and the other,' Braun said. 'You can't say anything right, and it is what it is. My response to that is they made the horrible miscalculation that I care. You know, I don't know those people out there. And if I met them in person and they needed my help, as a stranger, I would help them. 'I think people forget that when you have a fan base that big and 10,000 people are yelling at you, it feels like the world is ending, but that's less than 1 percent of a fan base that big,' Braun continued. 'I think most people are dealing with their own problems. I think most people are dealing with their own insecurities the same way I am, the same way every artist and every human being is. And I think it's just a more productive use of your time to not get stuck in the craziness of celebrity fodder and focus more on being kind to people.' Elsewhere in the interview, Braun said he believes 'everybody in the end won,' despite the years-long feud. 'We did very well in that sale because we bought it at a really great price and the value of the masters went up,' Braun said when asked to further explain what he meant. 'When I sold it, she had announced she was gonna do rerecords. And if you understand music, the value went up for the masters because Spotify and streamers created a longer decay than buying just CDs. People would listen to them more, so there's a longer decay, but it's still decaying. But when she rerecorded, all ships rise in a world of streaming. So people were going on and they were A/B-ing them. They were listening in to see how much they sounded like [the originals]. 'So she did incredibly well and basically had the biggest moment of her career, reinvigorating her career with each one. It was brilliant on her part, but also each time she released one, you saw a spike in the original catalog,' he added. 'So, funny enough, everyone involved in the saga, from a business standpoint … One, she's the biggest she's ever been, the biggest artist of all time. We did really well with the asset. The people who bought the asset did really well because of those spikes. The only thing that I'm sad about is, that's a great example where all ships can rise and there doesn't need to be an enemy.' Robay notes in the episode's description on YouTube that the interview with Braun was filmed in April, before it was announced in May that Swift had bought back the rights to her first six albums in the deal with Shamrock Capital. 'This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams,' Swift said of the deal back in May. Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Party in the U.S.A.' to 'Born in the U.S.A.': 20 of America's Most Patriotic (and Un-Patriotic) Musical Offerings Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
Transgender Hoosiers push back on ban on driver's license gender changes. Will opposition matter?
Dozens of Hoosiers testified on July 22 in opposition to a proposed rule change by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles that would prohibit gender marker changes on driver's licenses, an effort stemming from Gov. Mike Braun's executive order from March that aimed to promote the 'biological dichotomy between men and women' and discourage 'modern gender ideology.' BMV leaders, though, likely don't have much power to significantly alter the proposed rule since the agency has to comply with Braun's order. "While we are committed to ensuring that all voices and points of view are heard and considered," Gregory Dunn, executive director of communications for the BMV said in a statement, "we also have a responsibility to carry out our duties as defined by law." What was intended to be an hour-long public hearing stretched nearly three hours as speakers criticized what some described as an intentionally anti-transgender initiative by state elected officials. Among them were transgender Hoosiers and advocates alike, including a 15-year-old nonbinary teenager looking to get their driver's license and a man with an intersex partner. Before Gov. Braun's order, people could change gender markers on their licenses by obtaining a court order, a process speakers described as arduous. Under the proposed rule change, the gender on an individual's driver's license must reflect their biological sex determined at birth. An 'X' will no longer be allowed in place of a gender marker for nonbinary people. While driver's licenses that have already changed will remain valid, new licenses issued must follow the updated guidelines. Shortly after Braun's executive order, the Indiana Department of Health told local health departments to stop accepting requests to change genders on birth certificates. When a health department subsequently refused to change the gender of a teenage transgender girl on the birth certificate, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued the governor for allegedly violating the equal protection and privacy clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The executive order has not been the first challenge to the BMV's policy of changing gender markers. In 2020, then-Attorney General Curtis Hill issued an advisory opinion saying the BMV did not have the authority to issue an 'X' as a gender marker. That opinion eventually led to an Indiana Court of Appeals decision in 2024 that determined 'gender' has the same legal meaning as 'sex" when it comes to laws pertaining to motor vehicles, a precedent that was cited by a regulatory analysis of the proposed rule change. That same regulatory analysis became a point of contention for some speakers, specifically one line that listed 'impacted parties' as 'none.' Those who testified cited scientific studies, legal principles, Bible verses and poems. They described hypothetical scenarios where the proposed rule change could cause more confusion at traffic stops, in hospitals and even when issuing a description for a missing person. Among the speakers was Kit Malone, a transgender woman and former strategist for the ACLU who said the change will impact transgender Hoosiers in everyday scenarios where IDs are required, like bars, movie theaters and grocery store checkouts, because many will not look like the gender listed on their ID. 'I updated my ID because it was getting weird not to,' she said. 'I was getting looks.' Eli Lucas, a transgender man who works for a Fortune 500 company in Indianapolis, said the change affects hardworking taxpayers like himself. He said he feared the change could complicate police interactions, enhance the risk of violence and create humiliation in everyday interactions that require an ID. 'We transgender Hoosiers are your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends and your family who simply want to live without fear,' he said. Others spoke to the broader political climate, referencing a pastor who delivered a sermon in June at an Indianapolis church where he told congregants to pray for the deaths of LGBTQ+ people. Some who testified said they had friends who had left Indiana because of its attitude toward transgender people, but that they loved the state they grew up in too much to follow them. Amy Kleyla, a combat veteran and 50501 protest organizer, said the national environment had gotten increasingly hostile as well. She said she transitioned 28 years ago but has never experienced as much hate as she has this year. 'That hate is force fed into the American people right now,' Kleyla said. The BMV did not provide details about how much the agency could modify the proposed changes to still comply with Braun's executive order. "Hoosiers have too many pressing needs to spend their tax dollars trying to redefine what it means to be a boy or a girl," Braun previously said when he signed the executive order. "Today's executive order will end any confusion about our state's policy on this issue so we can focus on my goal to secure freedom and opportunity for all Hoosiers."
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Far beyond Harvard, conservative efforts to reshape higher education are gaining steam
Advertisement 'What's happened nationally is now affecting Indiana,' said Beckley, who bought Harvard caps in bulk and passes them out to friends. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Officials in conservative states took aim at higher education before President Donald Trump began his second term, driven in part by the belief that colleges are out of touch — too liberal and loading up students with too much debt. The first efforts focused on critical race theory, an academic framework centered on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation's institutions, and then on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Since Trump took office, officials in states including Indiana, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Iowa and Idaho increasingly have focused on university governance — rules for who picks university presidents and boards and how much control they exert over curriculums and faculty tenure. Advertisement As at Harvard, which Trump has decried as overly influenced by liberal thinking, those state officials have sought to reduce the power of faculty members and students. 'They've realized that they can take a bit of a step further, that they can advance their policy priorities through those levers they have through the state university system,' said Preston Cooper, a senior fellow who studies higher education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. State officials push for more conservative leadership In Indiana, Braun said he picked new trustees who will guide the school 'back in the right direction.' They include an anti-abortion attorney and a former ESPN host who was disciplined because she criticized the company's policy requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Braun's administration has ramped up scrutiny of hiring practices at colleges statewide. Indiana's attorney general, Todd Rokita, has sent letters to the University of Notre Dame, Butler University and DePauw University questioning the legality of their DEI programs. Butler, a private, liberal arts school in Indianapolis, was founded by an abolitionist in the decade leading up to the Civil War and admitted women and students of color from the start. 'I hope that Butler will uphold the standards they were founded on,' said Edyn Curry, president of Butler's Black Student Union. In Florida, the state university system board in June rejected longtime academic Santa Ono for the presidency at the University of Florida, despite a unanimous vote of approval by the school's own Board of Trustees. The unprecedented reversal followed criticism from conservatives about Ono's past support for DEI programs. That followed the conservative makeover of New College of Florida, a small liberal arts school once known as the state's most progressive. After Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a group of conservatives to its governing board, many faculty left, including Amy Reid, who now manages a team focused on higher education at the free-expression group PEN America. Advertisement 'When our students started organizing at New College, one of their slogans was 'Your Campus is Next,'' said Reid, who saw the gender studies program she directed defunded and then cut. 'So no, we're not surprised when you see other states redefining what can be in a general education class, because we've seen it happen already.' Changes have met limited resistance The changes at several public universities are proceeding without battles of the kind seen at Harvard. In a standoff seen widely as a test of private universities' independence, Harvard has filed lawsuits against the administration's moves to cut its federal funding and block its ability to host international students. In Iowa, new DEI restrictions are taking effect in July for community colleges. And the board that governs the state's three public universities is weighing doing something similar to Idaho, where a new law imposes restrictions on requiring students to take DEI-related courses to meet graduation requirements. Historically, the Iowa board has been focused on big-picture issues like setting tuition rates and approving degree programs. Now, there's a perceived sense that faculty should not be solely responsible for academic matters and that the trustees should play a more active role, said Joseph Yockey, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law and the former president of Iowa's faculty senate. 'What we started to see more recently is trustees losing confidence,' Yockey said. Advertisement A new law in Ohio bans DEI programs at public colleges and universities and also strips faculty of certain collective bargaining rights and tenure protections. There are few guardrails limiting how far oversight boards can change public institutions, said Isabel McMullen, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin who researches higher education. 'For a board that really does want to wreak havoc on an institution and overthrow a bunch of different programs, I think if a board is interested in doing that, I don't really see what's stopping them aside from students and faculty really organizing against it,' McMullen said. Defenders of academic freedom see threats on several fronts The initiatives on state and federal levels have led to widespread concerns about an erosion of college's independence from politics, said Isaac Kamola, director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom at the American Association of University Professors. 'They have to not only face an attack from the state legislature, but also from the federal government as well,' said Kamola, who is also a professor of political science at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a pair of bills in June that impose new limits on student protests and give gubernatorial-appointed boards that oversee the state's universities new powers to control the curriculum and eliminate degree programs. Cameron Samuels, executive director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, an advocacy group, said politicians in the state are taking control of universities to dictate what is acceptable. 'When someone controls the dissemination of ideas, that is a really dangerous sign for the future of democracy,' Samuels said. The 21-year-old who is transgender and nonbinary went to college in Massachusetts and got into Harvard for graduate school, but as the Trump administration began targeting the institution, he instead chose to return to his home state and attend the University of Texas in Austin. Advertisement 'I at least knew what to expect,' he said.
