A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of its 2023 Peg’s Fight for Life Research Award – Anastasios Dimou, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, for his project entitled: BiTE to target EGFR peptide: HLA class I complexes in EGFR mutant lung cancers. Dr. Dimou’s clinical focus includes strategies to overcome resistance to immunotherapy in EGFR and other mutation-driven non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Learn more about Dr. Dimou.
The EGFR gene provides instructions for making a receptor protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor. EGFR mutant lung cancer is caused by a mutation in the EGFR gene that causes cells to grow at abnormal rates and form tumors. Biomarker testing can identify an EGFR mutation, and advances in lung cancer treatment have made it possible to target these proteins to stop the growth of cancer cells.
A Breath of Hope expresses its gratitude to Dr. Dimou and his lab at the Mayo Clinic for their extraordinary commitment and contributions to the lung cancer field. Further, A Breath of Hope thanks the loyal community of donors who make our work and research awards possible, especially Jerry Jullie and Peg Fisher-Jullie, for whom this award is named. Read about Peg’s lung cancer journey here.
Targeted research on specific mutations improves treatment options for lung cancer patients, allowing them to live longer and better. Together, we are improving lung cancer survival.
To learn more about the translational research funded by ABOH, visit our website.
Dr. Dimou attended medical school at the University of Athens Medical School. There, he earned his M.D. degree and developed his interest in lung cancer research.
In 2011, Dr. Dimou completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine. A few years later, in 2014, Dr Dimou completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Albert Einstein Medical Center. In 2017, he completed his Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Lastly, in 2019, Dr. Dimou completed an advanced fellowship in Investigational Cancer Therapeutic Thoracic Oncology at the University of Colorado.
In 2017, Dr. Dimou became Medical Oncology and Hematology certified by the Board of Internal Medicine. In 2018, he received the Travel Award for Advanced Course in Basic and Clinical Immunology from the Federation of Clinical Immunology Society. That same year, Dr. Dimou won the AACR-Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Young Investigator Award for Translational Cancer Research. His winning project established the foundations of the work that is currently being funded by A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation.
Dr. Dimou expresses his gratitude for the opportunity to advance his research.
