News

The  Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute  is pleased to welcome four doctoral-level biomedical data scientists who have joined as members of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core in 2024 and 2025. Yang Shi, Ph.D. , joined Karmanos as co-scientific director of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core in July 2024 and as an assistant professor in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine. Dr. Shi received his Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University o...

Researchers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University (WSU) have developed a chemical imaging probe that resists the breakdown of certain compounds in the body, giving doctors a more dependable way to track and potentially treat prostate cancer. Sheryl Roberts, Ph.D., member of the Karmanos Molecular Therapeutics Program and assistant professor at WSU School of Medicine ,  is the study’s principal investigator. The National Cancer Institute lists prostate cancer as the...

Cancer has darkened Donna Ross’ door five times, and it all started with a lump in her left breast. “The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes,” Donna said. “I had a mastectomy at Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, and I felt grateful I beat the cancer.”   However, in 2018 doctors discovered the cancer had spread to Donna’s brain, putting her life on the line once again. “That time I was treated at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint ,” Donna said. “And I have been fighting cancer with my c...

Today, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute , along with 62 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Centers with leading national organizations and the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, have endorsed a joint statement urging the nation’s health care systems, physicians and other health care providers and professionals, parents, and caregivers, and the public to promote and choose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for cancer prevention. HPV vaccination is safe and...

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute welcomes Bradley Rockwell, M.D. , transplant hematologist. Dr. Rockwell is a member of the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant , Hematology Oncology and Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Multidisciplinary Teams at Karmanos. He specializes in bone marrow transplants and treating leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, myelodysplasia, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He began seeing patients at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit in July 2025. "I am joining such an incre...

This summer, undergraduate students, graduate trainees and faculty gathered in the Margherio Conference Room on Wayne State University’s (WSU) campus for a memorable day of collaboration, mentorship and inspiration. The Inaugural Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Meetup, in partnership with the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute , united participants from WSU, Michigan State University (MSU) and the Van Andel Institute, offering a unique opportunity for students to engage directly with academi...

Ovarian cancer can be a difficult cancer to diagnose in the early stages because symptoms usually aren’t noticeable for women until the disease has progressed.  According to the American Cancer Society, more than 20,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in the U.S. The good news? There are steps you can take to understand your risk better—and possibly lower it. Start with Family History One of the most important things you can do is learn about your family’s health history. If your ...

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute names Kathleen Fedoronko, MSN, RN, OCN, as the new chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services at Karmanos Cancer Hospital. Fedoronko brings over 25 years of ambulatory and acute health care leadership, 20 of those years at Karmanos. She assumed the position in June after Kathleen Carolin, RN, BSN, MSA, the former CNO, retired. “I’ve dedicated my career to oncology nursing, and it's been my goal to continue leading excellent nurses at one o...

Healthline Though it's known that smoking can cause cancer, and not just lung cancer, researchers have published a new study revealing chemicals from cigarette smoke that “reprogram the immune system” and assist in tumor growth. Asfar Azmi, Ph.D., scientist, director of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Initiative and member of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Program at Karmanos, and Najeeb Al Hallak, M.D., MS , medical oncologist and co-leader of the Gastrointestinal and Neuroendocrine Oncology Multid...

Wayne State University (WSU) marked a major milestone in its mission to advance health and scientific discovery with the groundbreaking of the Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB) on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. This transformative, $200 million, 160,000-square-foot facility will drive next-generation opportunities for innovation, collaboration and community engagement. The groundbreaking ceremony – held at the building’s future site at 545 E. Canfield Street in Midtown Detroit – brought together state, ...