Fantastic and inspiring beginning to #ACSCC22 spending the day with the ACS Commission on Cancer. Honored to represent the @RASACS, and excited to join the workforce improving quality cancer care to our patients!
For most graduate students in science, a teaching assistantship is mainly a way to pay the bills as they pursue a research career. But for Jasmine Clark, that role allowed her to find her true calling.
“Being a science educator really, really spoke to me,” says Clark, who in 2013 received her Ph.D. in microbiology from Emory University. “I found that my niche was in the classroom, helping people to better understand science.”
Clark’s audience has only grown since then. For more than a decade she has been an instructor at Emory’s nursing school. In 2018, she was elected to the Georgia state legislature, where she has been an advocate for improving health care access and services.
And come January 2027, Clark expects to begin to educate the other 434 members of the U.S. House of Representatives about the importance of using science to set policy after winning a Democratic primary last week in a deep-blue suburban Atlanta district. When seated, she will be the first Black woman in Congress to hold a science Ph.D.
Clark spoke with Science about her background, the roots of her political activism, and what she hopes to accomplish in Washington, D.C. https://t.co/TPhmJscw36
#ASCO26
This one is special.
This is the hottest paper of 2026 and potentially in the history of pancreatic cancer.
Let’s dive in.
RASolute 302: Daraxonrasib vs investigator’s choice chemotherapy in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer
Abstract LBA5 (soon!)
Presentation: May 31, 2026, 3:21-3:33 PM CDT
For decades, pancreatic cancer has been where good ideas go to die.
We have optimized chemotherapy. We have sequenced chemotherapy. We have celebrated modest gains.
But the central driver of PDAC has always been sitting there in plain sight:
RAS.
More than 90% of pancreatic cancers have oncogenic RAS mutations, and until recently, we had essentially nothing direct to do about it.
Daraxonrasib is an oral RAS(ON) multiselective inhibitor targeting the active GTP-bound state of mutant and wild-type RAS.
And in RASolute 302, it delivered.
Quick hits:
📌 Phase 3 international randomized trial 500 patients with previously treated mPDAC Daraxonrasib vs investigator’s choice chemotherapy
🧬 RAS G12 population
91.8% of patients had RAS G12 mutations
📈 OS in RAS G12 population
13.2 vs 6.6 months
HR 0.40
P<0.001
📈 OS in overall population
13.2 vs 6.7 months
HR 0.40
P<0.001
📊 PFS in RAS G12 population
7.3 vs 3.5 months
HR 0.45
P<0.001
📊 PFS in overall population
7.2 vs 3.6 months
HR 0.49
P<0.001
🔥 12-month OS
Overall population: 53.2% vs 17.3%
⚠️ Toxicity matters, but this was not just more efficacy for more toxicity
Grade ≥3 AEs: 61.8% vs 69.6%
TRAEs leading to discontinuation: 1.2% vs 11.2%
This is the kind of survival curve we almost never get to see in pancreatic cancer.
This validates RAS(ON) inhibition in the most RAS-addicted major cancer. It takes a target we have talked about for decades and turns it into a clinically meaningful survival benefit in a randomized phase 3 trial.
The next questions come fast: 1L combinations, maintenance, perioperative disease, sequencing, resistance, toxicity management, and whether this becomes a new backbone.
RAS is here, and it couldn’t have come sooner.
https://t.co/Y4WJRlRRTk
@TheGutonclab@UGrewalMD@TimothyJBrownMD@OncoAlert@Onco_Nexus@ASCO@NazliDizman@LauraAlderMD@DVAraujoMD@DrBarbiOnc@LauraEsfeller@FunchainMD@YGaritaonaindia@DrSAHaddad@jgong15@iandresmeraz@SakditadMD@RamilaShilpakar@RohitBanwar@lungoncdoc
As many other oncologists will also attest, we were taught this was a dead end
It was, dogmatically, never going to work — kras was too much of a “greasy ball” to be targeted
And yet here we are, with truly meaningful survival curves👇
Inspiration on multiple levels #ASCO26
Original Article: Daraxonrasib in Previously Treated Advanced RAS-Mutated Pancreatic Cancer https://t.co/9y7xLrCuYV
Science behind the Study: Advances in RAS Therapeutics for Pancreatic Cancer https://t.co/mz3fgnCNUi
#Oncology#Gastroenterology
‼️ The post I was looking forward to 👀 Daraxonrasib in Previously Treated Advanced 🧬 RAS-Mutated PDAC
🤩 168 pts overall / 38 with RAS G12 G13 Q61 👉 8.1 months PFS / 15 OS
😰 Treatment adverse events 96% / severe 30%
🧞♂️ Entering a new era?!
https://t.co/LNpPp045Iu
UAB General Surgery Resident Dr. Tracey Pu received a travel award to attend the 2026 Society of Surgical Oncology Advanced Cancer Therapies annual meeting and was also recognized for her
podium presentation at the conference.
Learn more: https://t.co/rgp9Lx1c2C.
UAB Surgery faculty and trainees recently attended this year's Society of Surgical Oncology annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ! 🌵
The meeting provided the perfect forum for delivering presentations, gleaning the latest info from insightful lectures, and connecting with colleagues.
How can we improve outcomes in pts with new cancer dx?🦀
Results from CoC/NAPBC’s BeyondASK now in @JCO_ASCO!
📈↑ Smoking cessation assistance from 48➡️67.8%
‼️ Scaled improvement feasible in 1yr for academic AND community 🏥
Next: CoC Standard 5.9!
https://t.co/j55G6zCfcg
A recent study investigated the outcomes of the @AmColSurgCancer's Beyond ASK quality improvement initiative.
The findings provide a framework for making cessation assistance routine care for all patients newly diagnosed with cancer. https://t.co/jxC234lrks
Rising star 💫@MarkSirianno eloquently delivered an engaging discussion and navigated great questions from the crowd on how to improve the quality of cancer care given to patients with pancreatic cancer! @UABSurgery#FonsecaLab@AHPBA
Fantastic plenary presentation by @iliapis_md@UABSurgery in @afonsecaMD’s lab.
📣Pts residing in more vulnerable socioeconomic areas may have delays in GCT for pancreatic cancer. Interventions targeting timeliness to tx are needed!
Look out surgery programs for #Match2027!
The UAB Department of Surgery is thrilled to announce the future residents of the UAB General Surgery Residency Program!
Help us welcome them as they begin this next chapter in their lives and careers!
#UABMatchDay2026
Can we leverage kinase motif specificity for personalized therapy? 🔬🧫
Sharing some of our work on NFκB signal transduction in GEP-NET liver metastases at the patient level with a new target, Casein Kinase 2!
#SSO2026@AnnSurgOncol@SocSurgOnc@UABSurgery@NCICCR_SurgOnc
UAB Surgery is getting ready for #MatchDay! 🎉
UAB General Surgery Residency Director Dr. Britney Corey and Department Chair Dr. Herbert Chen (@herbchen) are here to wish everyone a fantastic day tomorrow. Best of luck to all applicants!