Key Points
- Dr. Young is a neurosurgical resident and postdoctoral fellow at UCSF whose research focuses on treating glioblastomas.
- The one-year fellowship was established in 2021 by the Lockhart family in honor of their son.
Jacob Young, MD, has been awarded the 2023 Andrew J. Lockhart Postdoctoral Fellowship in Focused Ultrasound and Immuno-Oncology.
The one-year fellowship was designed to support early-career researchers and help the Foundation cultivate the next generation of investigators who could advance the development and clinical adoption of focused ultrasound in immuno-oncology.
Dr. Young is a neurosurgical resident and postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). His focus is neurosurgical oncology and immunotherapy, and his research centers on improving outcomes for patients with glioblastomas (GBMs) through surgical innovation, immunotherapy drug development, and intraoperative drug delivery.
While a member of Dr. Hideho Okada’s laboratory, Dr. Young gained experience with preclinical mouse models using low-frequency focused ultrasound to improve therapeutic delivery for the treatment of GBM.
“This project highlights the importance of combining translational and clinical research with surgical input to optimize drug delivery and ultimately improve clinical trial design,” Dr. Young shares.
As part of this fellowship, Dr. Young will strive to bridge the gap between preclinical studies and therapeutic clinical trials and improve our biologic understanding of the tumor microenvironment and its response to immunotherapies. His ultimate goal is to establish a platform for a focused ultrasound program at UCSF that flexibly evaluates the impact of focused ultrasound on immunotherapy agents and the tumor immune microenvironment.
“I hope incorporating focused ultrasound technology to disrupt the blood-brain barrier in the operating room will utilize the unique window provided during surgery to dramatically improve the delivery of immune activating therapies for patients with brain tumors,” said Dr. Young.
The Lockhart family established the fellowship in January 2021 in honor of their son, Andrew J. Lockhart, who passed away at the age of 39 from cholangiocarcinoma, a particularly virulent cancer affecting the biliary system of the liver and gallbladder. The Lockharts are longtime supporters of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.
Terry and Gene Lockhart, Andrew’s parents, expressed their sentiments, stating, “We firmly believe that it will require collaboration and groundbreaking ideas to unearth effective immunotherapies for aggressive cancers, such as the one that claimed our beloved son, Andrew. Our objective is to inspire a new generation of focused ultrasound researchers, and we are delighted to have Dr. Young as the latest recipient of this distinguished fellowship.”
“Dr. Young has demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing the development of focused ultrasound and immunotherapy combination approaches, particularly for aggressive tumors like glioblastoma,” said Jessica Foley, PhD, the Foundation’s chief scientific officer. “His work could enable the development and clinical adoption of much-needed new treatments for brain tumor patients. We are excited to see what he accomplishes.”
Previous recipients of the Andrew J. Lockhart Postdoctoral Fellowship are Caitlyn Tydings, MD, and Yutong Guo, PhD.