![Memorial Sloan Kettering radiation oncologist Samuel Bakhoum](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/172195/3x2/1111603033830251.agu3bgeypojzvwp3ifmv_height640.png)
At Work: Radiation Oncologist and Breast Cancer Specialist Samuel Bakhoum
Samuel Bakhoum is a physician-scientist who studies chromosomal instability and its role in how cancer grow and spreads.
![ContactTracing graphic](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/281986/main_image/circos3-12x8.jpg)
New Research Shows How Cancer Rewires a Key Immune Pathway To Spread
A collaboration between MSK and Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a new relationship between cancer cells and the immune system, and shows how cancer can selfishly hijack a normally helpful immune pathway.
![A breast cancer cell containing micronuclei](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/275876/main_image/images5.jpg)
MSK-Led Research Finds Unexpected Link Between Chromosomal Instability and Epigenetic Alterations
MSK-led research found an unexpected link between chromosomal instability and epigenetic alternations, both of which are hallmarks of cancer — especially advanced, drug-resistant cancers.
![Human metastatic melanoma cells in a lymph node. ENPP1, a protein involved in immune evasion, is shown in green.](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/215326/main_image/18_enpp1_488_cgas_591_dapi_63_02_c1-2-1200x800.jpg)
Taking the STING Out of Cancer: Discovery about How Cancer Cells Evade Immune Defenses Inspires New Treatment Approach
The research identifies a protein called ENPP1 as a potential drug target in the treatment of advanced cancers with chromosome instability.
Roundup
![2018](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/168637/3x2/artboard-1-copy-2.jpeg)
Top 10 Stories of 2018, Cancer Research Edition
Take a look back at some of the year’s biggest news in cancer research.
![Sam Bakhoum, MD, PhD, has been named a winner of the 2018 National Institutes of Health Director’s Early Independence Award,](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/164905/3x2/bakhoum_140808_07_1200x800.jpeg)
Samuel Bakhoum Awarded 2018 NIH Early Independence Award
Sam Bakhoum, MD, PhD, Assistant Attending in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), has been named a winner of the 2018 National Institutes of Health Director’s Early Independence Award, which is provided by the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. This award is given to exceptional scientists who have contributed significant work in biomedical research.
In the Lab
![Different viewpoints of the STING pathway](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/164023/3x2/sting-1200x800.jpg)
Putting the STING in Immunotherapy: Research Focuses on Ways to Improve Cancer Treatments
Researchers are looking for ways to make cancer cells more visible to the immune system.
In the Lab
![Illustration of cells with blue nuclei that have green DNA bits floating in the cytoplasm](https://www.mskcc.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_200/public/node/150937/3x2/cin-metastasis-coverart03-1200x800.jpg)
Escape Artists: Cancer Cells Mimic Immune Cell Activity to Spread
Researchers have discovered that cancer cells may hijack an immune response to spread from a primary tumor to distant organs.