It takes an army to take on cancer. In the case of the new Head and Neck Malignancies Innovation Group, it is taking a large multidisciplinary team of biomedical engineers, scientists, oncologists and veterinarians attacking the complex types of cancer from every angle.

The group is being led by Andrew Birkeland, a head and neck oncology surgeon based at the medical campus in Sacramento, and Randy Carney, a professor of biomedical engineering on the university’s Davis campus.

“We saw a need to bring together scientists and clinicians to find novel ideas to research very unique but frustrating cancers of the head and neck that can leave survivors with severe quality of life issues,” Birkeland said. “We need advanced treatments that are more effective and are less debilitating.”

Treatment for cancers of the head and neck can leave patients with profound swallowing disorders or the inability to speak. It can also change the way a patient looks and breathes.

“Helping these patients not only survive, but thrive is a priority,” Birkeland said.

The Head and Neck Malignancies Innovation Group meets monthly on a virtual platform. Members also get together separately in teams to develop breakthroughs they can move from the laboratory to clinical trials and then to patient bedsides.

“Think of it as a ‘meeting of the minds’ as we brainstorm outside of the box on new angles to research new treatments,” said Carney, who added that the collaboration between the two campuses is critically important.

The group’s leaders also include internationally renowned head and neck cancer researcher Xiao-Jing Wang, who brought with her the first ever Specialized Programs of Research Excellence grant from the National Cancer Institute when she joined UC Davis in 2022. The prestigious five-year $9.8 million federal grant is intended to translate cancer research into clinical interventions.