Key Points
- From 2017—2020, the Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize was awarded to five researchers.
- Learn where the recipients are now and how they are advancing the field of focused ultrasound cancer research.
The Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize was established in 2017 to recognize researchers who have advanced the field of focused ultrasound and cancer research. The award was given five times from 2017 to 2020 to investigators who had already made outstanding contributions to the advancement of cancer treatment using focused ultrasound and who demonstrated great potential for further achievements in the field.
Established by Andrew’s family and friends with the hope that focused ultrasound research can contribute to new therapies for cancer, the prize was created to honor the life of Andrew after he passed away in 2016 from a hard-fought battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a particularly virulent cancer affecting the biliary system of the liver and gallbladder.
Where are they now? The Foundation recently checked in with the five Lockhart Prize recipients to learn about the progress of their research and plans for the future.
2017 Recipient
Richard J. Price, PhD
Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Co-Director, UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center
University of Virginia
In the years following his selection as the inaugural Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize recipient, Dr. Price has continued his focused ultrasound research in brain tumor therapy and cancer immunotherapy, and he has also studied the use of the technology for treating melanoma, breast cancer, and cerebral cavernous malformations.
In preclinical models of glioblastoma, his team used focused ultrasound to deliver brain-penetrating nanoparticles to enhance tumor transfection and dispersion. They further investigated the immune response generated by this approach and optimized drug delivery sequencing. Additionally, their work on breast cancer and melanoma involved combining focused ultrasound with chemotherapy or immunotherapy to elicit systemic immunity against tumors.
Several key achievements have marked the team’s progress since receiving the award. They have published impactful research papers, secured funding for ongoing studies, contributed to clinical trials assessing focused ultrasound in breast cancer and melanoma treatment, and developed a focused ultrasound-based therapeutic approach for cerebral cavernous malformations.
Overall, Dr. Price’s team made significant strides in developing innovative approaches for cancer therapy, leveraging focused ultrasound technology to improve treatment efficacy and patient outcomes. Their interdisciplinary collaborations and translational research efforts hold promise for advancing cancer care in the future.
Read Dr. Price’s Lockhart Prize Announcement from 2017
2018 Recipient
Graeme F. Woodworth, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Brain Tumor Treatment & Research Center
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Since receiving the Lockhart Memorial Prize, Dr. Woodworth’s research in focused ultrasound for brain tumor treatment has made significant progress. Collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Insightec, Dr. Woodworth and his team have developed noninvasive techniques for diagnosing and treating malignant gliomas. With funding from the NIH, they’re investigating MR-guided focused ultrasound–enabled liquid biopsy, which provides tumor analysis using circulating tumor DNA and other biomarkers. Their aim is to gain FDA approval for associated devices.
Dr. Woodworth’s clinical trials using focused ultrasound for blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) have also advanced, and the team has treated 25 patients with gliomas with promising results. They’ve also developed advanced tools and methods for real-time monitoring and control during treatments to improve safety, reproducibility, and efficacy.
The team plans to expand collaborations with other institutions and partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to test new drug combinations with focused ultrasound. Their ongoing work highlights the potential of focused ultrasound therapy for challenging brain disorders. By leveraging innovative technologies and collaborative efforts, they continue to push the boundaries of noninvasive brain tumor treatment, offering hope for improved outcomes and better quality of life for patients.
Read Dr. Woodworth’s Lockhart Prize Announcement from 2018
2019 Recipient
Zhen Xu, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Radiology, and Neurosurgery
University of Michigan
In 2004, Dr. Xu and her team invented histotripsy – a noninvasive, nonthermal focused ultrasound technique – and over the past few years, they have focused on technology development, preclinical, and clinical translation work. Their research has focused on three main areas: liver tumor treatment, brain tumors, and cancer immunotherapy.
In liver tumor treatment, Dr. Xu’s team demonstrated the efficacy of histotripsy in reducing and removing liver tumors in rodent models. They observed complete tumor regression in a significant percentage of treated animals, with no evidence of off-target tissue damage. Moreover, histotripsy has shown promising results in reducing the spread of cancer in the liver. Showing the translational power of their work, Dr. Xu and her team were instrumental in providing evidence to support the October 2023 FDA ruling that cleared HistoSonics’ Edison device for using histotripsy to treat liver tumors. In fact, the Edison device was created thanks to the histotripsy intellectual property and technology from her lab.
With a goal of using histotripsy to treat brain tumors, the team has made significant progress in developing transcranial histotripsy. They designed and tested a transcranial MR-guided histotripsy system and demonstrated its safety and feasibility in treating brain tumors in preclinical models. Additionally, they have built and tested a neuronavigation-guided transcranial histotripsy system.
Their research has led to substantial technological developments. They have refined aberration correction techniques to improve the accuracy and precision of histotripsy treatment through the intact skull. Dr. Xu’s lab has also developed transmit-receive capable histotripsy to enable real-time cavitation mapping and treatment monitoring. These new techniques developed are expected to increase the treatment location, safety, efficacy, and suitable patient population for histotripsy.
Additionally, Dr. Xu’s team has investigated histotripsy-mediated immune responses for cancer therapy. They have shown that histotripsy can stimulate a potent immune response, characterized by the infiltration of immune cells and the release of damage-associated molecular patterns. Furthermore, because histotripsy-generated tumor homogenates have been shown to contain immunogenic antigens capable of stimulating anti-tumor immune responses, there is the potential for histotripsy to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.
Read Dr. Xu’s Lockhart Prize Announcement from 2019
2020 Recipients
In 2020, the Lockhart Memorial Prize was awarded to two investigators: Matthew Bucknor, MD, and Pejman Ghanouni, MD, PhD.
Matthew Bucknor, MD
Professor of Radiology
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Dr. Bucknor has continued to advance the focused ultrasound program at UCSF. His team has made significant progress in managing two clinical trials for treating musculoskeletal tumors. A study comparing MR-guided focused ultrasound with radiofrequency ablation for osteoid osteomas has successfully enrolled 41 participants at UCSF and Stanford with the Mayo Clinic recently added as a third site. Another study on preoperative focused ultrasound for undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma is also ongoing.
Amidst these efforts, Dr. Bucknor has published extensively on outcomes following the use of focused ultrasound for treating desmoid tumors, ultrasound heating to control implanted shape-memory devices, and a comprehensive review of focused ultrasound for musculoskeletal applications. Additionally, he presented at the International Skeletal Society conference, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge in the field.
Since receiving the Lockhart Memorial Prize, Dr. Bucknor remains dedicated to mentoring the next generation of focused ultrasound researchers by supporting trainees through collaborative publications and helping to guide the growth of the neurological focused ultrasound program at UCSF.
Read Dr. Bucknor’s Lockhart Prize Announcement from 2020
Pejman Ghanouni, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Radiology
Stanford University
Since receiving the Lockhart Memorial Prize, Dr. Ghanouni has primarily focused on advancing MR-guided focused ultrasound across various medical conditions. He established and oversees Stanford’s Minimally Invasive MR Interventional Center (MIMRIC), where patients with conditions such as essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer, uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, bone tumors, and soft tissue tumors are treated with focused ultrasound. Over time, MIMRIC has expanded to accommodate increased patient volumes, with treatments now conducted four days a week by a team of trained physicians and physicists.
Dr. Ghanouni’s contributions to clinical trials have led to recent FDA approvals for bilateral focused ultrasound treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, he continues to participate in ongoing studies investigating focused ultrasound for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, osteoid osteomas, and prostate cancer. He is also assessing pregnancy outcomes after using focused ultrasound for the treatment of uterine fibroids. With support from the Foundation, he initiated a clinical trial targeting pancreatic cancer. Although that trial encountered recruiting challenges, he is collaborating with another company to plan a pancreatic cancer trial in the US using an ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound device designed specifically for pancreatic treatment.
In the time since receiving the Lockhart Memorial Prize, Dr. Ghanouni has co-authored 41 publications contributing to the advancement of focused ultrasound knowledge and applications in clinical practice. Through ongoing research and collaboration, he is committed to furthering the effectiveness and accessibility of the therapy for patients across a wide range of medical conditions.
Read Dr. Ghanouni’s Lockhart Prize Announcement from 2020
Fostering the Next Generation
In 2021, the Lockhart Memorial Prize was retired, and the Andrew J. Lockhart Postdoctoral Fellowship in Focused Ultrasound and Immuno-Oncology was established in its place. Recipients of the fellowship have included Caitlin Tydings, PhD, Yutong Guo, PhD, and Jacob Young, MD. The next call for applications for this fellowship will be issued later this summer.