Howard Crawford, PhD
Dr. Crawford oversees the entire scientific review process — coordinating external reviewers, leading the SAC’s deliberations, and shaping the research priorities that advance Sky’s work in early detection.
Overview
Dr. Howard Crawford is Scientific Director of the Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center in Detroit and serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Sky Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee. His research focuses on how tumor cells and immune cells communicate to drive pancreatic cancer progression, and on developing early-detection biomarkers for at-risk patients.
Role at Sky
He oversees the scientific review process, ensuring fairness, rigor and alignment with Sky’s goals. After submissions close he coordinates external reviewers so each proposal receives multiple independent evaluations, then leads the SAC’s deliberations to narrow six leading proposals to three finalists for the Governing Board.
Sky-funded research
Immune responses in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer — identifying early-detection biomarkers that can distinguish between the two conditions from a simple blood test. His lab uses CyTOF to measure up to 30 cell-surface markers at once, and single-cell sequencing to map how immune and tumor cells communicate.
Key findings
Pancreatic cancer patients show a distinct immune-cell profile compared with both healthy and chronic pancreatitis patients. Longitudinal blood testing of at-risk patients aims to catch that signature before symptoms appear, and single-cell data have revealed new immune-suppressive pathways that are potential therapeutic targets.
This committee member has also received Sky seed funding — recused, of course, from any discussion of their own proposal.
See the research →Nine physicians, researchers and staff who decide what Sky funds.
Back to the SAC →Howard Crawford, PhD
Dr. Crawford oversees the entire scientific review process — coordinating external reviewers, leading the SAC’s deliberations, and shaping the research priorities that advance Sky’s work in early detection.
Overview
Dr. Howard Crawford is Scientific Director of the Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center in Detroit and serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Sky Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee. His research focuses on how tumor cells and immune cells communicate to drive pancreatic cancer progression, and on developing early-detection biomarkers for at-risk patients.
Role at Sky
He oversees the scientific review process, ensuring fairness, rigor and alignment with Sky’s goals. After submissions close he coordinates external reviewers so each proposal receives multiple independent evaluations, then leads the SAC’s deliberations to narrow six leading proposals to three finalists for the Governing Board.
Sky-funded research
Immune responses in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer — identifying early-detection biomarkers that can distinguish between the two conditions from a simple blood test. His lab uses CyTOF to measure up to 30 cell-surface markers at once, and single-cell sequencing to map how immune and tumor cells communicate.
Key findings
Pancreatic cancer patients show a distinct immune-cell profile compared with both healthy and chronic pancreatitis patients. Longitudinal blood testing of at-risk patients aims to catch that signature before symptoms appear, and single-cell data have revealed new immune-suppressive pathways that are potential therapeutic targets.
This committee member has also received Sky seed funding — recused, of course, from any discussion of their own proposal.
See the research →Nine physicians, researchers and staff who decide what Sky funds.
Back to the SAC →