The Masonic Cancer Center's Basic Science research programs—Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer, Immunology, and Tumor Biology and Progression—were the focus of a Recognition Program event March 11, 2009.

Program leaders gave presentations about their programs' accomplishments, and they gave recognition awards to outstanding individuals who have contributed to the success of the programs.

The Masonic Cancer Center's Basic Science programs focus on the molecular basis of cancer and the biology of host/tumor relationships. Researchers in these programs study the genetics of cancer formation and progression; mechanisms of immune response to tumors; and they identify "druggable targets" in tumors. The long-term objective of this research is to develop new approaches for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.

Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program

Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program Leader David Largaespada, Ph.D., gave recognition awards to Chang Hwa Jung, Ph.D., Timothy Starr, Ph.D., and Micah Gearhart, Ph.D.

• Chang Hwa Jung, Ph.D., (Kim Laboratory) has identified key autophagy complexes involved in autophagy induction in mammalian cells. Given the growing important roles of autophagy in cancer, his study will provide fundamental insight into the regulation of autophagy induction in response to nutrient and stress for cancer cell growth and survival. His work will be published in the April issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
• Timothy Starr, Ph.D., (Largaespada Laboratory) has performed forward genetic screens in mice for colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and myeloid leukemia genes. Dr. Starr has presented his work nationally and internationally and received an American Cancer Society/LUNGevity postdoctoral fellowship. His screen for colorectal cancer genes has been very successful and the results will be published in Science Friday, March 13.
• Micah Gearhart, Ph.D., (Bardwell Laboratory) is an expert biochemist focused on studies of the Bcl-6 oncoprotein and its interaction partner BCoR. He purified a large multi-protein complex containing the BCoR complex and used mass spectroscopy to identify its components. Gearheart's work was published in 2006 in Molecular and Cellular Biology. His work showing that BCoR and Bcl-6 exist in a complex with polycomb group and SCF ubiquitin ligases has led critical new insight into the mechanisms by which Bcl-6 functions to repress gene transcription and cause non-hodgkins lymphoma. He has also served as a generous and important local expert for other labs purifying protein complexes.

View Largaespada's presentation about the Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program and the recognition award recipients (PPT)

Immunology Research Program

Immunology Research Program Leader Yoji Shimizu, Ph.D., presented recognition awards to Paul Champoux and Nisha Shah from the Flow Cytometry Shared Resource, where Champoux is the coordinator and Shah is a technical specialist. Shimizu said they are both outstanding contributors to the work being done in the Immunology Research Program.

• Paul Champoux has many years of experience in flow cytometry at the Center for Immunology. He is responsible for daily oversight and management of the Flow Cytometry Facility and training new users on cytometry and other related instrumentation located in the core facility.
• Nisha Shah has more than 15 years of research experience and is the primary operator of the FACSDiVa cell sorter.

View Shimizu's presentation about the Immunology Research Program and the recognition award recipients (PPT)

Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program

Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program Leader James McCarthy, Ph.D., presented recognition awards to Rudd Dings, Ph.D., Lu Gan, Ph.D., and Steve Oh, Ph.D.

• Rudd Dings, Ph.D. (Mayo Laboratory) has been working on the design of novel anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer drugs, and on their mechanisms of action. Dr. Dings has performed outstandingly, publishing numerous papers in high impact journals like Cancer Research and Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and he has one going through revisions in Cancer Cell. His most thorough piece of research has been in the design of the anti-angiogenic peptide Anginex, followed by the Anginex structure-based design of a partial peptide mimetic and finally a full non-peptide mimetic 0118. His work with these agents has led to our understanding of their mechanism of action as antiangiogenics, in terms of suppressing tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth; their working as (neo)adjuvants with chemotherapy, radiation therapy immunotherapy. Because of his accomplishments, compound 0118 will enter clinical trials later this year in Europe.
• Steve Oh, Ph.D. (Vallera Laboratory): Dr. Oh has contributed to the Vallera laboratory in several unique ways. First, he is the glue that holds the lab together. He leads by example and takes on the most difficult projects and works long hard hours. He performs complex surgeries and works weekend hours and late hours on complex experiments and injection schedules. He has worked diligently to improve his writing skills and his efforts are now paying off with a recently published first-author paper. Another has been submitted. Recently he was the recipient of the Best Abstract Award at the American Pancreatic Association meeting in Chicago for which he received a cash prize. One additional attribute is his friendliness and unselfish attitude towards his coworkers. His example has an impact on the laboratory in general. Currently, Dr. Oh is working on a joint laboratory project with the Ohlfest laboratory and is contributing in a meaningful way to developing both intraprogrammatic and interprogrammatic collaborations for Tumor Biology and Progression. He has established himself as an extremely valuable member of the Vallera laboratory.
• Lu Gan, Ph.D. (Huang Laboratory): Thanks to Dr. Gan's solid training and strong background in molecular biology, she has finished a first-author manuscript titled "Cyclin D1 promotes anchorage-independent cell survival by inhibiting FOXO-mediated anoikis," which is currently under minor revision for the journal of Cell Death & Differentiation. Dr. Gan also made a novel discovery that Taxol, the only effective chemotherapy agent for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer, inhibits androgen receptor activity via activation of FOXO proteins, which is Dr. Gan's brainchild. Based on this study, she is a currently finalizing a manuscript (as a Correspondence) for Journal of the National Cancer Institute. As a senior fellow, Dr. Gan is very willing to help others and contributes significantly to other projects in the Huang laboratory. She has published a co-authored paper in Cancer Research in 2008. In addition, the data generated from Dr. Gan's research projects have recently been funded by the Department of Defense in 2009.

View McCarthy's presentation about the Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program and the recognition award recipients (PPT)