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Researchers and Staff
Cancer Center Update
March 29, 2005
Cancer Center Update is sent to Cancer Center members and staff every Tuesday at 10 a.m. To submit an item for publication, send the information to Sandi Sherman by noon the Friday before publication.
In This Issue:
Professional Education and Seminars
Grant Information & Announcements
Gap junctions, the cell cycle and cancer
Paul Lampe, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, University of Washington, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Pathobiology, Associate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Cancer Prevention Program
Hosts: Lee Wattenberg and Ross Johnson
A peek at next week’s seminar:
Studying death and promiscuity in a simplified model of oncogenic transformation
Yuri Lazebnik, Ph.D., Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Host: Ameeta Kelekar
For a complete schedule visit: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/date.html
Tuesday, March 29, 10:30-11:30 AM, 450 CCRB
Methods for Dealing with Longitudinal Data with Zeros in Child and Adolescent Research
Shelley A. Blozis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis
Candidate for faculty position in Pediatric Clinical Research Core
Host: Dr. Jim Gurney
Tuesday, April 11, 4:30PM, University of MN Campus Club, Conference Rooms A and B; Reception to Follow
“Guerrero and Aguilar : The First Spaniards in the Yucatan ”
Julio Garcia-Aguilar, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, John G. Buls, MD, Visiting Professor and Memorial Lecturer
Host: Dr. David Rothenberger
BREAST CANCER INTEREST GROUP ANNOUNCES SPECIAL SEMINAR
Wednesday, March 30, 10:00 a.m., Lillihei Conference Room (114KE)
"Circulating Tumor Cells in the Management of Patient's with Metastatic Breast Cancer"
Robert McCormack, Ph.D., General Manager, Cellular Diagnostics, of Veridex
Dr. McCormack received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in the Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology. He has held several positions in academia and industry. Veridex has developed a technology to quantify circulating tumor cells in the peripheral circulation. This assay has been shown to have predictive value in identifying response to chemotherapy in women with metastatic breast cancer as reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine
ADMINISTRATION AND OUTREACH RECOGNITION EVENT
Thursday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. in room 450 CCRB.
Please join us for a presentation by Mary Sumpmann, Associate Director for Administration, highlighting activities in the area of Administration and Outreach. Outstanding contributors to the Masonic Cancer Center mission will be recognized. Light refreshments will be provided.
CANCER CENTER MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Jeff Miller, M.D., and Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., are the focus of sidebar features to a major article in the April issue of the Mpls/St. Paul magazine titled “What Matters to Us: U of M at a Crossroads”. The sidebar about Dr. Miller, headlined “Hunting the Big C”, is about his research on natural killer cells. Dr. Ekker is featured in the sidebar, “Honey, I Shrunk the Micro Cells,” about the emerging field of nanomedicine.Barbara Forster, chair-elect of the Masonic Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Board, and Catherine Verfaillie, M.D., stem cell researcher, also are mentioned in the main article.
The announcement about Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of the Masonic Cancer Center’s Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, recently receiving a $300,000 continuation research grant from the American Cancer Society for his research into prevention of tobacco-induced cancer is noted in the March issue of Business Journal.
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please call Kamala Upadhyaya at 626-5326 for assistance with your application.
No announcements were submitted this week.
To view all grants available through the Masonic Cancer Center, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/grantopp.html
GENETIC MECHANIMS OF CANCER PROGRAM MEETING
Thursday, March 31, 2005, 4:00-5:00 p.m., NOTE: Meeting will be in 2-580 MoosT on this date
Insulin-like growth factor signaling in breast cancer
Doug Yee, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/gensem.html
Friday, April 1, 2005, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB
The role of autophagy in breast cancer cell survival and death
Ameeta Kelekar, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor, Lab Medicine & Pathology
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/grant7.html
Monday, April 4, 2005, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 CCRB
Attending Meeting
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/bmtlect.html
AHC DAY AT THE CAPITOL
On April 7, the Academic Health Center will host AHC Day at the Capitol to lobby for funds on behalf of the University of Minnesota. You’re encouraged to come to the State Capitol, meet with your Minnesota state legislators and tell them funding for the U is important to you.
The afternoon planned for the Capitol rotunda includes scheduled constituent meetings with legislators for AHC faculty, staff and students, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings offered by AHC students, and other activities. Shuttle buses will depart for the Capitol and return every 30 minutes at Mayo Circle.
To sign up for AHC Day at the Capitol, go to http://ga4.org/u_of_m_leg_net/events/ahcday/details.tcl
If you’d like some tools, tips and techniques to prepare you for meeting your legislator, sign up for the AHC Ambassador training session on March 28 by emailing Deborah Zorn at zorn@umn.edu. The training session will be from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in 2-520 Moos Tower.
CANCER CENTER DIRECTOR ANNOUNCES CLINICAL TRIAL SUPPORT OPPORTUNITY
John Kersey, M.D., Director of The Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota, recently announced a Request for Applications for Clinical Cancer Trial Support. “A high priority of the Masonic Cancer Center is to foster the development and conduct of therapeutic clinical trials in cancer. Previous awards using the RFA mechanism have provided support for these studies. Again this spring we will provide up to $150,000 for clinical trials with highest priority given to local investigator-initiated therapeutic trials with likelihood of national funding.”
View the RFA for this next round. The deadline receipt of applications is APRIL 1, 2005. If you have any questions please contact Elaine Bell, R.N., 612-624-1959, email bellx060@umn.edu.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR CANCER U: ASK THE EXPERTS SERIES
Familial cancer, cancer myths, and genetics and cancer will be the topics discussed at the spring Cancer U: Ask The Experts series, offered as a free community service by The Masonic Cancer Center. Speakers and presentations will include:
• April 2: Patrick Gaffney, M.D., and Mary Ahrens, genetics counselor, will define familial cancer and discuss when a family may need to talk with a counselor about their risks.
• April 16: Melissa Geller, M.D., Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., and Ruth Bachman, survivor, will sort out the facts from the myths about cancer.
• May 14: David Largaespada, Ph.D., and Paul Orchard, M.D., will explain what genetics have to do with cancer.
Each program will be held from 9-11 a.m. in Room 450 at The Masonic Cancer Center. For more information and to register call 612-624-2620
ON-LINE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR CANCER CENTER SPRING POSTER SESSION AND SYMPOSIUM
Online registration is now open at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/postsess.html for the Sixth Annual Spring Poster Session and Symposium sponsored by the Masonic Cancer Center Core Facilities. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., May 19, 2005. The schedule for the event includes oral presentations from 11 a.m. to noon followed by poster session and lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. Students, staff, post-docs and PIs are invited to participate by presenting a poster. The deadline for submitting an abstract is April 29, 2005.
Due to the increasing number (and size!) of posters and the limited amount of display space, we have decided to display the first 35 abstracts/posters that are submitted in the Masonic Cancer Center atrium areas. Other posters will be displayed as space permits in other areas of the Masonic Cancer Center. All abstracts will be printed in the program booklet.
For more information, call Sue Fautsch at 5-6955 or send an email to fauts001@umn.edu.
CANCER CENTER INTERNAL GRANTS PROGRAMS APPLICATION DEADLINES EXTENDED TO APRIL 15, 2005
The Masonic Cancer Center announces the availability of three internal grant programs. The goal of these programs is to foster the development of and provide support for novel research ideas that focus on a problem in cancer. In turn, the Masonic Cancer Center expects that internal funding will lead to national peer-reviewed funding.
Brainstorm Awards – The objective is to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations encompassing novel, hypothesis-driven studies of cancer or a cancer-related topic. Proposals must be submitted by at least two members of the Masonic Cancer Center .
Cancer Etiology, Prevention and Control Awards – The objective is to foster innovative research in Cancer Etiology, Prevention and Control that have the potential to form the basis of future research initiatives. Proposals must be submitted by a member of the Masonic Cancer Center .
Translational Breast Cancer Research Awards –The objective is to support research on the biology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and/or treatment of breast cancer. Proposals must be submitted by a member of the Masonic Cancer Center .
Awards will be made in $25,000 modules. The Brainstorm mechanism can award up to 8 modules, while the other two mechanisms can award up to 2 modules. Cancer Center members may apply for one or more of these awards, but must follow the specific application process for each. In addition, a single proposal may be considered for support by more than one mechanism, although funding from only one source will be awarded. Proposals requesting support from more than one mechanism must request the same amount of module support. If an application is appropriate for consideration by more than one mechanism, please include this request in a cover letter. Specific instructions including appropriate budgetary requests can be found by clicking on each award above.
The application deadline for the three internal grant programs is April 15, 2005. All proposals should be hand-delivered to Sandi Sherman (654 CCRB), and must be received by 4:30 p.m. Awards will be made for one year, with an anticipated activation date of June 1, 2005.
Please visit our website at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/grantoppcc.html for information requirements for each individual award application.
SAVE THE DATE!
The Cancer Benefit fund invites you to joint them for a wine tasting and entertainment event to benefit cancer care and research at The Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota and HealthEast Cancer Center. This year’s event, “Fiesta de Vino: A Wine Tasting Event with a South American Twist,” will be held at 7 p.m. April 16, 2005 at the Radisson Plaza in Minneapolis. Enjoy wines provided by The Cellars, South American entertainment and hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and chance to win a trip to South America from American airlines, and more. For tickets and more information call 651-464-6049 or visit www.cancerbenefitfund.com.
CLIMB FOR THE CURE
The Children’s Cancer Research Fund will be the beneficiary of a fundraising event, Climb for the Cure, to be held on April 23, 2005 from 5-10 p.m. at Vertical Endeavors in St. Paul. This will be a family-oriented, safe indoors rock climbing event for those of all ages and skill levels. Deadline for registration is April 17, 2005 and you can visit the Climb for the Cure website at www.climbcure.com or contact Cancer Center member Kathleen Conklin at 626-0445, email conkl001@umn.edu.