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Researchers and Staff
Cancer Center Update
July 12, 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
The Division of Environmental Health Sciences is presenting the following seminar:
Tuesday, July 12, 2005, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m., 450 CCRB
"Molecular Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer"
Balasubramanyam Nagarajan, Ph.D.
Head, Cancer Center Chennai Medical University
Chennai , India
CANCER CENTER MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
David Largaespada, Ph.D., leader of the Genetics Mechanisms of Cancer Program, will have two articles on Sleeping Beauty research published in the July 14 issue of Nature. Research conducted at the University of Minnesota will be described in the article, “Cancer gene discovery in solid tumours using transposon-based somatic mutagenesis in the mouse.” Dr. Largaespada is first author, co-authors are Lara Collier, Corey Carlson, Shruthi Ravimohan and Adam Dupuy. The other article, “Mammalian mutagenesis using a highly mobile somatic Sleeping Beauty transposon system,” describes research done at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Largaespada is a co-author on the paper. The study was led by Nancy Jenkins, Ph.D., head of NCI's Molecular Genetics of Development, and Neal Copeland, Ph.D., head of the Molecular Genetics of Oncogenesis in the Mouse Cancer Genetics program. Other co-authors are Adam Dupuy and Keiko Akagi.
Robert Fecik, Ph.D., is one of three University of Minnesota researchers recently awarded funding from the American Cancer Society. Dr. Fecik will use the funding to research tubulysin D, a compound that can kill cancer cells which have developed resistance to Taxol and vincristine, two drugs used for leukemias, breast, ovarian and lung cancers. The goal of his research is to develop methods to identify effective drugs when a cancer patient has developed resistance to other drug therapies.The nearly $1 million award will be divided between Dr. Fecik and two other University cancer researchers – Andrew Arsham, Ph.D., who is researching autophagy in cancer and its influence on tumor suppression and tumor cell survival, and Sara Hamilton, Ph.D., who is studying how the immune system responds to bacteria and viruses after radiation treatment.
LAST WEEK TO SUBMIT PREVENTION AND ETIOLGOY RECOGNITION AWARD NOMINATIONS
Nominations are now open for the recognition award in Prevention and Etiology. Prevention and Etiology program staff, as well as other staff and faculty contributing to the Masonic Cancer Center in these areas, are eligible for this award. Nominees do not need to be Cancer Center employees. To submit a nomination on-line, go to http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/recogform.html . Nomination forms may be requested from Melissa Daufelt by email at cchr@ahc.umn.edu or telephone at 626-3410. The recognition event highlighting activities and accomplishments in Prevention and Etiology will take place in July.
SUPPORT SOUGHT TO UPGRADE CONFOCAL WITH NEW LASER
For those investigators who have requested a DAPI laser, we are half-way there. Congratulations to Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari for a $20,000 grant award from the CCRF to fund a blue (DAPI/CFP) laser to retrofit the FV500. Unfortunately this is only half of what we need (additional $24,000) to upgrade the system. We are looking for: collaborator(s) for an MMF grant, other ideas to bridge the gap, and/or contributions ($$) towards purchase. We have until Sept 1, 2005 to submit the MMF grant and we have until December 1, 2005 to complete the purchase, or lose the money.
If you are interested in using the laser if/when it is installed, but are unable to contribute, please indicate that in a response outlining, in 1-2 sentences, your projected use and area of interest. If you wish to be a collaborator on the MMF grant, please send a letter of support.
Send to:
Margaret Ramnaraine (ramna001@umn.edu)
Confocal Administrator
Bone Tumor Biology Laboratory
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Cancer Center
470 Cancer Center Research Bldg.
425 East River Road • Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 626-3672 • fax (612) 624-3913
2ND ANNUAL TEE OFF ON CANCER GOLF TOURNAMENT
It’s time to scratch that golf itch! The 2nd Annual Tee Off On Cancer Golf Tournament is right around the corner. The event has been expanded this year to include a silent auction at the American Legion, Savage on Sunday, July 17. This is followed by the golf tournament on Monday, July 18 at Creeks Bend Golf Course in New Prague. Presented by the CJM Cancer Foundation, these events support cancer screening research and education at The Masonic Cancer Center. Check-in on golf day begins at 10 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at noon. Avid golfers and novices alike are invited to participate.
How about a Cancer Center team? Registration for a foursome is $380 and includes greens fees, use of a cart, balls, a gift bag, dinner and prizes. It’s sure to be a fun day on the green. To volunteer, register to play, or for more information about either event, please visit www.teeoffoncancer.org.
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SEEKS FULL-TIME BIOLOGY FACULTY
The Department of Natural Sciences at Concordia University is looking to fill a Term Faculty position in Biology for the upcoming school year. Recent graduates, post-doctoral researchers, former adjuncts or scientists may be interested in the position. They would like to interview candidates before the end of July. The position includes teaching the following courses:
Fall Semester
General Education Biology (2 sections)
Biology I for Majors
Spring Semester
General Education Biology
Biology I for Majors
Biochemistry
Interested applicants can access the Human Resources website for Concordia University where the description is posted and application procedures outlined (http://www2.csp.edu/humanresources/).
DIET-INDUCED CHANGES IN INFLAMMATION AS DETERMINANTS OF COLON CANCER
Application Submission Dates(s): February 1, June 1, October 1
Expiration Date: July 2, 2008
This PA is designed to foster innovative research that will identify and characterize diet-induced changes in inflammation and colon cancer risk. This funding opportunity will use the NIH investigator-initiated research project grants (R01) and exploratory/developmental (R21) award mechanisms.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-05-125.html
RESEARCH ON RESEARCH INTEGRITY
This is a reissue of RFA-NS-05-003, which was previously released August 6, 2004
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): August 16, 2005
Application Receipt Dates(s): September 16, 2005
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI, DHHS), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR, NIH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS, NIH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI, NIH), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, NIH), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, DHHS) invite applications to support empirical research on research integrity. Applications must have clear relevance to biomedical, behavioral health sciences, and health services research. Applicants are strongly encouraged to take into consideration problems or issues that have relevance to specific missions of DHHS, AHRQ, or NIH institutes and centers.
Funding for FY is anticipated to be between $1M and $2M. Funding is anticipated to support 5-10 new R01 awards. Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research may request up to $175,000/year in direct costs for a maximum of two years. Smaller, pilot projects will be considered. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NR-06-001.html
INITIATIVE FOR MAXIMIZING STUDENT DIVERSITY
This is a reissue of PAR-00-022, which was previously released on December 9, 1999.
Application Receipt Dates(s): February 1, 2006, 2007, and 2008
The Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program was created in response to a legislative mandate to “increase the numbers of underrepresented minority faculty, investigators and students engaged in biomedical and behavioral research, and to broaden the opportunities for underrepresented minority faculty and students for participation in biomedical and behavioral research.” To accomplish this goal, the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) program seeks to facilitate and promote, at research institutions with significant number of mentors with NIH or other extramural research support, the entry into biomedical or behavioral research fields of undergraduate and graduate students from groups underrepresented in these fields. The Program provides institutional support for existing or innovative student development activities, including research internships, that will increase students' knowledge, skills, and information as they move to more advanced levels and ultimately attain the Ph.D. degree in biomedical or behavioral research fields. It is anticipated that approximately $4 million will be available annually to fund eight to ten four-year renewable awards under the NIH institutional education project (R25) award mechanism. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-132.html
SHORT-TERM COURSES IN HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL CULTURE TECHNIQUES
This is a reissue of PA-02-054, which was previously released on February 1, 2002.
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): August 8, 2005
Application Receipt or Submission Dates(s): September 8, 2005
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites applications for grants to develop and conduct short-term continuing education programs on laboratory research techniques for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines, and to disseminate course materials and instructional experience to the scientific community. The program should include laboratory and didactic experiences to improve the knowledge and skills of biomedical researchers, and to enable them to maintain, characterize, and utilize hESC lines in basic research projects. Programs will be made available to investigators in research areas of interest to all of the Institutes and Centers of the NIH. The participating Institutes and Centers plan to commit $975,000 in FY2006 to fund 5 to 7 awards. The NIH Continuing Education Training Grant (T15) mechanism will be used. Allowable costs differ for this mechanism but are listed in Section IV.6, Other Submission Requirements.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-133.html
To view all grants available through the Masonic Cancer Center, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/grant/grantopp.html
STEM CELL WORKSHOP TO BE HELD JULY 23
Cancer Center members will be among the presenters at the Stem Cell Workshop sponsored by the Society for Cryobiology, Biomedical Engineering Institute and Department of Mechanical Engineering on July 23, 2005.
The goals of the workshop are to:
• Review the present understanding of stem cell biology, plasticity as well as clinical and preclinical applications of stem cells.
• Contrast and compare adult stem cells with hematopoietic and embryonic.
• Provide background on processing of stem cells for human therapeutic applications.
• Review the current understanding of stem cell preservation.
• Summarize the opportunities and challenges for stem cell-based therapies.
Information and registration materials can be found at http://www.me.umn.edu/events/cryo2005/stemcell.html .