Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota

September 13, 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:

Today's Cancer Center Seminar

News

Events

Professional Education and Seminars

Grant Information & Announcements

Reminders



TODAY'S CANCER CENTER SEMINAR

Notch signaling in leukemia: new insights

Jon C. Aster, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School

 

Host: Tucker LeBien

 

A peek at next week's seminar:

 

Cancer genetic screens using the Sleeping Beauty transposon

David Largaespada, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota

 

For a complete schedule visit: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/date.html

NEWS

U OF M DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

This year’s University of Minnesota Developmental Biology Symposium entitled "Chromatin and Chromosomes in Development" will be held September 26 and 27, 2005 in Coffman Memorial Union on the Minneapolis campus. Specific topics will include: epigenetic control of gene expression, chromosome dynamics during mitosis, genome replication and maintenance, and genome organization in human disease. The invited speakers will cover a wide array of systems including yeast, worms, flies, plants, mice and humans. Attendees are also invited to a banquet held on Monday evening, Sept. 26, at the Weisman Art Museum.

While the registration deadline of September 12 has passed as of this Update, you can still register by visiting http://www.med.umn.edu/dbc/symp/2005/html/registration.html. Completed registration forms should be submitted to Amelie Hyams at Developmental Biology Center, 6-160 Jackson Hall. For any questions about registration, please contact Amelie at hyams003@umn.edu or 624-4981.

BLOOD DONORS, VOLUNTEERS, AND MONETARY DONATIONS FOR HURRICANE KATRINA SOUGHT FOR THE U’S FOURTH ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE

A U of M Blood Drive and Hurricane Katrina disaster relief collection will take place on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Coffman Union Great Hall. More than 100 blood donors are still needed to meet the University’s goal of providing 240 units of blood to the American Red Cross for treatment of Hurricane Katrina disaster victims. Volunteers also are needed to work the blood drive registration and canteen areas.

Won’t you please sign up to give blood or volunteer a little time? To schedule an appointment online or to find information about who is eligible to give blood, visit http://www.givelife.org. To schedule by phone, please call the Red Cross at 651-291-3293. The American Red Cross also will be accepting monetary donations during the blood drive for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts.

CANCER U: ASK THE EXPERTS PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON LIVING AFTER CANCER, SEPT. 17

Cancer Center members Julie Ross, Ph.D., and Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., will discuss some of the common problems cancer survivors encounter at the next Cancer U: Ask The Experts program on living after cancer. Ross leads the Masonic Cancer Center’s Prevention and Etiology Program, and Mulrooney sees patients in the Long Term Follow-up Clinic. The outreach education program will be held 9-11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 17, in the Ski-U-Mah Room at the McNamara Alumni Center. There is no charge for the program, but pre-registration is requested. For more information and to make reservations, call the Masonic Cancer Center information line: 1-888-CANCERMN.

CANCER CENTER RECOGNITION PROGRAM SEEKING NOMINATIONS

The Masonic Cancer Center Recognition Program was created to inform/update staff and faculty about Cancer Center activities and research, and to honor outstanding contributors to the Masonic Cancer Center mission.

Outstanding contributor awards are given to recognize employees for their performance. Examples might be:


• Continued/sustained excellent job performance.
• Contributions to the Masonic Cancer Center resulting, for example, in increased efficiency, increased quality of service, cost savings, or successful crisis management.
• Significant contribution to a Cancer Center program, project or operation; and/or
• Special service to a Cancer Center program, project or operational unit.


Nominations are now open for the outstanding contributor award in Basic Sciences. Persons working in Cancer Progression & Metastasis, Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer, Immunology and Research Core Facilities 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. The Basic Sciences Recognition Program will be held in October.

Nominations may be submitted on-line at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/recogform.html. Hard copies of the nomination form also are available from Melissa Daufelt at cchr@umn.edu. Return the completed form to Cancer Center Human Resources at MMC 806.

GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH GRANT

American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant applications are being accepted until October 17, 2005. This grant is for assistant professors who have no independent national funding and are engaged in cancer-related research. Cancer-related research includes genetic mechanisms of cancer, molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis, development of novel cancer therapeutic models and translational research, cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

Funding is available up to $20,000. Applications may be obtained by calling 612-626-1926 or sending email to micek003@umn.edu.

MARSHA RIVKIN CENTER FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH
Scientific Scholar Award
Letter of Intent: October 3, 2005
Full application by invitation: December 1, 2005

Approximately $150,000 is available from the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research to fund up to 5 awards to be allocated based on merit between the Scientific Scholar Award and Pilot Study Programs. The Scientific Scholar Award is intended to assist promising laboratory and clinical young scientists to pursue a career in ovarian cancer research. The Scientific Scholar Award will provide 50% salary support up to $30,000 for one year with a possible second year upon reapplying. For application details please email Roxy McCann at doni0007@umn.edu.

MARSHA RIVKIN CENTER FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH
Pilot Study Projects
Application Due: December 1, 2005

The Pilot Study Program will support investigator initiated pilot projects in the areas of screening and prevention, basic science, treatment, and behavioral sciences. Priority for funding will be given to proposals that are innovative, multidisciplinary, likely to lead to submission of grant applications for independently funded investigations and have translational research potential. For application details please email Roxy McCann at doni0007@umn.edu.


To view all grants available through the Masonic Cancer Center, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/grantopp.html

EDUCATION AND SEMINARS

CANCER PROGRESSION AND METASTASIS PROGRAM MEETING
Wednesday, September 14, 2005, 12:00-1:00 p.m., 450 CCRB

Program planning meeting

For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/cellbiol.html

CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB
Friday, September 16, 2005, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB

A screen for Mll-AF9 cooperating mutations in leukemogenesis using MLV-based mutagenesis
Rachel Saplis, Largaespada Lab

For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/grant7.html

 

BMT CONFERENCE

Monday, September 19, 2005

 

Program meeting

For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/bmtlect.html



REMINDERS

TOBACCO CONTROL IN MINNESOTA: WHAT WORKS?

A state-wide symposium sponsored by the Minnesota Partnership for Action against Tobacco (MPAAT) will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2005 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The symposium will highlight MPAAT’s QUITPLAN stop-smoking services, independent evaluation findings from MPAAT programs and discussion on how research can be translated into effective stop-smoking interventions. The keynote speaker is Matthew Myers, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

For more information or to register, go to http://www.mpaat.org and click on the link under “MPAAT to Hold Symposium and Conference,” or contact Ann St. Claire at 952-767-1416 or astclaire@mpaat.org.

“TARGETING CARCINOGENESIS” COURSE TO BE HELD IN ROCHESTER, MN OCTOBER 6-7, 2005

The Mayo School of Continuing Medical Education and Hormel Institute/University of Minnesota will be jointly sponsoring an upcoming CME course, entitled "Targeting Carcinogenesis", which will be held in Rochester, MN on October 6-7, 2005. The course faculty includes 25 nationally- and internationally-renowned experts in cancer-related research. Course registrations and abstract submissions can be made on-line through the Mayo CME website. (http://www.hi.umn.edu/symposium.html).

 

ATTENTION BENEFITS ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES: UPLAN MEDICAL OPTIONS ARE CHANGING FOR 2006.

 

Employee Benefits is sponsoring informational sessions on your new UPlan medical options for 2006. Medica and HealthPartners will be the medical plan administrators for 2006 and will provide a comparable range of plan types from which to choose. Plan options from Medica will be the new low-cost plans throughout the state. RxAmerica will provide the prescription drug coverage for all the plan options.  Because the plan options and low-cost plans are new for 2006, you must make an online election during Open Enrollment in order to have medical coverage for the 2006 plan year.  The schedule for informational sessions can be viewed at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/eb/uplan/openenroll/forums.html .  Plan representatives from Medica, HealthPartners, and RxAmerica will be on hand to answer your questions. Delta Dental and HealthPartners Dental will also be represented at the sessions.

CHILDREN’S CANCER RESEARCH FUND (CCRF) ANNOUNCES DAWN OF A DREAM BENEFIT

The annual Children’s Cancer Research Fund’s Dawn of a Dream benefit is scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2005 at the Depot in Minneapolis from 6:00 p.m. — 12:00 a.m. The featured entertainer for this year’s silver anniversary gala is Kenny Loggins. KS95 Morning Show hosts Cheryl Kaye and Greg Thunder will emcee the night. The CCRF has announced that one goal of the benefit is to raise $90,000 to completely outfit a lab for a new faculty member at the Masonic Cancer Center.

Advanced tickets for the event are on sale now at www.childrenscancer.org, or by calling the office at 952-893-9355. Individual ticket prices are $250 or $500 for premier seating. Table Sponsorships are also available starting at $5,000 (10 tickets).