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Researchers and Staff
Cancer Center Update
October 25, 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
Retroviral insertional mutagenesis insights into human and mouse hematopoietic disease
Neal Copeland, Ph.D., Head, Molecular Genetics of Oncogenesis Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick , MN
Host: Rachel Saplis, MICaB
A peek at next week’s seminar:
HSP90-directed therapy: Attack on a chaperone
Charles Erlichman, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.R.C.P.C., Chair, Department of Oncology and Deputy Director for Clinical Affairs, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Host: John Kersey
For a complete schedule visit: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/date.html
SPECIAL SEMINAR – NOTE TIME CHANGE
Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 2:00-3:00 p.m., 450 Cancer Center Research Building
"Children with Osteopetrosis: Curing and Improving Lives"
Kimberly Kasow, DO, Assistant Member, Division of Stem Cell Transplantation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Sponsored by John E. Wagner, MD, Division Director, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplant Program
Light Refreshments will be served. For further information contact Joyce at 626-2961.
LATE ADDITION: DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE GRAND ROUNDS
Thursday, October 27, 2005, 12:05 p.m., 2-690 Moos
"When does chronically ill become dying?"
David E. Weissman, M.D., F.A.C.P
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Medical College of Wisconsin
RECOGNITION AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE TODAY, OCTOBER 25!
Today is the final day for nominating an outstanding contributor in Basic Sciences. Basic Sciences staff, as well as other staff and faculty contributing to the Masonic Cancer Center in this area, 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@umn.edu or telephone at 626-3410. Please join us for the Basic Sciences recognition event Thursday, November 3 at 3 p.m. in room 450 CCRB.
RESEARCHERS AWARDED MORE THAN $20 MILLION FOR STEM CELL AND NATURAL KILLER CELL RESEARCH
Cancer Center researchers have been awarded two program grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) totaling more than $20 million over five years to conduct research on stem cells and natural killer cells for treatment of cancer.
Principal investigators for the grants are Philip McGlave, M.D., chief of the Medical School 's Hematology, Oncology and Transplant Division and co-leader of the Masonic Cancer Center 's Translational Research Program, and Jeffrey Miller, M.D., hematologist/oncologist and co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program.
Dr. McGlave will oversee three teams of researchers, focused on projects aimed at further understanding the biology of human stem cells and transplanting them into patients for treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. University physician-scientists leading the research projects are Catherine Verfaillie, M.D., John Wagner, M.D., and Jeffrey Miller, M.D. The newly awarded five-year competitive renewal of this grant will enable Dr. McGlave and his teams to build on 10 years of National Institutes of Health-funded interdisciplinary programmatic research in this area.
Dr. Miller also will oversee three teams of researchers, intent on learning more about the role of natural killer cells in killing cancer and how the cells can be used in unrelated donor transplants. In addition to Dr. Miller, the other team leaders are Daniel Weisdorf, M.D., University of Minnesota , and Peter Parham, Ph.D., Stanford University in Palo Alto , California .
For more information about these grants, click http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/news/cellresearchfunding.html
DOWNS WILL GIVE ORAL PRESENTATION AT NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Levi Downs, M.D., will report results from a randomized clinical trial that compared the efficacy and safety of the combination of thalidomide and topotecan versus topotecan alone for the treatment of recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer at the XXIII Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium in New York City , Nov. 3. Dr. Downs is the principal investigator for the trial.
ANNUAL COMMUNITY FUND DRIVE BEGINS, YOUR SUPPORT URGED
Each year the University teams up with other respected, well-run organizations to make it efficient for faculty and staff to give to the community. The 2005 Community Fund Drive is now on, and your support is encouraged. Any dollar amount you wish to give will help address community needs, plus it may be tax deductible.
To make your pledge, either use the CFD brochure that was sent to you via campus mail last week, or complete the pledge form online at http://www.umn.edu/cfd/. As part of the process, you can choose where you want your money to go. A wide variety of worthy causes benefit from the community fund, including the Masonic Cancer Center and about 20 other AHC programs.
The AHC goal for this fund drive is 25 percent participation, which would be a significant increase over last year's 13.5 percent participation. The University aims to raise $1.2 million. When you turn in your pledge form or sign up online, you will be eligible for weekly and grand prize drawings. There is a special drawing for donors who pledge on the web.
CANCER CENTER WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBERS
Outreach Department
Welcome to Megersa Kumbi who is joining the Masonic Cancer Center Outreach Department to coordinate joint outreach and education projects between the Masonic Cancer Center and Cancer Plan Minnesota. Megersa was most recently a member of the Multicultural Outreach Team at the American Cancer Society and has done outstanding work in building bridges with refugee and immigrant communities. In his native Ethiopia he was an education leader and continues to be a consultant for community-based education programs. His office will be in the Dinnaken Office Building , 925 Delaware St. S.E., Suite 310. He can be reached by e-mail (kumbi002@umn.edu ).
Grants Administration
The Masonic Cancer Center would like to welcome Maggie Grant Thompson as the new Pre-award Services Coordinator. Maggie will help investigators prepare applications for new and continuing research funding and navigate the University's internal approval and submission process. She also will develop and maintain the Masonic Cancer Center 's Grant Opportunities web page, as well as develop processes and provide training to administrative staff and faculty to promote optimum use of EGMS.
Maggie comes to the Masonic Cancer Center from the University of Vermont where, for seven years, she was a senior administrator for health sciences in the Office of Sponsored Programs. Before that, she was the executive director of a women's crisis agency, writing grant proposals and successfully securing funding for existing and new programs. Maggie brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education administration to the Masonic Cancer Center, having worked in student services at Yale University as the graduate school's financial aid director, and at Vermont Student Assistance Corporation.
Maggie is a graduate of the University of Vermont . Please welcome Maggie, and be sure to contact her as you prepare grant or contract funding proposals at 612-624-0650 or thom2266@umn.edu .
Post-award grants administration will continue to be supported by the accounting staff led by Kamala Upadhyaya (612-626-5326 or upadh004@umn.edu). The accountants serve as liaison with the sponsor, subcontractors, SPA and academic departments for initial award set up and extensions. During the period of the award, they review expenditures, monitor budgets, process re-budgeting requests and prepare monthly financial reports for the PI. Monthly reports include summaries of all funds and staff allocations; this service facilitates their oversight of quarterly effort certification.
Details of both pre-award and post-award grant services can be found in the finance section of the Masonic Cancer Center Resources Manual on our website ( http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/resource/resmanfin.html ).
CANCER U PROGRAM ON LUNG CANCER, NOV. 12
Let your patients, family members and friends know about the free Cancer U: Ask The Experts program on Nov. 12 about advances in lung cancer research and treatment.
November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The program will be held 9-11 a.m. at the Campus Club, Coffman Memorial Union. Cancer Center experts presenting information will be:
- Tim Church, Ph.D., Screening For Lung Cancer
- Robert Kratzke, M.D., Overview Of Lung Cancer
- L. Chinsoo Cho, M.D., Radiation Therapy For Lung Cancer
- Terri Kast, R.N., Support For Patients And Families
A question and answer period will follow the presentations.
There is no charge for the program, but pre-registration is requested by calling 1-888-CANCERMN (1-888-226-2376), emailing ccinfo@umn.edu or visiting the web at www.cancer.umn.edu .
2nd ANNUAL MINNESOTA BIOMEDICAL NANOTECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP
t he University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic are sponsoring the 2 nd annual Minnesota Biomedical Nanotechnology Workshop on November 14 in Rochester . The purpose of this workshop is to foster interactions within and between Minnesota-based nanotechnology and biomedically interested institutions, including those from the University of Minnesota , Mayo Clinic and local industry. The topics of the workshop include, but are not limited to: multi-functional nanoparticles, gene therapy, antiviral agents, nano encapsulation, implantable devices, and other areas of BioMEMs. There is no cost for the workshop, but space is limited. For registration information click here for a pdf flyer and registration form.
There are no grant announcements this week.
The Grant Opportunities web page is currently under construction. To view a list of cancer research funding resources and links to their web sites visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/grantopp.html .
HEALTH INFORMATICS SEMINAR
Thursday, October 27, 2005, 3:30-4:30, 2-580 Moos Tower
“Perspectives on Data and Information in Bioinformatics"
John Crow, Center for Computational Genomics and Bioinformatics
Refreshments will be available at 3:15 p.m.
For a complete schedule visit http://ccgb.umn.edu/~sspeedie/hinf/htdocs/seminar/hinfseminar.html
GENETIC MECHANISMS OF CANCER PROGRAM MEETING
Thursday, October 27, 2005, 4:00-5:00 p.m., 3-110 Moos Tower
“Dmrt1 in sexual development and germ cell tumorigenesis”
David Zarkower, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/gensem.html
CORE CURRICULUM
Friday, October 28, 2005, 10:00 a.m., 450 CCRB
“Transfusion/Cell Therapy
David McKenna, M.D., Assistant Professor, Lab Medicine/Pathology
Assistant Medical Director, Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/coreseminar.html
CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB
Friday, October 28, 2005, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB
"Impact of Brk signaling on cell growth in breast cancer cell models"
Julie Hanson Ostrander, Lange Lab
For a complete schedule visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/grant7.html
BMT CONFERENCE
Monday, October 24, 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
REMINDERS
ATTENTION BENEFITS ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES: UPLAN MEDICAL OPTIONS ARE CHANGING FOR 2006
New medical plans and rate structures mean that everyone will need to make an election for medical and dental coverage during Open Enrollment. Employees will also be able to enroll in a flexible spending account, and add or increase long-term disability insurance coverage. Open Enrollment will take place from November 1 to November 30. Current employees will enroll on line using Employee Self-Service. Information about the new medical plan options and dental plan options can be viewed at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/eb/uplan/openenroll/index.html.