Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota

November 15, 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 — CANCELLED

Today's seminar with James Downing, M.D., has been canceled due to a family illness.


A peek at next week’s seminar:

Telomerase inhibition and osseous androgen independent prostate cancer

Kenneth Koeneman, M.D., Dougherty Endowed Chair in Urologic Oncology, Director, Center for Prostate Cancer, Department of Urology, University of Minnesota


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

SPECIAL PEDIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL RESEARCH CANDIDATE SEMINAR
Tuesday, November 15, 10:00 AM, Room 114 Lillehei Heart Institute
Risk of second malignancies following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Debra L. Friedman, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, Candidate for Associate Professor Position in Pediatric Epidemiology & Clinical Research

Host: Julie Ross, Ph.D.

NEWS

U OF M LEUKEMIA RESEARCH FUND RECEIVES $311,000 FROM DANNY THOMPSON MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Leukemia Research Fund at the University of Minnesota Foundation received $311,000 from this year’s Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament. Georgie Fenton, president and director of the Danny Thompson Memorial, and Steve Hanks, CEO of Washington Group International and chairman of the Danny Thompson Memorial Board of Directors, presented the donation to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks at a recent ceremony in St. Paul.

The Leukemia Research Fund supports interdisciplinary research in leukemia and related diseases at the University of Minnesota's Cancer Center and elsewhere at the U.  A press release and video will be posted on our home page soon.

CANCER CENTER MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

• Levi Downs, M.D., was quoted in reports by WCCO-TV, KSTP-TV and KARE-TV about research he is leading on thalidomide plus topotecan for treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer.
• Doug Yee, M.D., was quoted in a Minnesota Daily article about breast cancer in men.

MinnCResT SEMINAR SERIES


Wednesday, November 16, 2005, 4:30 PM, 17-165 Moos Tower
Angiogenesis in Oral Cancer: From Biology to Therapeutics
Mark Lingen, DDS, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE CANCER CENTER HOLIDAY EVENT DECEMBER 7!

This year's Cancer Center Holiday event will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 7 in the West Wing of the Campus Club. Appetizers, beverages and live entertainment will be provided.

LAST CHANCE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS, OPINIONS!

Feedback Requested on Expanding Capabilities of the Center for Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics

 

The Center for Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics in St. Paul is considering expanding its capabilities to include the manufacture of monoclonal immunoglobulins (IgM and IgG) and possibly other cell-secreted proteins for clinical use.  The center's current focus is on cellular-based therapies primarily in support of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Cancer Center . 

 

Research infrastructure support is available through the U-Mayo Partnership and the submission deadline for proposals is November 18, 2005 (more information is available on the Academic Health Center website at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/research/umayo/infrastructuregrant/home.html).

 

The center would like feedback to assess the actual level of interest in acquiring these additional capabilities before making a proposal.  If you are interested, please send an email to David McKenna, Ph.D. (mcken020@umn.edu) briefly answering the following two questions:

 

1 . Do you currently work with immunoglobulins or other proteins that would potentially be suited for clinical production and use in human trials? 

2. If so, what type of Ig/protein?  What medical condition are you targeting? 

 

GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

NOTICE OF INFORMATION ON HUMAN CANCER BIOSPECIMEN COLLECTIONS: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
NOT-CA-06-002
Release/Posted Date: November 9, 2005

In February 2005, the Directors of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) agreed to explore pursuing a 3-year pilot project, based on a recommendation in a recent National Cancer Advisory Board Biomedical Technology Subgroup Report (available at www.cancer.gov), to determine the feasibility of cataloging the genetic aberrations associated with a set of human cancers. The goal of this RFI is to identify and gather data about the characteristics of existing human tumor repositories. The information gathered from this process will help distinguish the key features of biospecimen collections that could meet the needs of the pilot cancer genome characterization project. The NCI welcomes any additional information the respondent wishes to submit, such as details of repository contents, collection procedures, biorepository management procedures, and human subjects protocols. Please attach such information as appendices to the main response. The document should not be longer than five pages. It would be helpful if the data are provided in a tabular form. For further information and the complete notice, please see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-CA-06-002.html

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 .

EDUCATION AND SEMINARS

GENETIC MECHANISMS OF CANCER PROGRAM SEMINAR
Thursday, November 17, 2005, 4:00-5:00 p.m., 3-110 Moos Tower
Fish, blood vessel development, and cancer
Steve Ekker, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development

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

CARCINOGENESIS AND CHEMOPREVENTION PROGRAM SEMINAR
Thursday, November 17, 2005, 4:15 p.m., 450 CCRB
Deficient Rad50-dependent DNA double-strand break repair in cells from patients with Fanconi anemia and Nijmegen breakage syndrome
Colin Campbell, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota

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

CORE CURRICULUM SEMINAR
Friday, November 18, 2005, 10:00 a.m., 450 CCRB

MDS

Marcy Tomblyn, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine


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

EPIDEMIOLOGY INTEREST GROUP
Friday, November 18, 2005, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., 1250 Mayo
Assessing the effectiveness of cervical cancer control in Minnesota with data from the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System
Sally Bushhouse, D.V.M., Ph.D., Director, Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System, (Presenting for Carin Perkins, PhD)

Please RSVP by 4pm on Tuesday, November 15th to reserve a lunch.

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

CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB

Friday, November 18, 2005, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB

IL-7 sensitivity of normal and myc-overexpressing human B lineage cells

Sonja Johnson, LeBien lab

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

BMT CONFERENCE

Monday, November 21, 2005, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 CCRB

New tricks for an old dog? Transplantation for acute lymphocytic leukemia

Mike Verneris, M.D. , Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota


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.

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION SCHOLAR AWARD

 

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is offering Scholar Awards to support the development of outstanding scientists as they establish their own independent research laboratories. Assistant Professors in the first three years of their appointment who do not have another career development award are eligible to apply. The applicant's scientific accomplishments must show promise of future contributions that will lead to understanding the causes and mechanisms of cancer and to developing more effective cancer therapies and preventions. This is a three-year award for $100,000 per year. A total of five projects will be awarded.

 

Two nominations are permitted per institution (one basic scientist and one physician-scientist [MD or MD/PhD affiliated with a clinical department]), plus an unlimited number of applications by former Damon Runyon Fellows. Potential applicants should submit a preliminary proposal of 1-2 pages in length plus a curriculum vitae. If there are multiple applicants/nominations, a sub committee of the Masonic Cancer Center 's Executive Committee will screen applications/nominations and select the 2 finalists. Nominating materials should be sent via e-mail to Mary Sumpmann (sumpm001@umn.edu) before December 19th, 2005.

 

Questions should be addressed to Mark Paller, Assistant Vice President for Research, AHC (palle001@umn.edu). For more information visit the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund web site at www.drcrf.org/apScholar.html.