February 14, 2006

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

Mechanisms of peptide/MHC class I presentation pathway

Nilabh Shastri, Ph.D., Professor of Immunology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Berkeley

Host: Sundaram Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.

A peek at next week's seminar:

Oncolytic viruses: Turning one human enemy against the other!

Faris Farassati, Ph.D., PharmD., Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine — Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation, University of Minnesota

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

NEWS

CANCER CENTER MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

John Kersey, M.D., was quoted in a Star Tribune article and WCCO-TV story about a report issued last Thursday by the American Cancer Society that “for the first time since the government began keeping national death statistics in 1930, the number of cancer deaths in the US has fallen as improvements in diagnosis, therapy and prevention have finally overtaken increases caused by aging and population growth.” To read more visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/news/CancerDeathsDecline.html .

MOUSE GENETICS LABORATORY PRESENTATION

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006, 10:30-11:30 a.m., 450 CCRB

“The University of Minnesota Mouse Genetics Laboratory: Your Source for Transgenic Mice”

Sandra Horn, MGL Coordinator, and David Largaespada, Ph.D., MGL Co-Director will discuss MGL services and recently completed projects.

U OF M CANCER CENTER/SCIENCE MUSEUM “CANCER AND THE HUMAN BODY” EVENT SATURDAY, FEB.18

The Masonic Cancer Center is once again teaming up with the Science Museum of Minnesota to sponsor the sixth annual Cancer and the Human Body event from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Science Museum, 120 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. This year’s event will include the following displays and presenters:

• Normal Cells vs. Cancer Cells and Cancer in the Body: Anna Marie Carley, M.D. and Shanna Jagusch, M.D.
• Cancer Quiz: Teri Kast, R.N., Mary Sumpmann, R.N., and Marva Bohen, R.N.
• Zebrafish and Angiogenesis: Steven Ekker, Ph.D.
• Skin Cancer: Sharone Askari, M.D.
• Flow Cytometry: Greg Veltri
• Minimally Invasive Surgery: Teri Kast, R.N., and Karina DiLuzio

Cancer Center members and staff are encouraged to attend this informal, hands-on educational event that will help Twin Cities residents learn more about cancer from the people who work with it. The event cost is included with museum admission of $8.50 for an adult and $6.50 for a child or senior. For more information, call the Masonic Cancer Center at (612) 625-4441 or visit the Web site at www.cancer.umn.edu.

HOSPITAL LOBBY CLOSURE THIS WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15TH

The University campus hospital lobby will close for a major remodeling project on February 15.

Staff should use the Diehl Plaza entrance on the medical center's north side or enter the hospital via the patient/visitor ramp tunnel through the Phillips-Wangensteen building to minimize traffic routed through the new Masonic side entrance. 

Patient and visitor traffic to and from the hospital will be redirected using the tunnel between the parking ramp and medical center (through the tunnel level of Masonic) and via a new south side entrance to the Masonic Cancer Center, which will be modified with a walkway leading to the sidewalk. Valet parking will continue to be offered in the hospital circle.

SEEKING RECOGNITION AWARD NOMINATIONS

We are currently accepting nominations for the Masonic Cancer Center 's recognition award honoring outstanding contributors in Clinical Research and Experimental Therapeutics. Clinical Research/Experimental Therapeutics 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 online, go to http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/recogform.html.
Electronic or hard copies of the form may also be requested from cchr@umn.edu. A recognition event will be announced later this month.

RECRUITMENT SEMINAR

Monday, Feb. 20, 2006, 12:15-1:15 p.m., 2-530 MoosT

Chonghui Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT Center for Cancer Research

"From Alternative Splicing to Cell Cycle Progression: A Positive Feedback Loop Couples Ras Activation and CD44 Alternative Splicing"

Dr. Cheng is a candidate for a faculty position in the Cancer Progression and Metastasis Program, a joint recruitment between the Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

EDUCATION AND SEMINARS

PEDIATRIC CANCER AND BLOOD DISEASES CONFERENCE

Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006, 4 p.m., D-417 Mayo Building (Neuro-surgery Conference Room)
"Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation:  A Novel Therapy for Combined Variable Immunodeficiency"

Chris Fraser, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation

CORE CURRICULUM SEMINAR

Friday, Feb. 17, 2006, 10 a.m., 450 CCRB

Myeloma Update

Punit Wadhwa, M.D.

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

CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB

Friday, Feb. 17, 2006, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB

Cancelled for MICaB recruiting day.

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

BMT CONFERENCE

Monday, Feb. 136, 2006, 2006, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 CCRB

Cancelled due to BMT tandem meetings

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

GRANT INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PIs

CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS IN THE RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
The Office of the Vice President for Research’s program, Fostering Integrity in Research, Scholarship, and Teaching (FIRST), has implemented the requirement for continuing education in the Responsible Conduct of Research. This educational program is designed to provide information and guidance to faculty, professionals, and administrators in order to promote the University's ideals of scientific and scholarly integrity, and to minimize institutional risks.

A two-part continuing education program has been developed for faculty and principal investigators (PIs). The first part must be completed annually, and the second part must be completed every three years. The Electronic Grants Management System (EGMS) will remind PIs of these requirements at the time of proposal submission. Sponsored Projects Administration will not create accounts for new grant awards until investigators’ RCR education requirements are up to date.

Please take the time to understand and fulfill the Responsible Conduct of Research continuing education requirements on line at
http://www.research.umn.edu/first/ContEd.htm

NIH ADJUSTS TIMELINE FOR ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TIME BEFORE THE R01 TRANSITION

NIH has adjusted the implementation timeline for electronic application submission to provide an additional four months, until February 1, 2007, before the transition of the NIH traditional research grant (R01) mechanism and all subsequent mechanisms (see updated timeline) to the electronic process. The transition date for the U01s, NIH's Research Cooperative Agreements, has also shifted to allow this mechanism to transition with the other complex research mechanisms in October 2007. Read the full announcement at
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-035.html

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATORS SUBMITTING PROPOSALS TO NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) uses its online systems for conducting the majority of its business. As NIH begins to require submission of proposals electronically through Grants.gov, principal investigators (PIs) must have an active account with a user name and password in the NIH eRA Commons. Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) has simple instructions for setting up these accounts available on its Web site at

http://www.ospa.umn.edu/electronictools/niheraPIs.html .

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

TTURC PILOT GRANT PROGRAM

The Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) is offering grants of up to $25,000 for one year to support pilot projects aimed at reducing the harm from tobacco dependence, or strategies to reduce tobacco use among populations that have been refractory to smoking cessation efforts. This funding may be used for direct costs only. Proposals may involve any level of inquiry, e.g. molecular, genetic, preclinical, clinical, epidemiologic or public policy.

Faculty at the University of Minnesota , or faculty at Hennepin County Medical Center/Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis Veteran's Administration Medical Center or Regions Hospital who have an adjunct appointment at the University of Minnesota are eligible to apply. The application deadline is March 1, 2006 with an anticipated funding date of April 1, 2006. Potential applicants must first contact the Pilot Projects Program Director (Paul Pentel, pentel@umn.edu 612-873-6426) to determine whether the proposed project is within the scope of the Center. Applications that have not been discussed will not be accepted. A full program announcement and application form is available in .pdf format at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/docs/TTURC_Pilot.pdf .

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INSTITUIONAL RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS

American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant applications are being accepted until April 10, 2006. 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.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

RESEARCH TECHNICIAN/SCIENTIST: We are seeking an ambitious, creative, and self-directed person to work in an NIH-funded laboratory studying liver regeneration and cancer. Experience with molecular biology techniques, cell culture, mice, and literature review required. The candidate will report directly to the PI, but will also work in a team with post-doctoral fellows and other lab personnel. Please contact Jeffrey H. Albrecht, M.D., at albre010@umn.edu .

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE: Position available for individuals with interest and expertise in gene correction of immune deficiency. Description: We will use severe combined immunodeficiency disorders (SCID) as a prototype for examining gene transfer efficiency and complications of insertional oncogenesis. Viral vectors are widely utilized for gene therapy. Recent studies have shown that such approaches can results in insertional mutagenesis, a finding which has been seen in rodents, non-human primates and patients. While several non-viral methods have been developed, stable integration of transgenic DNA typically occurs at a low frequency and expression is usually transient. We will focus entirely upon non-viral DNA approaches to correct murine SCID caused by a point mutation in the penultimate exon of the DNA protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) gene, involved in DNA repair. DNA-PKcs deficiency leads to defective DNA repair, failure in the generation of T- and B-cells, and hypersensitivity to radiation injury. We will focus upon non-viral DNA delivery approaches including: 1. gene replacement using the Streptomyces phiC31 (øC31) integrase; 2. Correction of the point mutation via homologous recombination using a short DNA fragment that we have shown capable of conferring radiation resistance to a SCID cell line; 3. Correction of defective DNA-PKcs RNA transcript via spliceosome-mediated RNA trans-splicing using øC31 integrase or Sleeping Beauty transposons. Since non-viral DNA transfer into hematopoietic cells has been challenging, we will manipulate bone marrow cells and non-hematopoietic stem cells, multipotent adult progenitor cells, which can differentiate into T- and B-cells as well as HSCs in vivo. New approaches for gene delivery in vitro and in vivo into these cell types will be explored.  Interested individuals should contact Aandra Erikson at 612-626-5501 for application instructions. Principal Investigator: Dr. Bruce Blazar

RESEARCH FELLOW: Drs. Mimi Yu and Jian-Min Yuan are a team of cancer epidemiologists who recently relocated from the Norris Cancer Center at the University of Southern California , Los Angeles , to the Masonic Cancer Center. Their research centers on the role of diet in cancer etiology and how genetic factors modify the diet-cancer association.  The candidate will work closely with Drs. Jian-Min Yuan and Mimi Yu on the statistical analysis of epidemiologic databases. Specifically, the candidate will analyze cohort and case-control study data using standard statistical procedures including Cox proportional hazard regression, conditional or unconditional logistic regression, analysis of variance, contingency table analysis, and other parametric as well as nonparametric tests appropriate for the situation at hand. The candidate has to possess a MS in Biostatistics and is proficient in statistical computing. Experience with the following statistical packages is highly desirable: SAS, EPILOG, STATA. Interested individuals should send a CV and contact information for three references to: Mimi Yu, Ph.D., c/o Human Resources, 310 Cancer Center, 925 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, or cchr@umn.edu or 612-625-1620 (fax).

REMINDER

SUPPORT CHILDREN'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND ~ ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE MOVIE: THE BLUE BUTTERFLY

The Children’s Cancer Research Fund is offering a unique way to support cancer research. Invite your friends and family over for a night at the movies! The Blue Butterfly, starring William Hurt, is a magical story about a courageous young boy whose life is forever changed by a journey into the jungle to find the most beautiful butterfly on earth. This miraculous story was inspired by brain cancer survivor David Marenger. The Blue Butterfly Home Movie Party is just what you need to get started to host a fun-filled get together to support Children's Cancer Research Fund. (Movie is rated PG)