April 11, 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

Role of cell death in modulating tumorigenesis and chemotherapy

Eileen White, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University , Associate Director for Basic Science, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

 

Host: Ameeta Kelekar, Ph.D.

 

A peek at next week's seminar:

Update of gene-based vaccines in NSCLC

John Nemunaitis, M.D., Executive Director of the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center

 

Host: Scott McIvor, Ph.D.

For a complete schedule,visit

http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/aboutus/date.html

Back to top

NEWS AND EVENTS

2006 CANCER CENTER INTERNAL GRANT PROGRAMS

 

The Cancer Center announces the availability of three internal grant programs. The goal of these programs is to foster the development of and provide support for novel research ideas that focus on a problem in cancer. In turn, the Cancer Center expects that internal funding will lead to nationally peer reviewed funding.

Brainstorm Awards – The objective of the Brainstorm Awards is to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations encompassing novel, hypothesis-driven studies of cancer or a cancer-related topic. The proposed project must be a joint, collaborative effort by at least two Cancer Center members from different programs or different disciplines, and must represent a new collaborative proposal.

 

Cancer Population Sciences Awards – The objective of the Population Sciences Awards is to foster innovative research in Population Sciences which has the potential to form the basis of future research initiatives. Applicants must be members of the Cancer Center .

 

Translational Breast Cancer Research Awards –The objective of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Award is to support research in the biology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and/or treatment of breast cancer. Applicants must be members of the Cancer Center .

 

In prior years, awards have ranged from a minimum of $25,000 to a maximum of $50,000 in direct costs for 1 year. Awards will be made in $25,000 modules. The total funding available for Brainstorm Awards is $100,000 (up to four modules); for the Population Sciences awards, $50,000 (two modules); and for the Breast Cancer Awards, $75,000 (three modules). The application deadline for all three internal grant programs is 4:30 pm on April 28, 2006. All proposals must be hand-delivered to 754 CCRB addressed to the attention of Maggie Thompson, Preaward Services Coordinator. Applicants will be notified of the review outcome by the end of May. Awards will be made for one year, with an anticipated activation date of July 1, 2006. For further information and application instructions, please see the Cancer Center Web site.

NEW MEMBER

 

Kolawole S. Okuyemi, M.D., M.P.H.
Director , Program in Health Disparities Research, Center for Clinical Research, Medical School

Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

Programs : Prevention and Etiology, Translation Research, Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer

Area of scientific interest : Smoking cessation in minority and underserved populations; health disparities; the pharmacokinetics and genetics of nicotine metabolism; neuroimaging and nicotine dependence

Clinical Focus : Lung cancer

 

WORKSHOPS ON BIOIMAGING SET FOR JUNE 3 AND SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2006

 

The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Imaging Program (CIP) has created a workshop program to be presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) Annual Scientific Meeting on Saturday June 3, from 2-5 p.m. in San Diego .  CIP would like to extend an invitation to investigators to attend this workshop, entitled “The Use of PET/CT in the Clinic and Clinical Trials: Quantitation for Change Analysis. “  The full program and registration information are available at http://interactive.snm.org/index.cfm?PageID=4167&RPID=2324 .

 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is sponsoring a workshop on "Imaging as a Biomarker: Standards for Change Measurements in Therapy on September 14-15, 2006 in Gaithersburg , Mary land . For more information, visit their web site at http://usms.nist.gov/workshops/bioimaging.htm .

 

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR CANCER CENTER SPRING POSTER SESSION AND SYMPOSIUM

 

Online registration is now open for those wishing to present posters or oral presentations on their research at the Seventh Annual Spring Poster Session and Symposium sponsored by the Cancer Center Core Facilities scheduled for May 18, 2006. The final registrations deadline is April 28. The poster session and symposium will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with oral presentations from 11 a.m. to noon followed by poster session and lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. Students, staff, post-docs and PIs are invited to participate by presenting a poster. Visit our web site for the online registration form.

 

Due to the increasing number (and size!) of posters and the limited amount of display space, we have decided to display the first 35 abstracts/posters that are submitted in the Cancer Center atrium areas. Other posters will be displayed as space permits in other areas of the Cancer Center . All abstracts will be printed in the program booklet. For more information, call Susan Collins at 4-0659 or send an email to colli017@umn.edu .

WINE EVENT AT COSMOS APRIL 12, 2006 WILL BENEFIT THE CHILDREN'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND

 

You are cordially invited to attend a special Wine Makers Dinner at the four-diamond-rated Cosmos restaurant in the Graves 601 Hotel, 601 First Avenue N. in downtown Minneapolis on April 12, 2006. The event is limited to 80 people; a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Children's Cancer Research Fund. The purpose of the event is to showcase the California wines of O'Shaughnessy Winery and Capiaux Vineyards, which will be pared with a special five-course menu developed by Cosmos' award-winning executive chef, Seth Bixby Daugherty. Chef Daugherty will host the event, introducing each course and commenting on how the food was created to compliment the featured wines. Marshall , Minn.-born Betty O'Shaughnessy of O'Shaughnessy Winery will also be on hand to discuss the wines and answer questions. The event schedule includes a reception with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from 6-7 p.m. and dinner from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $150 per person (a portion is tax deductible). For more information and to RSVP, please call Cosmos at 612-312-1168 and let them know you are with Children's Cancer Research Fund.

SEEKING RECOGNITION AWARD NOMINATIONS

We are currently accepting nominations for the Cancer Center 's recognition award honoring outstanding contributors in Outreach and Administration. Outreach and Administration staff, as well as other staff and faculty contributing to the 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 the Cancer Center web site.
Electronic or hard copies of the form may also be requested from
cchr@umn.edu. A recognition event will be announced later this month.

Back to top

EDUCATION AND SEMINARS

CANCER PROGRESSION AND METASTASIS PROGRAM SEMINAR

Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB

Known by the company you keep: transcriptional co-factors of Runx2

Jennifer Westendorf, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery

 

Click here for a complete schedule.

PEDIATRIC CANCER AND BLOOD DISEASES CONFERENCE

Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 1:15 p.m., 130 Dwan/KE Research Building

Joint Tumor Board Teleconference: Targeted Therapy in a Patient with NF1 and Optic Pathway Glioma

Trent Hummel M.D., Pediataric Hematology/Oncology Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Medical Center

CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB

No meeting on April 14.

 

Click here for a complete schedule.

 

BMT CONFERENCE

Monday, April 17, 2006, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 CCRB

New strategies in transplantation for metabolic diseases

Paul Orchard, M.D. , Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota

Click to see a complete schedule.

Back to top

 

GRANT INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

SPA TIGHTENS UP PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Effective May 1, 2006, SPA WILL NOT ACCEPT for review and signature any proposal delivered after 5 p.m. the day before a proposal must ship in order to meet the sponsor's deadline. If a sponsor requires a proposal to be electronically submitted or postmarked by 5 p.m. on a Friday, the FINAL proposal, required copies, and signed Proposal Routing Form must be submitted to SPA by 5 p.m. on Thursday. However, if a sponsor requires physical receipt of the proposal by 5 p.m. on Friday, SPA would need the FINAL proposal, required copies, and signed Proposal Routing Form by 5 p.m. on Wednesday. SPA will not review or sign a proposal submitted less than 24 hours before it must ship.

 

eRA COMMONS USER NAME NOW REQUIRED ON APPLICATIONS

The section on the PHS 398 application Face Page entitled, “eRA Commons User Name” is now a required field for all PIs, even those applications proposing only a single PI. Since the mailing of paper review outcome notifications and summary statements has been eliminated (See NOT-OD-05-075 ), the eRA Commons is now the tool for PIs to access this information. Requiring the eRA Commons User Name for all PIs will improve data quality. This is particularly important for applications proposing multiple PIs. This data field will be pivotal in assuring all named PIs have access to the appropriate data. To register for eRA Commons, visit SPA's web site at http://www.ospa.umn.edu/electronictools/niheraPIs.html

 

NIH ANNOUNCES INTERIM CHANGES TO THE PHS 398 APPLICATION( For further information about these changes, please see

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-056.html )

 

PI Signature No Longer Required

Effective May 10, 2006, the signature of the Principal Investigator is no longer required as a part of a submitted application. Instead, a new compliance requirement is now implemented whereby the applicant organization agrees to secure and retain at the organization a written assurance from the PI prior to submitting an application.  For further information, please see

http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-054.html

Indicating Effort Devoted to Projects

The new business practice for measuring effort devoted to a project is person months. Personnel working on projects now indicate effort by indicating the number of calendar, academic, and/or summer months. The PHS398 has also been revised to reflect this new effort measure. Changes have been made to the budget form page 4; the key personnel page; the modular budget justification; and the other support pages format requirements. Revised forms (dated rev. 4/06) and instructions are available for immediate use and are required for paper applications being prepared for submission/receipt dates on/after May 10, 2006

Including Publications as Appendix Material
Effective for applications for submission/receipt dates of May 10, 2006 and beyond, the instructions for including paper publications as appendix material have changed. The new process is:

• Publications in press: Include only a publication list with a link to the publicly available on-line journal article or the NIH PubMed Central (PMC) submission identification number. Do not include the entire article.
• Manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet published: The entire article should be submitted and may be stapled.
• Manuscripts published but an online journal link is not available: The entire article should be submitted and may be stapled.

Implementing Multiple Principal Investigators (PIs)
The PHS398 has now been modified to accommodate multiple PIs in competing applications. Applicants are reminded that this initiative is still in a pilot phase. Only applications in response to specific funding opportunity announcements that included multiple PIs as an option should be following these new instructions at this time. Changes to specific form pages and corresponding instructions have been made to the face page; key personnel page; table of contents; research plan; and the personal data page.

Revised Requirements for Select Agent Research
The requirements of the Research Plan have been revised to include a new section dedicated specifically to Select Agent Research. This new section is only required when applicable. Additionally, the Resource Format Page instructions have been revised to request specific information on the biocontainment resources available when applicable. Finally, the Select Agent Research section in Part III Policy/Assurance/Definitions has been revised to include additional informational websites.

Biographical Sketch Subsection Limits Eliminated
The requirements for the biographical sketch have been changed to eliminate the 2-page subsection limit for sections A&B. The entire biographical sketch continues to have a 4-page limit (including the table at the top of the first page); however, the 2-page subsection limit for sections A&B has been eliminated.

NIH ANNOUNCES INTERIM CHANGES TO THE PHS 2590 APPLICATION

Changes similar to those made on the PHS 398 application have also been incorporated into the PHS 2590 non-competing progress report application. Revised forms (dated rev. 4/06) and instructions are available for immediate use and are required for paper applications being prepared for submission/receipt dates on/after May 10, 2006. For further information about these changes, please see -

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-058.html

 

PILOT STUDIES IN PANCREATIC CANCER (R03)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-314.html

 

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH AT NIH (R21)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-321.html

 

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH AT NIH (R03)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-322.html

 

CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH SMALL GRANT PROGRAM (RO3)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-06-313.html

Back to top

REMINDERS

THE STICK IT TO CANCER WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

 

Do you enjoy hockey? Want to help raise money for the University of Minnesota Cancer Center? The Stick it to Cancer Women's Ice Hockey Tournament will be April 21-23, 2006 at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine. This 70-80 team hockey tournament with 1,000+ girls and women participating began eight years ago to raise funds for breast cancer research. Teams from Wisconsin , Michigan , North Dakota and Ontario , Canada come to participate. The University of Minnesota Cancer Center has been selected to receive the proceeds this year. Last year they raised $36,000 for breast cancer research.

 

Approximately 100 volunteers are needed for the following positions: Ticket taker / ticket seller, referees, EMTs, score clocks and merchandise sales. If you would like to volunteer or want more information about the tournament, please contact Jackie at 763-792-7340 or jolson@superrink.org .

Click here for more information.

U OF M CANCER CENTER INVITES PUBLIC TO ASK EXPERTS ABOUT SKIN CANCER, EFFECTS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE

 

Shedding light on the growing problem of skin cancer and discussing what the big deal is about public smoking will be the topics for the spring 2006 Cancer U: Ask The Experts programs, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

 

The first program, “Skin Cancer: Shedding Light on a Growing Problem,” will be held from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, at the Radisson University Hotel, 615 Washington Ave., S.E., in Minneapolis. The second program, “What's the Big Deal about Public Smoking?” will be offered Saturday, May 6, also from 9-11 a.m. at the Radisson University Hotel.

 

The University of Minnesota Cancer Center sponsors the Cancer U: Ask the Experts series in collaboration with its clinical research and treatment partners: University of Minnesota Physicians and University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview . The programs are an opportunity for interested individuals to get accurate information about cancer from University cancer doctors and researchers. For more information please visit the Cancer Center web site.

CANCER SUMMIT 2006: THE POWER OF COLLABORATION
Tuesday, April 25, 2006, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Earl Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center

The Minnesota Cancer Alliance will host the third annual Cancer Summit. Health care professionals, policymakers, advocates and survivors will come together to discuss the power of collaboration and the positive impact it can have on Minnesota's cancer burden.

Keynote speaker Tim Byers, M.D., M.P.H., University of Colorado Cancer Center, will explain how a comprehensive approach to cancer control has energized partners and has helped make Colorado a model for other states.

The Summit will feature an update on the latest Minnesota cancer data, skill-building workshops, roundtable discussions with cancer experts and working meetings of Alliance task forces. It will also include Combating Cancer in Your Community, a three-part mini-course designed to provide a basic cancer overview for community health workers, lay health workers and community volunteers who conduct health outreach work in various settings.

The Summit is open to anyone interested in learning about Minnesota cancer control efforts. Cancer Center members who wish to attend can fax (612-626-3069) or mail (MMC 806) their registration form to Jean Jacoby by the end of the day Thursday, April 13. Leave the payment method blank and Jean will submit the registration with payment. The registration form is available on the Minnesota Cancer Alliance Web site. Click on the Summit 2006 link, then on the registration form link, complete the form, print it, and send it to Jean (not to the contact listed on the form).

UNIVERSITY CHEMICAL-BIOLOGY INITIATIVE WORKSHOP MAY 17, 2006

 

Frontiers of Drug Discovery: Chemical Library Development and Screening

May 17, 2006, Coffman Memorial Union Theater

 

The aim of the workshop is to inform biomedical, pharmacological, medicinal, computational and chemical researchers at the University of Minnesota of recent advances in chemical library design and screening. An outstanding faculty has been assembled to present the latest cutting-edge chemical genetics research. Time will be made available during the workshop for questions and discussion, with the goal of fostering interdisciplinary research projects harnessing these techniques. Please join us! Click here to find out more and to register.

 

CHEMICAL BIOLOGY INTERFACE SYMPOSIUM JUNE 1, 2006

 

Mark your calendars for the Chemical Biology Interface Symposium, Thursday, June 1 at the St. Paul campus. The planning committee is putting together a program of speakers who work at the very cutting edge of science and pursue their research by combining different disciplinary approaches in chemistry, physics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. For more information about this event contact Larry Masterson, maste061@umn.edu 612-625-0786.

Back to top