April 25, 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

The transcription factor ZEB1 in uterine cancers

Jennifer Richer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

 

Host: Carol Lange , Ph.D.

 

A peek at next week's seminar:

Genes, vaccines, and immune checkpoints:  How the molecular revolution is changing tumor immunology and immunotherapy

Elizabeth M. Jaffee, M.D., Professor of Oncology, Immunology, and Cell and Molecular Medicine, The Dana and Albert Broccoli Professor of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University

 

Host: Xianzheng Zhou

For a complete schedule,visit

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

Back to top

NEWS

CANCER CENTER MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

 

Joseph Neglia, M.D., spoke to more than 1,000 students and cancer survivors participating in the annual Relay for Life event last Friday evening at the University of Minnesota . Dr. Neglia told the gathering how research has advanced cancer treatment and why fundraising events like Relay for Life are becoming increasingly more important for supporting cancer research projects.

 

Margaret MacMillan, M.D., is featured with Randy Shaver, KARE-TV sports director and cancer survivor, and with a pediatric cancer survivor, in a public service announcement airing on KARE-TV. They also will soon be seen on billboards throughout the Twin Cities. The goal of both the PSA and the billboards is to create community awareness for the annual Randy Shaver Celebrity Golf Classic for cancer research in June.

 

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., moderated the successful Beyond the Cure educational event for childhood cancer survivors held April 8 at the McNamara Alumni Center. About 200 survivors and their family members attended the event, which focused on providing information about late effects issues and concerns that childhood cancer survivors may face as adults. Cancer Center members Joseph Neglia, M.D., and K. Scott Baker, M.D., presented information about research findings; John Kersey, M.D., gave the welcome. Dr. Mulrooney and Nancy Youngren, R.N., led the organization and planning for the event, which was presented by the National Children's Cancer Society in partnership with University of Minnesota Physicians Masonic Cancer Clinic; University of Minnesota Cancer Center; University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview; University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview; Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota; and Care Partners, in affiliation with the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Local news stories done by Minnesota Public Radio , Minnesota Daily and the Pioneer Press about childhood cancer survivorship, long-term follow-up needs and the educational event were picked up by media nationally.

 

David Rothenberger, M.D., Peter Lee, M.D., and Joel Slaton, M.D., were quoted in a recent Pioneer Press article on prevention and screening recommendations for colon cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 28 FOR CANCER CENTER SPRING POSTER SESSION AND SYMPOSIUM

 

The deadline to register to present posters or oral presentations at the Cancer Center 's Seventh Annual Spring Poster Session and Symposium is April 28. The poster session and symposium will be held May 18, 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. Click to register online.

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.ed.

 

EVENTS

RECRUITMENT SEMINAR

Thursday, April 27, 2006, 10-11 a.m., room 140 WBOB

Genetic susceptibility to lung cancer: A molecular epidemiologic approach

Hua Zhao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University Health Science Center, New Orleans

 

Dr. Zhao is a candidate for a faculty position in Cancer Genetic Epidemiology.

ADMINISTRATION AND OUTREACH RECOGNITION EVENT

Friday, April 28, 2006, 2 p.m., 450 CCRB

 

Please join us for a presentation by Mary Sumpmann, Associate Director for Administration, highlighting activities in the area of Administration and Outreach. Outstanding contributors to the Cancer Center mission will be recognized.  Light refreshments will be provided.

CANCER U: ASK THE EXPERTS PROGRAM ABOUT SKIN CANCER SATURDAY, APRIL 29

“Skin Cancer: Shedding Light on a Growing Problem,” is the topic for this Saturday's Cancer U: Ask The Experts program, sponsored by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. The program will be from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Radisson University Hotel, 615 Washington Ave., S.E., in Minneapolis.

 

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 and to register, visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/patients/Spring2006CancerU.html.

Back to top

EDUCATION AND SEMINARS

PEDIATRIC CANCER AND BLOOD DISEASES CONFERENCE

Thursday, April 27, 2006, 4 p.m., D-417 Mayo Building (Neuro-surgery Conference Room)

Maternal hemoglobin concentration and risk of infant leukemia

Toni Peters, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

GENETIC MECHANISMS OF CANCER PROGRAM MEETING

t hursday, April 27, 2006, 4-5 p.m., 3-110 Moos Tower

Factors influencing stability of the HRAS1 minisatellite — Implications for genome stability and oncogenesis

David Kirkpatrick, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development

 

Click here for a complete schedule.

CANCER BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUB

Friday, April 28, 2006, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB

G-Protein Coupled Receptors as novel targets for developing cancer therapy

Mariya Farooqui, Ph.D., Gupta Lab

 

Click here for a complete schedule.

 

BMT CONFERENCE

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

TLR7-targeted immunotherapy of acute leukemias

Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Pediatrics

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

- and –

Wei Chen, M.D., Ph.D .

Associate Professor Pediatrics

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation

 

-Dr. Kumar will present mouse leukemia data
-Dr. Chen will present information on human leukemia studies

Click to see a complete schedule.

Back to top

 

GRANT INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS

2006 CANCER CENTER INTERNAL GRANT PROGRAMS DEADLINE APRIL 28

 

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.

NCI GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

TESTING TOBACCO PRODUCTS PROMOTED TO REDUCE HARM (R21)

Back to top

POSITION AVAILABLE

 

Seeking On-Call Staff: The Tissue Procurement Facility (TPF) at the Cancer Center has immediate openings for ON-CALL staff.  This position is available to current civil service or bargaining unit employees.  On-Call staff will carry a pager during non-business hours, on a set, rotating schedule, from 5PM to 5AM Monday -Thursday and 5PM Friday to 5AM Monday. Pages typically involve responding to the TPF freezer alarm or contacting study staff when patient surgeries are scheduled outside of regular business hours.  If paged, on-call staff may be required to resolve issues in-person at the facility.  This position requires the ability to move/change a 160L liquid nitrogen tank, come to the university within 1 hour of receiving a page and handle confidential information.  Selected individuals will have excellent troubleshooting and problem solving skills as well as excellent attention to detail.  On-call staff will be paid $2.00/hour while carrying the pager.  Interested individuals should send their resume to Sarah Bowell at bowel001@umn.edu .

REMINDERS

 

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

 

“What's the Big Deal about Public Smoking?” is the second program in the spring 2006 Cancer U: Ask The Experts, Saturday, May 6, from 9-11 a.m. at the Radisson University Hotel, 615 Washington Ave., S.E., in Minneapolis.

For more information please visit the Cancer Center web site.

THE 15TH ANNUAL MARK E. NESBIT LECTURESHIP IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY

Friday, May 12, 2006, Noon, 450 Cancer Center Research Building

“Curing Childhood and Adolescent AML at the Half-Way Point”

William G. Woods, M.D., Director and Chief Medical Officer, Daniel P. Amos Children's Chair for the Aflac Cancer Center, and Blood Disorders Service, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood and Marrow Transplant, Emory University/Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

 

For more information contact Linda S. DeVoe, 612-626-2778.

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

 

Registration and program information is now available for the Chemical Biology Interface Symposium, Thursday, June 1 at the St. Paul campus. This symposium will focus on cutting-edge science which combines different disciplinary approaches in chemistry, physics, molecular biology, biochemistry, etc. Guest speakers include scientists from Harvard Medical School , Genentech, University of Wisconsin- School of Pharmacy and the University of Minnesota . Two poster sessions also will be held, so be sure to register to present your research. For registration and program information, visit Symposium 2006.

CHILDREN'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND 4 TH ANNUAL TIME TO FLY WALK/RUN JUNE 24

 

Help win the race against childhood cancer by participating in the Time to Fly Walk/Run on Harriet Island . The fourth annual event benefiting Children's Cancer Research Fund features something for everyone: competitive runners, recreational runners and walkers, and kids of all ages. Events include a 5K walk, 10K and 5K runs, and 1K and 2K Kids' Fun Runs. Both the 10K and 5K events are certified courses. Proceeds support childhood cancer research at the University of Minnesota .

 

Visit the Children's Cancer Research Fund web site to learn more about the event and how you can help support Children's Cancer Research Fund as part of the new Team Challenge .

 

Back to top