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Cancer Center Update

August 8, 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:

 

News

Events

Grant Information & Announcements

Reminders

News

Cancer Center to launch redesigned Web site

You are invited to preview the redesigned, reorganized University of Minnesota Cancer Center Web site before it goes live next week. To access the site, go to http://www.cancer.umn.edu:8080 and enter username: ccdev and password: garnacha.
 

The Cancer Center site's new design is consistent with the Academic Health Center and other major Web sites at the University of Minnesota. The content of the site has been reorganized and updated. Please note that the Web site is in development this week. The search function will not be available until the site's public launch.

We would appreciate your feedback. Please e-mail the Web team at ccweb@umn.edu with your comments, questions, and ideas for new features.

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Cancer Center will host President's Panel Meeting

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles to Reduce the Risk of Cancer will be the focus of the President's Cancer Panel meeting September 11. The University of Minnesota Cancer Center will host the all-day, fact-finding meeting in the Cancer Center Research Building, Room 450. This meeting is open to the public. 

The Panel will hear testimony from invited participants and the public on how obesity, physical activity and nutrition impact cancer risk. The Panel will explore both current research and existing knowledge gaps in these areas, as well as programs relevant to healthy lifestyles and cancer risk reduction.

Cancer Center member Robert Jeffery, Ph.D., who directs the University's Obesity Prevention Center, will be among a dozen experts from across the country invited to give testimony before the Panel. Cancer Center Director John Kersey, M.D., will give the welcome. Visit this link to download the meeting poster and draft agenda.

The poster and agenda also will be posted at the Cancer Center and throughout the University where other cancer researchers and people who may wish to attend this meeting work. As the meeting agenda and other details become finalized, the information will be disseminated through Update, the Web site, and other communications.

The current President's Cancer Panel was appointed by President George W. Bush to advise him on matters about cancer. LaSalle Leffall, Jr., M.D., professor of surgery at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C., chairs the Panel. Dr. Leffall will be the spokesperson for the Panel and meeting here on September 11.

The President's Cancer Panel was established with the passage by the U.S. Congress of the 1971 Cancer Act. For more information about the Panel, visit the National Cancer Institute Web site.

If you have other questions, e-mail Mary Lawson (mlawson@umn.edu).

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Cancer Center member led report on addressing conflicts of interest in biomedical research

Cancer Center member Leo Furcht, M.D., chaired the committee that recently issued a report titled, "Shared Responsibility, Individual Integrity: Scientists Addressing Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Research."

Dr. Furcht is Allen-Pardee Professor of Cancer Biology, and his research interests include cell adhesion molecules and tumor metastasis. He also is the newly installed president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), which developed the report. This report discusses conflict-of-interest issues and provides seven guiding principles to help investigators address challenges as a result of financial relationships with industry. To read the report, visit the FASEB Web site (PDF).

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Cancer Center member in the news

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., wrote an article on "The nicotine vaccine: A shot in the arm for cigarette smokers" in the August issue of Minnesota Health Care News.

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Hormel Institute announces expansion  

The Hormel Institute, a biomedical research center of the University of Minnesota located in Austin, Minn., is partnering with Mayo Health System to break ground on August 21 for a new research building. The Institute projects the expanded facilities will result in 100 new jobs, doubling its current staff. The Institute, which is supported by the Hormel Foundation, focuses on research on natural compounds that can be used in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer. These four Hormel researchers are members of the Cancer Center: Ann Bode, Ph.D., research associate professor and assistant director of the Hormel Institute and member, Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program; Zigang Dong, M.D., Ph.D., Hormel-Knowlton Professor and executive director of the Hormel Institute, and member, Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program; Margot Cleary, Ph.D., associate professor and member, Prevention and Etiology Research Program, and Junyuan Lu, Ph.D., associate professor and member, Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program.

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Welcome Haogie Huang, Ph.D.

Welcome new faculty member Haogie Huang, Ph.D., who joined the Cancer Center 's Cancer Progression and Metastasis Program on August 1. Huang received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. After postdoctoral training in China, he joined the research faculty of Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He has been a professional research associate in the Department of Urology and an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine since 2004. He joins the University Minnesota Cancer Center as an assistant professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. His research focuses on signal transduction/transcriptional control mechanisms associated with prostate cancer suppression and androgen-independent progression.

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Leukemia Research Fund grant recipients announced  

Congratulations to the following Cancer Center researchers who are the recipients of $30,000 grants from the Leukemia Research Fund:

Vivian Bardwell, Ph.D., "An in vivo dissection of the role of the BCL6 corepressor, BCOR, in lymphomagenesis"
Anja-Katrin Bielinsky, Ph.D., "Role of human Mcm10 in maintaining genome stability"
Wei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., "TLR7-targeted immunotherapy of acute lymphocytic leukemia"
William F. Elmquest, Pharm.D., Ph.D., "Active transport and targeted delivery of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors"
Michael Farrar, Ph.D., "The role of STAT5 and pre-BCR signaling in B cell-acute lymphocytic leukemia"
Reuben Harris, Ph.D., "How DNA cytosine deaminase proteins help cause blood cancers"
Ameeta Kelekar, Ph.D., "Noxa-Mcl-1 interactions in the nucleus and their role in cell cycle progression"
Ashish Kumar M.D., Ph.D., "Molecular pathogenesis of MLL-fusion gene leukemia"
Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., "Proto-oncogene destabilization of human B-lineage cells"
Matthew Mescher, Ph.D., "CD8 T cell targeted immunotherapy for leukemia"
Michael R. Verneris, M.D., "The developmental stages of CD56bright and CD56dim natural killer cells"
Carston Wagner, Ph.D., "Anti-leukemia immunotherapeutic nanorings"
Brenda Weigel, M.D., "TLR agonists as therapy for acute leukemia"

The Leukemia Research Fund provides funding to University of Minnesota researchers bi-annually in the form of two-year competitive grants that are peer-reviewed. Grants are submitted in either the basic or translational research category. Faculty are encouraged to submit novel, untested ideas so that the grants can function as seed money. This helps to move new ideas forward to the point where investigators can secure long-term national funding, for example, through the National Institutes of Health or the American Cancer Society.

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Cancer Center and University of Minnesota Physicians join with Sisters in Harmony for a North Minneapolis Cancer U program

University of Minnesota physicians will talk about cancer, how it affects women of color and how to reduce risks on Saturday, August 19, 2006, 9-11 a.m., at Center for Families, 3333 4th Street N., Minneapolis. Physicians and topics include:  

  • Levi Downs, M.D., Preventing cervical cancer
  • Rahel Ghebre, M.D., Update on ovarian and other gynecological cancers
  • Douglas Yee, M.D., Breast cancer in African-American women
  • Sharon Dykes, M.D., Colorectal cancer in African-American women

 This special program is presented by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and University of Minnesota Physicians, with the support of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. There is no cost, but pre-registration is requested. For more information and to pre-register, call 612-624-2620 or visit the Cancer Center Web site.

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Events

Special Seminar

Friday, Aug. 11, 2006, 1-2 p.m., 450 CCRB
Immune reconstitution after unrelated cord blood transplantation: Challenges and therapeutic opportunities
Paul Szabolcs, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center

Hosted by K. Scott Baker, M.D., Associate Professor, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program.

For more information contact Joyce S. at 612-626-2961.

Department of Therapeutic Radiology Radiation Oncology Special Lectures

Monday, Aug. 14, 2006, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 2-101 NHH (BSBE)
Role of HIF-1 in tumor responses to radiation, chemotherapy and hyperthermia
Mark W. Dewhirst, D.V.M., Ph.D., Department of Radiology Oncology, Duke University Medical Center
and
Extracranial Radiosurgery: HFH experience
Jae Ho Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital

Farewell reception for Elaine Bell, Clinical Trials Office Coordinator, on August 15

Join us to celebrate Elaine Bell's contributions and her commitment to clinical research at a reception to wish her farewell on Tuesday, August 15, at 2 p.m. in 450 Cancer Center Research Building. 

Recruitment Seminar

Monday, August 21, 2006, 11-12 p.m., 142 WBOB
Can genetic polymorphisms inform biologic mechanism? Lessons from skin cancer epidemiology.

Heather H. Nelson, Ph.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health

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

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Grant Information and Announcements

Alliance for Cancer Center Gene Therapy (ACGT) 2006 Young Investigator Award

Application Deadline is September 13, 2006.
Awards will be up to $500,000 allocated over three years (inclusive of 10% indirect costs). Candidates for a Young Investigator Award must hold an M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., or equivalent degree, and be a tenure track assistant professor within five years of their initial appointment to this rank at the time of award activation.  ACGT has no citizenship restrictions; research supported by the award must be conducted at medical schools and research centers located in the United States.

For further information, please visit the ACGT Web site
Margaret C. Cianci, Executive Director, or Grace Pedersen, Foundation Administrator ACGT, 96 Cummings Point Road, Stamford, CT  06902; e-mail gpedersen@acgtfoundation.org .

NIH Grant Opportunities — Selection of Funding Opportunities

Pathophysiology of Bisphosphonates-associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (R01)

Pathophysiology of Bisphosphonates-associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (R21)  

Pathophysiology of Bisphosphonates-associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (R03)

Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) in Human Cancer for the Year 2007 (P50)  

Exploratory/Developmental Grant for Clinical Studies of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (R21).

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Reminders

15th Annual University of Minnesota Symposium in Developmental Biology

Gene networks in development: Lessons from C. elegans and beyond
September 26-27, 2006, Coffman Memorial Union, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus. 

Information about poster submissions, registration, and program can be found at the Developmental Biology Center Web site.

Current Issues in Clinical Research Conference to be held October 4-5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center

The University of Minnesota Academic Health Center and Mayo Clinical Trial Services are jointly sponsoring a major conference on clinical research. "Current Issues in Clinical Research: Latest Trends in Clinical Research" will take place October 4-5, 2006 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This conference will focus on emerging trends and provide a comprehensive review of clinical research performance. The program will include information on evolving strategies of pharmacovigilance, current issues in genomics and proteomics, principles of good clinical practice, and the mechanics of teamwork in clinical research. An outstanding, nationally prominent faculty has been assembled. This program is designed for clinical research professionals, including principal investigators, study coordinators, nurses, and other research personnel involved in managing and coordinating clinical research.

The regular registration fee for this conference is $550, which includes tuition, comprehensive conference syllabus, continental breakfasts, lunches, and break refreshments. University of Minnesota faculty, research staff, and AHC students and trainees may attend for the highly discounted registration fee of $25. Please indicate that you are from the U of M when you register. More information and the registration form.

Support Children's Cancer Research Fund by visiting the Water Park of America and save on admission

Anyone using a Water Park of America coupon will save $2 on admission per guest to the park through September 1. Each visitor using the coupon available online at will also help generate 50 cents for Children's Cancer Research Fund, benefiting childhood cancer research at the University of Minnesota, and WAMSO, benefiting the Minnesota Orchestra.

Support the Children's Cancer Research Fund when you shop  

Just shop online at your favorite stores, or explore the many other affiliates available, and a percentage of each purchase will be donated to the Children's Cancer Research Fund. Start shopping at the Children's Cancer Research Fund "Shop CCRF" Web site. 

Children's Cancer Research Fund 2006 Dawn of a Dream Benefit - "Journey to the Ends of the Earth" – tickets are now on sale

In 1980, after losing their daughter to leukemia, Diana and Norm Hageboeck and their friends organized the first Dawn of a Dream benefit concert, raising $50,000. Today, Dawn of a Dream is one of the largest gala events in the Twin Cities. This year's event, on Saturday, November 4, 2006 will feature a few surprises along with the traditional silent and live auctions, dinner, and live entertainment by Los Lobos. Don't miss your chance to attend the event and support Children's Cancer Research Fund! For more information and to reserve your Journey to the Ends of the Earth tickets now visit the Children's Cancer Research Fund Web site.  

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