Masonic Cancer Center of the University of Minnesota
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Researchers and Staff
May 22, 2007
In This Issue
Cancer Center Program Meetings
Funding News and Opportunities
Today's Cancer Center Seminar
Tuesday, May 22, 2005, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB
An infectious retrovirus susceptible to an interferon antiviral pathway from human prostate tumors
Robert H. Silverman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, Lerner Research Institute,
Cleveland Clinic
Host: Robert Fleischmann, Ph.D.
This is the final Cancer Center Seminar for the 2006-2007 Academic year. Please visit the Web site for next year's schedule soon.
News
The John H. Kersey Chair in Cancer Leadership
The Masonic Cancer Center development staff is organizing support for the John H. Kersey Chair in Cancer Leadership. This endowed chair honors Dr. Kersey's remarkable accomplishments in cancer research, patient care, and leadership. It also celebrates his visionary leadership that made the Masonic Cancer Center a reality and led to the NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center designation. The chair will be held by the Masonic Cancer Center director and will be a significant source of funding to maintain the Masonic Cancer Center's leading work in research and patient care; recruit and retain leaders in the field of cancer research; and enhance the teaching, clinical work, and research of the chairholder.
Funds are currently being raised for the chair, and we are well over halfway towards the fundraising goal of $2.5 million. Recognizing the importance of the Masonic Cancer Center and Dr. Kersey's career, President Bruininks has committed a dollar-for-dollar match from University funds to fully fund this chair at $5 million.
All faculty and staff are encouraged to participate not only to honor Dr. Kersey but also to support the critical research taking place here every day. Brochures, pledge forms, and envelopes are located in the mail slot outside 549 CCRB and just inside 754 CCRB. Contact Cathy Spicola, Cancer Center Development Officer, at 612-625-5192 or c.spicola@mmf.umn.edu for more information.
Members in the news
Kenneth Koeneman, M.D., director of the Center for Prostate Cancer at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, was featured on KSTP-TV's On the Road with Jason Davis. Davis was diagnosed last fall with prostate cancer. Koeneman, a member of the Masonic Cancer Center's research programs for Translational Research and Cancer Progression and Metastasis discussed various treatment options and the future of prostate cancer research with him. Click to see the video.
Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Center's Prevention and Etiology Program, was quoted in the June issue of Real Simple about the importance of grilling meats at low temperatures to reduce the level of carcinogens.
Doug Yee, M.D., was quoted in the May issue of Hem/Onc Today on the American College of Physicians recommendation that the decision to have a mammogram for women ages 40-49 be made on a case-by-case basis.
Kudos
Congratulations to Cancer Center staff member Melissa Hansen, who is one of the recipients of the 2007 President's Award for Outstanding Service. Hansen works with Julie Ross, Ph.D., associate director of Population Sciences and chair of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Epidemiology Committee. She was nominated for her outstanding role in the creation of the Childhood Cancer Research Network (CCRN), a unified pediatric cancer registry within North America that was initiated by COG. Hansen assisted in the development of the protocol for the CCRN and is working with each of the 200+ institutions in the U.S, Canada and elsewhere on its implementation. She has also played a crucial role in patient enrollment in Ross' adult leukemia study. Ross says of Hansen, "I have been a part of the University of Minnesota community since 1979. I know how important it is to foster the goodwill of the community. Melissa Hansen has done this on an international basis, and we can all be proud of her tremendous achievement."
U of M will lead national study on causes of bone cancer in children
Logan Spector, Ph.D., a Masonic Cancer Center researcher, has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to lead the largest and most comprehensive study to date on the causes of pediatric osteosarcoma. Read more.
Hee Yun Lee named 2007 John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar
Cancer Center member Hee Yun Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, has been named a 2007 John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar by the Gerontological Society of America. Lee will receive $100,000 over two years to study quality of cancer care and quality of life among elderly Asian American immigrants and refugees.
Symposium and poster session a big success
Thanks to everyone who participated and attended the Masonic Cancer Center's Spring Poster Session and Symposium May 16 in the Cancer Center Research Building. About 150 Cancer Center students, staff, and faculty attended the event. Look for more coverage and Symposium Quest questions and answers soon on the Masonic Cancer Center Web site.
Prevention and Etiology newsletter available
The latest issue of Prevention and Etiology Update, the newsletter of the Cancer Center's Prevention and Etiology Program, is available on the Masonic Cancer Center Web site.
Histopathology Shared Resource welcomes Dr. Gerry O'Sullivan
The Histopathology Shared Resource is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Gerry O'Sullivan, who begins his faculty appointment on May 14, 2007. O'Sullivan holds a veterinary degree from University College Dublin and a doctorate degree from North Carolina State University. He is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and has considerable rodent pathology experience, having served as head of the pathology group at 3M Pharmaceuticals for the past five years. Dr. O'Sullivan will be focusing his efforts on pathology evaluations of tissues submitted by users of the shared resource. He may be reached at 5-3254 (office phone) or by email at gos@umn.edu.
Education and Events
Pediatric Cancer and Blood Diseases Conference
Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 4 p.m., 450 CCRB
DNA Repair Polymorphisms and Risk of Infant Leukemia
and
Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Regulatory T Cells Ameliorate Clinical Signs and Disease Mortality in a Xenogeic Model of GVHD
Rich Tower, M.D., and Paul Harker-Murray, M.D., Fellows, Heme/Onc/BMT
Annual Salute to staff and faculty and Cancer Center picnic June 7, 2007
Join the Cancer Center's Salute to Staff and Faculty on Thursday, June 7, at 8:30 a.m. Light refreshments will be served in the atrium areas on all four floors of CCRB. Cancer Center director Dr. Doug Yee will present a State of the Cancer Center address at 9 a.m. in 450 CCRB.
The picnic will be held that same day at Newell Park (Pierce Butler Route at Fairview Ave N., St. Paul) from 5 to 7 p.m. Families are welcome.
Information about Newell Park can be found at the St. Paul Parks Web site.
Cancer Center Program Meetings
BMT Conference
Monday, May 28, 2007, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 CCRB
No conference due to University holiday.
For a complete schedule visit the Web site.
Funding News and Opportunities
Rapid Access to Intervention Development (RAID)
(NOT-CA-07-018)
National Cancer Institute
Minnesota Futures Grant Program
Deadline: August 1, 2007
Award Amount: Up to $250,000
The Office of the Vice President for Research is pleased to announce a new grant program designed to identify research questions of current significance to multiple disciplines. Modeled after the "Keck Futures Initiative," the Minnesota Futures Grant Program will encourage University of Minnesota researchers to create new collaborative connections through symposia and act upon those ideas through interdisciplinary research awards. Details of the program, eligibility, evaluation criteria, and application instructions are available at the Office of the Vice President of Research Web site.
Applications due for National Academies Keck Futures Human Healthspan Conference
Deadline: June 7, 2007
The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative is accepting applications to participate in "The Future of Human Healthspan: Demography, Evolution, Medicine, and Bioengineering" conference, November 14-16, in Irvine, California. Each year the Futures Initiative hosts a conference to bring together researchers from academia, industry, and government laboratories to ask questions about -- and to discover interdisciplinary connections between -- important areas of cutting-edge research. Approximately 100 researchers in the United States will be invited to attend the conference, representing disciplines in science, engineering, medicine, and social science. Applications must be submitted by June 7. The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative will pay all travel expenses, including lodging and meals, for invited attendees. For more information, go to Keck Future Initiatives Web site.
Visit the Funding News & Opportunities Web page to see listings previously published in Update.