Cancer Center Update is sent to Cancer Center members and staff every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Please submit items to Sandi Sherman, sherm019@umn.edu, by noon the previous Friday.

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In This Issue

Message from the Director

News

Education and Events

Cancer Center Program Meetings

Funding News and Opportunities

 

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Message from the Director

Editor's note: This week's Message from the Director column is devoted to Dr. Yee's "State of the Cancer Center" speech, whichhe presented June 7 as part of the Cancer Center's annual Salute to Staff and Faculty. His presentation (slides and audio) is available on the Cancer Center Web site.

Dr. Yee discussed new approaches in clinical research and the importance of academic researchers in developing new, individualized therapies, and he described new clinical care partnerships and research facilities for the Cancer Center. Dr. Yee also acknowledged the significant achievements of faculty and staff in the past year and described the research strengths of new faculty who have joined the Cancer Center.

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News

Czech Republic dignitaries visit Cancer Center
Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., member of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, provided two visitors from the Czech Republic with a tour of the Cancer Center on May 31 and explained the research he and other investigators at the Cancer Center conduct. The visitors were Dr. Hana Ripkova, executive director with the J. William Fullbright Commission, and Vilma Anyzova, first secretary and head of the cultural section, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C. Their visit to the Cancer Center was coordinated by Paul Quie, M.D., co-director of the University of Minnesota's Internal Medical Education and Research Program.

Hatsukami presents nicotine vaccine clinical trial results at Phacilitate Vaccine Forum; wins CPDD Marian W. Fischman Memorial Lectureship Award
Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., director of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research
Center and co-leader of the Prevention and Etiology Program, participated in a roundtable discussion and presented a talk on "Vaccination as an Aid to Smoking Cessation: Initial Results from a Phase IIb Trial of a Nicotine Vaccine" June 1 at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum Munich 2007 in Munich, Germany. Hatsukami discussed a vaccine approach to smoking cessation and outlined key conclusions of the recently announced Phase IIb trial.

Also this month, Hatsukami will receive the 2007 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Marian W. Fischman Memorial Lectureship Award. The award will be presented June 17 at the CPDD's annual meeting in Quebec City, Quebec. The award acknowledges Hatsukami's mentorship to young investigators, and her many research contributions in the field of nicotine addiction.

Members in the News

John Wagner, M.D., director of the Department of Pediatrics, Hematology-Oncology and Blood Marrow Transplantation and member of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in a June 8 front page article in the Star Tribune about a study he co-authored that found five-year leukemia-free survival rates in children are similar after bone marrow transplantation or transplantation of umbilical cord blood. He also appeared on KARE-11 news. The study was published in the June 9 issue of The Lancet. Visit the Cancer Center Web site for more information and related links.

Kudos
Congratulations to Melissa Geller, M.D., member of the Translational Research Program, who is one of eight faculty members selected to participate in the 2007-08 AHC-sponsored Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars program, known as CAPS. The program provides mentoring and financial support to junior faculty pursuing clinical research. Geller's research topic is "Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Ovarian Cancer."

Kersey honored at Cancer Center Picnic
Founding Director Dr. John Kersey was honored for his leadership during the annual Cancer Center Picnic June 7, 2007, at Newell Park in St. Paul. Faculty and staff shared light-hearted anecdotes about Dr. Kersey's history at the Cancer Center. Visit the Cancer Center Web site to see photos from the event.

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Education and Events

Cancer Benefit Fund Rockin' for a Cure
7 p.m. Friday, June 15, Schroeder's Bar & Grill, 605 Front Ave., St. Paul
The Cancer Benefit Fund invites Cancer Center members, staff, and their families to Rockin' for a Cure with the Rockin' Hollywoods. A portion of the proceeds will be given to the Cancer Center. Admission is $10 with a prepaid ticket or $12 at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 651-636-4788.

Recruitment Seminars: Prostate Cancer Researcher

Monday, June 18, 2007, 10-11 a.m., 2-520 MoosT
"Ack1 tyrosine kinase in prostate cancer: A new KId on the block"
Nupam Mahajan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 10-11 a.m., 2-520 MoosT
"Tumorigenicity of the MDM2 oncogene: Beyond p53"
Zhuo Zhang, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Monday, June 25, 2007, 10-11 a.m., 2-520 MoosT
"STAT3, a molecular target for prostate cancer"
Beverly E. Barton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Medicine &
Dentistry of New Jersey

The 5th Annual International Conference on Transposition and Animal Biotechnology
June 21-22, 2007, McNamara Alumni Center
Recent advances in transposon research include the exploitation of an array of invertebrate transposons in vertebrate models, and fish transposons in mammalian systems. This meeting will explore the use of transposons for gene discovery and gene transfer. Session topics include: transposon biology, gene therapy, animal biotechnology, and gene discovery. The goal of this conference is to serve as a key forum for information exchange and development of transposon tools for genetic applications from functional genomics to molecular medicine. Invited speakers, schedule of events, and registration information can be found online at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Transposon Research Web site.

Children's Cancer Research Fund 5th Annual Time to Fly™ Walk/Run
Saturday, June 23, 2007, Harriet Island, St. Paul
Plan to bring your family and friends to join the race against childhood cancer at the fifth annual Time to Fly™ Walk/Run. This family-oriented event offers something for everyone, from the recreational walker to the competitive runner. Events include: 5K walk, 10K and 5K runs, and 1K/2K Kids' Fun Runs. To register or for more information, visit the Children's Cancer Research Fund Web site.

Macy's Glamorama advance tickets available
Friday, August 17, 2007, 8 p.m., Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis
Advance tickets for Macy's Glamorama are available now, before they go on sale to the public. Some ticket levels offered include a pre-show party at Chambers at 6:30 p.m. Also new this year is another GLAM event, Prelude to Glam, on Saturday, July 28, at an estate in Eden Prairie. To purchase your tickets now, download the order form (PDF) or call 952-893-9355. Tickets will also be available on the CCRF Web site on June 7. For more information visit the CCRF Web site.

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Cancer Center Program Meetings

Cancer Epidemiology Interest Group
Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m., A110 Mayo
Linkage disequilibrium-based assessment of ovarian and breast cancer candidate genes
Ellen L. Goode, Ph.D., M.P.H. , Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

RSVP by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13, to Logan Spector at spector@epi.umn.edu.

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Funding News and Opportunities

Notice of Intent to Publish a Limited Solicitation for Pilot Projects in Informatics for Clinical and Translational Science Awards
(NOT-RR-07-012)
National Center for Research Resources
Award Amounts: $500,000 to $1,000,000 total costs per year/two years

Omics and Variable Responses to CAM: Secondary Analysis of CAM Clinical Trials (R01)(PAR-07-377)
(R21)(PAR-07-378)
Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): August 14, 2007, 2008, 2009
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages examination of differences in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics that may be responsible for variations in individual responses to complementary and alternative medicine or bioactive food component interventions using samples obtained from ongoing and completed clinical studies. Please note there are two funding mechanisms for this grant opportunity.

Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities
(R01)(PAR-07-379)
(R21)(PAR-07-380)
Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): September 19, 2007, September 19, 2008, September 18, 2009
The National Institutes of Health issues this FOA to solicit research project grant applications (R01) and exploratory/developmental research grant applications (R21) employing behavioral and social science theories, concepts, and methods (1) to improve understanding of the causes of disparities in health and disability among the various populations of the United States, and (2) to develop and test more effective interventions for reducing and eventually eliminating health disparities. The goal is to move beyond documenting the existence of health and disability disparities to addressing causes and solutions.

Biology of Breast Pre-Malignancies (R01)
(RFA-CA-07-047)
Application Receipt Date(s): November 14, 2007
Award Amount: up to $650,000 over 3 years
The emphasis of this FOA is on defining the functional, cellular, and molecular characteristics of breast pre-malignant lesions to augment and refine the classification of these lesions for determinations of risk of tumor progression. 

NCMHD Community-Based Participatory Research Initiative in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities: Intervention Research Phase (R24)
(RFA-MD-07-003)
Application Receipt Date(s): August 31, 2007
Award Amount: up to $400,000 per year
The ultimate goal of this FOA is to support disease intervention research in reducing and eliminating health disparities using community-based participatory research that is jointly conducted by health disparity communities and researchers

Visit the Funding News & Opportunities Web page to see listings previously published in Update.

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