Masonic Cancer Center of the University of Minnesota

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

News

Education and Events

Funding News and Opportunities

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News

Cancer Center members in the news

Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of Cancer Center's Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, was quoted about his research study showing that users of smokeless tobacco are exposed to higher amounts of tobacco-specific carcinogenic molecules than cigarettes smokers, on FoxNews.com, Web MD, and Science Daily. Results of the study, published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, were also reported on WCCO-TV news.

Doug Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director, discussed breast cancer, cancer research, and the Masonic Cancer Center on WCCO radio's Fairview On Call program Sunday, August 12. The program was hosted by Gretchen Phillips, M.D., a Fairview family medicine physician.

Cancer Center members speak about cancer, cancer research

Robert Fecik, Ph.D., Cancer Center member, will speak about his cancer research at the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kickoff Breakfast on Wednesday, August 15, at the St. Anthony Main Event Centre in Minneapolis.

Arek Dudek, M.D., Ph.D., Translational Research Program member, will present the final results of a phase 1/2 study of biweekly pemetrexed and gemcitabine in patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma at the 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul, South Korea on September 4.

Marva Bohen, R.N. , director of Outreach and Education, provided cancer information at Farm Fest in Redwood County, August 7-9. The Masonic Cancer Center exhibit focused on skin cancer, but information was provided on other cancers as well. Farm Fest is one of the biggest farm shows in the nation and is attended by farm families from Minnesota and surrounding states. The Sage Screening program partnered with her for this event and provided information about the state screening programs available to low income Minnesotans for breast and cervical cancer.

Kudos
Congratulations to Jennifer Warren, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Program of Health Disparities Research on her receipt of a two-year postdoctoral fellowship award of $80,000 from the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. The award will fund her research project "Web-based cessation intervention among African American smokers." Warren's faculty mentors are Cancer Center members Kolawole Okuyemi, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Program in Health Disparities Research, and Jasjit Ahluwalia, M.D., M.P.H., executive director of the Office of Clinical Research.

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Education and Events

Pediatric Cancer and Blood Diseases Conference
Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 4 p.m., 450 CCRB
Undifferentiated Sarcoma of the Liver
Heather Stefanski, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Heme/Onc/BMT

Cancer Epidemiology Interest Group
Friday, August 17, 2007, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., A-110 Mayo
Childhood cancer in Minnesota, 1988-2004
Kim Johnson, A.B.D., Division of Epidemiology and Community Health; Susan Puumala, Ph.D. student, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health; and Logan Spector, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics

For a complete schedule visit the Web site.

Macy's Glamorama advance tickets available
Friday, August 17, 2007, 8 p.m., Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis
Tickets are now on sale for Macy's Glamorama, benefiting the Children's Cancer Research fund. Some ticket levels offered include a pre-show party at Chambers at 6:30 p.m. For more information visit the CCRF Web site or call 952-893-9395.

Community Health Talk
Saturday, August 18, 2007, 11 a.m., Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 451 Central Ave., St. Paul
The public is invited to a free educational program about colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, and the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer. Speakers include Levi Downs Jr., M.D., gynecologic oncologist and Cancer Center researcher, and Sharon Dykes, M.D., of Colon and Rectal Surgery Associates, Ltd., in St. Paul. Free food and a gift will be provided for those who attend. The event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Masonic Cancer Center, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, and Stairstep Foundation. For more information contact Makeisha Nesbitt, 651-255-8138.

The Minnesota Chemoprevention Consortium - MC²
Friday, September 28, 2007, 12-3 p.m., 450 CCRB
MC² is a new venture formed collaboratively by investigators at the Masonic Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Hormel Institute, Southern Research and Outreach Center, and Hormel Foods. The mission of the consortium is to facilitate and implement interdisciplinary agent development and delivery for cancer prevention. The meeting agenda is:

12:00-12:30 - Paul Limburg, M.D., M.P.H.: "Current funding opportunities and discussion of collaborative projects"

12:30-1:30- Zigang Dong, M.D., Ph.D., and Ann Bode, Ph.D.: "Overview of chemoprevention research at the Hormel Institute"

1:30-2:30 - Vince Fritz, Ph.D., and Phil Minerich: "Food based approaches to chemoprevention"

2:30-3:00 -Bruce Blazar, M.D., "The Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Minnesota"

Lunch will be provided. Please reply to carls307@umn.edu if you plan to attend

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Funding News and Opportunities

Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative - Study Investigators (U01)
(RFA-HG-07-012)
National Cancer Institute
Application Receipt Date(s): October 18, 2007
Funding: $750,000 in direct costs for project period July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide support for investigative groups to conduct genome-wide association (GWA) genotyping and/or replication studies, using data and specimens from human subjects on whom information is available for conditions/traits of public health importance and relevant environmental exposures. It includes support for sharing the specimens and data and analyzing the resulting data as part of the NIH-wide Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI).

Epidemiologic Investigation of Putative Causal Genetic Variants—Study Investigators (U01)
(RFA-HG-07-014)
National Cancer Institute
Application Receipt Date(s): November 19, 2007
Funding: up to 4 years, direct costs up to $1.1mil in FY08 and FY09, $1.2 in FY10 and FY11.
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide support for the investigation, in well-characterized population studies, of genetic variants identified as potentially causally associated with complex diseases in genome-wide association (GWA) and other genetic studies, with the aim of widespread sharing of the resulting population-based descriptive and association data to accelerate the understanding of genes related to complex diseases.

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

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