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

Today's Cancer Center Seminar

News

Education and Events

Cancer Center Program Meetings

Funding News and Opportunities

 

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Today's Cancer Center Seminar

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB
Activated AKT accelerates mammary tumorigenesis in MMTV-c-ErbB2 mice without over-expression of ErbB3
Steven M. Anderson, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Health Science Center

Hosts: Carol Lange, Ph.D., and Kaylee Schwertfeger, Ph.D.

A peek at next week's seminar:
Metabolic regulation of gene expression in cancer: where the Warburg Effect meets chromatin
Avtar Roopra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Host: Carol Lange, Ph.D.

Visit the Cancer Center Seminar Series calendar for a complete schedule of lectures.

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News

Cancer Center members in the news
Douglas Yee, M.D., and Tufia Haddad, M.D., wrote an article about advances in breast cancer research for the September issue of Minnesota Physician.

Robert Fecik, Ph.D., was featured in a September 27 story about alcohol increasing the risk of breast cancer on KMSP-TV Fox 9.

Cancer Center members receive grants
Louis Mansky, Ph.D., Denis Clohisy, M.D., and Xianzheng Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., have each been selected from 26 applicants to receive a 2007 Academic Health Center Translational Research Grant of $200,000 for two years. Mansky's study is "Novel combination therapy for HIV"; Clohisy's study is "Osteoclast-directed bone cancer treatment"; and Zhou's study is "Sleeping Beauty-mediated umbilical cord blood T-cell therapy for refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia."

Jaime Modiano, V.M.D., Ph.D., and long-term collaborator Matthew Breen, Ph.D., professor of genomics at North Carolina State University, received a five-year $950,000 RO1 grant from the National Cancer Institute to define how genetic background influences the characteristics and behavior of tumors. They will conduct this research in dogs and then examine if similar characteristics exist in homologous human tumors as a means to begin to define traits that contribute to risk and to tumor progression. .

Douglas Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director and Breast Cancer Program leader, is one of three cancer researchers in the United States who are inaugural recipients of the 2007 Breast Cancer Research Foundation/American Association of Cancer Research grants in translational breast cancer research. The total grant award of $700,000 will be shared equally by the three recipients. Yee will use his grant to look at gene expression profiling to predict response to anti-IGF therapy. This research builds upon his long-term work that has demonstrated that the insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF1R) is an excellent target for breast cancer therapy.

Ashok Saluja, Ph.D., member of the Translational Research Program, was awarded $1,420,250 over the next five years by the National Institutes of Health for his research project, "The inhibition of HSP70 induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells."

Cancer Center members honored by Children's Cancer Research Fund
John Kersey, M.D., founding director emeritus, received the Dream Maker Award and Brenda Weigel, M.D., Translational Research Program, received the Butterfly Award at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Children's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF). The Dream Maker Award is given to individuals who have shown committed, dedicated, and outstanding support of the CCRF and the battle against childhood cancer. Weigel received the Butterfly Award in the medical category, which recognizes members of the medical community of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center who have shown exceptional levels of service.

Kudos
Congratulations to Mustafa al'Absi, Ph.D., member of the Prevention and Etiology Program, who has been named the first director of the new Duluth Medical Research Institute.

David Rothenberger, M.D., Cancer Center associate director for clinical research, was selected by his peers to be included in the 2007-2008 Best Doctors in America database.

New breast cancer quiz on Cancer Center Web site
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Test your knowledge of breast cancer prevalence, risk, and screening with a new quiz available on the Cancer Center Web site.

Call for abstracts for Marching Toward Cancer Prevention Workshop
Cancer members are invited to submit presentation/poster abstracts for the upcoming Marching Toward Cancer Prevention Workshop, in coordination with the upcoming Marching Toward Cancer Prevention events scheduled for March 27-29, 2008, in Rochester, Minn. The abstract submission deadline is Friday, October 12, 2007. This interactive workshop, will explore concepts of cancer prevention, early detection and screening. Local, state and national organizations will share outreach projects that may be replicated in local communities. Projects will be shared via oral and poster presentations. Topics should reflect how your organization is working to further cancer prevention efforts at the community level. To download instructions and an application form click here.

New members

Mark L. Cannon, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease
Program area(s) of interest: Cancer Progression and Metastasis, Immunology, Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer and Transplant Biology and Therapy
Research interest: Kaposi's sarcoma virus (KSHV) and the role of the viral GPCR in angiogenesis and viral reactivation. Currently we are focusing on vGPCR signaling via the protein tyrosine phosphatases and FAK kinase. These pathways are dysregulated in various malignancies and likely play a role in the biology of Kaposi's sarcoma.

David R. Dengel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology
Co-director, Body Composition and Human Performance (BCHP) Core at the General Clinical Research Center
Director, Vascular Biology Laboratory and the Exercise Testing Laboratory
Program area(s) of interest: Outcomes and Survivorship, Prevention and Etiology
Clinical focus: Childhood cancer, hematologic malignancies
Research interest: Insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction in childhood cancer survivors and the effects of cancer treatments on vascular structure and function

Purvi Gada, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology and Transplantation
Program area of interest: Breast cancer research
Research interest: Treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies with a secondary interest in breast cancer and hematologic malignancies
Clinical focus: Colorectal cancer, breast cancer, hematologic malignancies

Gunda I. Georg, Ph.D.
Professor and Head, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Robert Vince Endowed Chair, McKnight Presidential Chair in Medicinal Chemistry
Director, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development
Program area of interest: Translational Research
Research interest: Design, synthesis and evaluation of synthetic and natural product-derived anticancer drugs; drug discovery by HTS

Timothy C. Hallstrom, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology/Transplantation
Program area(s) of interest: Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer, Translational Research
Research interest: Molecular regulation of E2F1 (transcription factor) apoptosis induction by the PI3K/Akt survival signaling pathway in cancer; use of genomic and computations approaches to predict probability of recurrence of childhood cancers and efficacious therapeutics for patients who are likely to be resistant to conventional chemotherapy.

L'Aurelle A. Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology
Program area(s) of interest: Translational Research, Prevention and Etiology
Research interest: Pharmacokinetic and dynamic studies in the pediatric population, with a focus on how environmental factors (e.g., obesity, exposure to secondhand smoke) affect drug metabolism in children undergoing chemotherapy
Clinical focus: Childhood cancer, hematologic malignancies

Sharon J. Rolnick, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Research, Health Partners Research Foundation
Program area(s) of interest: Prevention and Etiology
Research interest: Women's health, cancer prevention

Virginia Seybold, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Program area(s) of interest: Translational Research
Research interest: Cancer pain and whether chemical mediators of cancer cells are directly responsible for causing long term changes in the functional properties of sensory neurons.
Clinical focus: Bone/soft tissue cancer

Brian G. Southwell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Director, Graduate Studies
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
Program area(s) of interest: Prevention and Etiology
Research interest: Evaluation research on interventions and media campaigns related to cancer screening and prevention. Dr. Southwell worked with the cancer group at the CDC in the 1990s.

Erica D. Warlick, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology/Transplantation
Program area(s) of interest: Translational Research
Research interest: Understanding the biology of and developing innovative treatments for hematologic malignancies, with a focus on translating pre-clinical findings from the laboratory to clinical trials.
Clinical focus: Hematologic malignancies

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation seeking scientific director
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is seeking a scientific director with strong scientific credentials, familiarity with a broad range of basic and clinical cancer-related research and extremely strong writing and communications skills. Experience outside of a laboratory environment is strongly preferred. For more information contact Lorraine W. Egan, Executive Director, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 675 Third Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017; tel. 212-455-0541, email
lorraine.egan@drcrf.org.

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Education and Events

Cancer Biology Journal Club
Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12-1 p.m. 2-120 MoosT
Jeannette Zinggeler Berg, Murphy lab, will discuss "Heat Shock Factor 1 is a Powerful Multifaceted Modifier of Carcinogenesis," by Dai et al. Cell 2006;130:1005-1018.

The Cancer Biology Journal Club is held every Wednesday. For more information contact Sonja Johnson (john4368@umn.edu) or Rachel Bergerson (sapl0005@umn.edu).

Pediatric Cancer and Blood Diseases Conference
Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 4 p.m., 450 CCRB
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Jill Beck, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT
and
Sickle Cell Disease
Marcy Ellwein, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT

Cancer U: Ask the Experts - Prostate Cancer: Advances in diagnosis and treatment, and what we know about diet
Thursday, October 4, 2007, 6-8 p.m., Fairview Maple Grove Medical Center, 14500 99th Ave. N. For more information visit the Web site.

Living with Breast Cancer: 6th Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Educational Conference
Saturday, October 6, 2007, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Minneapolis Convention Center
The Living for Breast Cancer conference provides education and resources for breast cancer survivors and their families and friends. At this year's conference, Susan Pappas-Varco, R.N., M.A., breast cancer program coordinator for University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, will receive an award recognizing her as one of Minnesota's leading experts in the field of patient care and breast cancer. Cancer Center members presenting at the conference include Cancer Center Director Doug Yee, M.D., who will speak during the "Clinical Trials and Advocacy: Knowledge is Power" session; Barbara Bowers, M.D., medical director for the Fairview Southdale Breast Center, will present "Oncology: Updates on the Front"; and Michael Nelson, M.D., will present "New Modalities in Imaging: The Cutting Edge." For more information about the conference and to register, visit the Breast Cancer Awareness Association Web site.

Stem Cell Research: At the Intersection of Science, Politics, Law and Culture
Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 12-1 p.m., Coffman Theater, University of Minnesota
Zach W. Hall, Ph.D., the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Visiting Professorship in Bioethics, Founding president, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

For more information and to register visit the Center for Bioethics Web site.

Special Seminar
Wednesday, October 10, 2007, 2:30-3:30 p.m., 450 CCRB
Evaluating the clinical importance of risk factors: A dialogue between clinicians and researchers
James R. Miller, D.D.S., M.S.D., Ph.D., Indianapolis, IN

Dr. Miller is a candidate for a faculty position in Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research.

Light refreshments will be served. For questions, contact Ginny Oie, 626-2902

2nd Annual Children's Cancer Research Fund Norma K.C. Ramsay, M.D., Distinguished Visiting Professor Lectureship
Friday, October 12, 2007, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB
Molecular targets in neuroblastoma: Clues to the cure
Katherine K. Matthay, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics; Chief, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology; and Mildred V. Strouss Endowed Chair for Translational Research in Pediatric Oncology, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

Cancer Benefit Fund: Dancing for Life
Saturday, October 13, 2007, 6:30-10 p.m., Medtronic, Fridley
Enjoy a variety of wines, delicious hors d'oeuvres, entertainment, dancing, a silent auction, and a chance to win a dream vacation at the Cancer Benefit Fund's annual event to raise funds for cancer research and for support for those living with cancer. So far, the Cancer Benefit Fund has raised nearly $500,000 to help in the fight against cancer. At this year's event, 75 percent of the proceeds will go to the Cancer Center; the remaining 25 percent will go to the HealthEast Healing Partners Program. Cancer Center Director Doug Yee will attend the event to thank the Cancer Benefit Fund for its support since 2002. Visit the Cancer Benefit Fund Web site for more information and to purchase tickets.

Whether or not you're able to attend the Cancer Benefit Fund event, you are invited to donate auction items including gift certificates, airline miles, or small items that could be grouped with other things for baskets. Contact Barb Fellegy at fellegy1@comcast.net if you would like to make a donation.

The Children's Cancer Research Fund's 27th Dawn of a Dream®: 'Be Amazing'
Saturday, November 3, 2007, Milwaukee Road Depot, Minneapolis
The 27th annual Dawn of a Dream Gala, presented by the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation, will be headlined by three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Keb' Mo'. Keb' Mo's music is a living link to the seminal Delta blues, which has evolved into a universally celebrated art form. The evening will also feature dinner, dancing, live and silent auction. Tickets are available for purchase on the Children's Cancer Research Fund Web site ($250/$200 tax deductible).

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Cancer Center Program Meetings

Cancer Biology Research Club
Friday, October 5, 2007, 3:30-4:30 p.m., 450 CCRB
Antigen uptake in dendritic cell subsets
Faimola Guerrero, Cancer Biology Training Grant predoctoral fellow, Pennell lab

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

BMT Conference
Monday, October 8, 2007, 1:15-2:15 p.m., Room 450, CCRB
Brain tumor vaccines: generating tumor-reactive brain-infiltrating lymphocytes in vivo
John Ohlfest, Ph.D., Director, Neurosurgery Gene Therapy Program, Departments of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

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Funding News and Opportunities

American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant
Deadline: October 15, 2007
Funding: Up to $30,000
This grant is for assistant professors who have no independent national funding and are engaged in cancer-related research. Cancer-related research includes genetic mechanisms of cancer, molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis, development of novel cancer therapeutic models and translational research, cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Applications may be obtained by calling LeAnn Micek, 612-626-1926, micek003@unn.edu.

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

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