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

Employment Opportunities

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Today's Cancer Center Seminar

Tuesday, December 4, 2007, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB
Circulating and resident endothelial colony forming cells
Mervin C. Yoder, Jr., M.D., Richard and Pauline Klingler Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine

Host: Bruce Blazar, M.D.

A peek at next week's seminar:
No seminar due to ASH annual meeting.

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

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News

Population Sciences accomplishments featured in Recognition Program; Villalta, Spector receive Recognition Awards
The Cancer Center revived its quarterly Recognition Program November 28 with an event recognizing the accomplishments of the research programs within the Population Sciences area of the Cancer Center. Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Research Program, and DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D., co-leader of the Prevention and Etiology Research Program, reported on their programs' strengths and achievements. Recognition Awards were given by the programs to Peter Villalta, Ph.D., and Logan Spector, Ph.D. Villalta coordinates Mass Spectometry Services within the Cancer Center's Analytical Biochemistry shared resource. Spector is principal investigator for multiple studies exploring causes of childhood cancer, and he manages the Cancer Epidemiology Interest Group seminars.

Visit the Web site for a summary of the Recognition Program event and to view the presentation slides.

Cancer Center faculty recognized for President's Club membership
During the Cancer Center's Recognition Program event November 28, Patty Porter, vice president of development for the Minnesota Medical Foundation, presented certificates to Cancer Center faculty in recognition of their financial support at a level qualifying them for membership in the President's Club, the University's premier donor society. Those recognized included Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., and Sharon Murphy, Ph.D.; Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., and his wife, Margaret; and Julie Ross, Ph.D. Porter acknowledged the effort underway to raise funds for the John H. Kersey Chair in Cancer Research, and stressed how faculty and staff participation sends a clear message to the public about our belief in the research taking place at the Cancer Center.

Cancer Center members collaborate on MRS research presented at Radiological Society annual meeting
Cancer Center members Michael Garwood, Ph.D., and Patrick Bolan, Ph.D., were listed as co-authors of an abstract on magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) presented by Sima Meisamy, M.D., at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, which took place last month in Chicago. The abstract described research on using MRS to predict response to treatment in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer. Meisamy trained at the University of Minnesota's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and continues to actively work with the CMRR team.

Cancer Center researchers to present at ASH meeting
Cancer Center researchers and University of Minnesota colleagues will be among the presenters at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta December 8-12, 2007. If you or someone from your laboratory is giving an oral or poster presentation at ASH, and you are not yet listed on the Cancer Center Web site, please e-mail Gina Kennedy, kenne069@umn.edu, to be included on the list and in a future edition of Update.

Education Spotlight Session
Mark T. Reding, M.D., is co-chair of "Spotlight on Thrombosis Prevention and Management in High-Risk Clinical Situations ('Riding the Tiger')"

Education Program
Vicki A. Morrison, M.D., will present "Infectious Complications in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia" during the "Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia" session.

Marcie Tomblyn, M.D., M.S., will present "Are There Circumstances in which Phase II Study Results Should Be Practice-Changing?" during the "Pitfalls of Clinical Trials and Their Interpretation" session.

Daniel Weisdorf, M.D., is the chair of the "Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant" session; he will present "GVHD: The Nuts and Bolts of Patient Management" at the session.

Scientific Program
Jeffrey Miller, M.D., will present "The Role of Natural Killer Cells in Transplantation Therapies" during the Scientific Committee on Transplantation Biology's "Natural Killer Cells: Biology and Therapy" session.

Poster presentation
Won-Il Kim, graduate student, Largaespada lab, "Continued expression of the NRAS(G12V) oncogene is required for the maintenance of acute myeloid leukemia induced in cooperation with MLL-AF9." (Kim is also a recipient of an ASH travel award for this meeting.)

New members

Bradley J. Benson, M.D.
Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine and General Pediatrics
Program areas of interest: Prevention and Etiology/Outcomes and Survivorship
Clinical focus: Primary care of adult survivors of childhood cancer
Research interests: Late effects and long-term follow-up of childhood cancer survivors and methods to improve resident education and subsequent competence in the care of these patients.

Bradley P. Carlin, Ph.D
Mayo Professor in Public Health, Division of Biostatistics
Program areas of interest: Prevention and Etiology/Outcomes and Survivorship
Research interests: Statistical modeling of cancer-related data, especially spatio-temporal trends in cancer, exploring differences among racial and ethnic groups; obtaining smooth maps for cancer control and epidemiology.

William A. Corrigall, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Program areas of interest: Translational Research, Prevention and Etiology
Research interests: Behavioral neuroscience and central nervous system mechanisms of drug abuse, with particular expertise in nicotine dependence; translational research with an emphasis on mechanism discovery and development relevant to smoking cessation medications; validation of preclinical animal and human experimental research models.

Amy L. Jonson, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health/Gynecologic Oncology
Program area of interest: Women's Cancer Program
Research interests: Translational research and gynecologic oncology clinical treatment protocols.

Brian L. McClune, D.O.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation
Program area of interest: Transplant Biology and Therapy
Clinical focus: Hematologic malignancies
Research interests: Research on improvement of therapies for multiple myeloma before and after transplantation and clinical trials related to treatment and supportive care of our transplant patients with varied hematologic malignancies.

David H. McKenna, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Division of Transfusion Medicine
Program area of interest: Translational Research (clinical production scale-up, cellular therapy)
Clinical focus: Cellular therapy for hematologic and non-hematologic malignancies
Research interests: Umbilical cord blood research (e.g. stem cell isolation and characterization), quality assurance/quality control in cellular therapy, and translational research/clinical scale-up of biotherapeutics.

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Education and Events

Buy gifts and support sarcoma research at the U of M
Tuesday, December 4, 2007, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., next to the Outside In on the
second floor of the Phillips-Wangensteen Building
Proceeds support sarcoma research and early detection.

Cancer Biology Journal Club
Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 12-1 p.m., 2-120 Moos Tower
Majda Haznadar will discuss "Tip60 is a haplo-insufficient tumour suppressor required for an oncogene-induced DNA damage response." Nature 2007;448: 1063-1069.

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, December 5, 2007, 4 p.m., 450 CCRB
Case Presentation: "Anemia"
Jill Beck, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT

Quality of Life Task Force Informational Meeting
Thursday, December 6, 2007, 12:30-2 p.m., American Cancer Society, 2520 Pilot Knob Road, Suite 150, Mendota Heights
Attendees will discuss quality-of-life and survivorship issues that this group may address, such as: Creating a survivor care plan template and/or providing recommendations as to what should be included in a survivor care plan; collecting hospice data to identify disparities in use and/or care, creating a palliative care education program for doctors in rural Minnesota; working with members from community organizations to increase the number of palliative care providers who belong to racial/ethnic communities; helping remove barriers to treatment like transportation challenges. RSVP to Anna Ourada at 800-582-5152 or anna.ourada@cancer.org. Attendance or an expression of interest will not commit you to anything more than a sharing of ideas. Teleconferencing is available by dialing 866-323-8218 and entering pass code 5499627#.

Special Seminar
Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 2-3 p.m., 450 CCRB
Molecular pathogenesis of a potential bioterrorism agent: Francisella tularensis
J. Calvin Kouokam, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville

Dr. Kouokam is a candidate for a postdoctoral position in the Department of Comparative Oncology.

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Cancer Center Program Meetings

Immunology Program Meeting
Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 1:30-2:30 p.m., 6-101 NHH
In vitro expansion of functional Treg from umbilical cord blood or adult peripheral blood and their use to ameliorate disease in a xenogeneic model of GVHD
Keli Hippen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center Lecture
Friday, December 7, 2007, 12-1 p.m., 450 CCRB
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: The most important treaty you've never heard of
Doug Blanke, J.D., Director, Tobacco Law Center, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

Cancer Biology Research Club
Friday, December 7, 2007
No meeting is scheduled due to the ASH annual meeting.

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

BMT Conference
Monday, December 9, 2007
No conference is scheduled due to the ASH annual meeting.

For a complete schedule, visit the Web site.

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Funding News and Opportunities

No funding news or grant announcements were submitted to Update this week.

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

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Employment Opportunities

Faculty in Cancer Genetics
The University of Minnesota Cancer Center, in collaboration with the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, is conducting a search for a tenured or tenure track professor at any level in the general area of genetic mechanisms relevant to cancer development studied using model organisms. The Cancer Center will devote a competitive salary, start up package, and modern laboratory space, with access to state-of-the-art core facilities in genomics/proteomics, bioinformatics, transgenics, stem cell technology, imaging, tissue procurement, flow cytometry, statistics, analytical chemistry and cell therapy. The candidate must have a Ph.D. or M.D., at least three years of postdoctoral experience, and evidence of high quality research productivity. Emphasis will be placed on the potential for interaction with existing research programs in the Cancer Center and interest in cancer genetics, cancer gene function and identification, genomics, cancer susceptibility genes, or hereditary cancer. The person selected will be expected to develop an independent, funded research program and participate in the teaching mission of the department.

Interested individuals should submit a curriculum vitae, a brief statement of current and future research, and three letters of references. Apply online to requisition number 152398 (tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor) or requisition number 152399 (tenured Associate or Full Professor). Review of applications will begin in January 2008 and the position will remain open until filled.

Search Chair: David Largaespada, Ph.D.

For more information visit the Cancer Center Employment Web page.

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