Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota

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Masonic Cancer Center of the University of Minnesota

Update will have a biweekly schedule during the summer. Upcoming publication dates are: July 21, and August 4 and 18. Please submit items to Gina Kennedy, kenne069@umn.edu, by noon Friday before each publication date.


In This Issue

News

Shared Resources Announcements

Education and Events

Program Meetings

Funding News and Opportunities

 

News

Members in the news
Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., associate director for cancer control and prevention, was quoted in news reports by WCCO Radio and Pioneer Press about the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act recently signed into law by President Obama. This new law gives the Food and Drug Administration expanded authority over the manufacture, marketing, and sale of tobacco products. Tobacco research conducted by Hatsukami, Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of the Chemoprevention and Carcinogenesis Research Program, and their colleagues helped culminate in the passage of this new federal law. Examples of this research include a paper authored several years ago by Hecht and Hatsukami that found light and ultra-light cigarettes are just as harmful as regular cigarettes, and marketing messages that imply otherwise are misleading. More recently, Hatsukami led The Strategic Dialogue on Tobacco Harm Reduction, a group of the nation's leading tobacco control researchers and policy experts who earlier this year called for regulatory control of all tobacco products.

ACS Chief Medical Officer Brawley visits cancer center
Masonic Cancer Center researchers recently met with Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society (ACS), Atlanta, to show him the cancer center and tell him about some of the research being done with the support of ACS funding. James McCarthy, Ph.D., leader of the Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program and member of the ACS Research Council, and Bruce Peterson, M.D., cancer center member and chair-elect of the ACS Board, Midwest Division, facilitated Brawley's visit. Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of the Chemoprevention and Carcinogenesis Research Program and an ACS Research Professor, and Michael Verneris, M.D., member of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Research Program and recipient of an ACS grant, met with Brawley about their respective research. The following researchers and ACS funding recipients met informally with Brawley during his visit: Carol Lange, Ph.D.; Wei Chen, M.D., Ph.D.,; Kolawole Okuyemi, M.D., M.P.H.; Kaylee Schwertfeger, Ph.D.; John Ohlfest, Ph.D.; and Liz Pluhar, V.M.D., Ph.D.

Kudos

  • Bruce Blazar, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Research Program, has been named a Regents Professor. The Regents Professorship serves as the highest recognition for faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research, and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good. Once designated a Regents Professor, faculty members hold that title for as long as they remain with the University. There are only 29 Regents Professors at the University.
  • Robert Cormier, Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program, has been named the St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic chair in cancer biology. The honor extends the St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic support of research at the Medical School when it established a chair in 2002 and committed $1.2 million over 10 years. Read more.
  • Arkadiusz Dudek, M.D., Ph.D., Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program, has been named Eminent Scientist of the Year 2009 by the International Research Promotion Council, an organization whose goal it is "to fight relentlessly for the social and economic development of the emerging economies by promoting research and developmental programs in science, medicine and other related areas."
  • Jill Schappa, Modiano lab, is the recipient of the Robert L. Kelly Memorial Scholarship awarded by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. Schappa, a student in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is comparing canine genotypes to phenotypes to determine their relationships to the development of hemangiosarcoma in Golden Retrievers.

Jurek receives NCI grant to study epidemiologic methods
Anne M. Jurek, Ph.D., Prevention and Etiology Research Program, is principal investigator on a newly-awarded grant focusing on epidemiologic methods. The R03 grant, from the National Cancer Institute, will study "Self-report versus medical record data in a study of infant leukemia." It will determine the validity of a mother's self-reported events around pregnancy by comparing that data to her medical record and adjust the odds ratio estimates from the maternal interview for misclassification using uncertainty analysis. Julie A. Ross, Ph.D., is co-investigator on the grant.

ACS IRG Committee announces research project awards, next application deadline
Masonic Cancer Center's American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) Committee has completed its review of the applications received from the past submission deadline and awarded following three research projects:

  • Laura S Gammill, Ph.D., Department of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, "Modeling metastasis: The role of DNMT3b-mediated methylation"
  • Subbaya Subramanian, Ph.D., Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, "Role of MicroRNAs in malignant transformation of peripheral nerve sheath tumor"
  • Nicola Philpott, Ph.D., Department of Medicine, "Targeted treatment of EBV-induced malignancies using non-integrating lentiviral vectors"

The ACS IRG award is $30,000 in direct costs to support the initiation of promising cancer-related research projects by assistant professors. The next application deadline is Monday, October 26, 2009. Instructions and application forms are available by contacting LeAnn Micek (626-1926 or micek003@umn.edu).

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Shared Resources Announcements

Online request forms available for Biomedical Informatics support
Online forms are now available on the Masonic Cancer Center Web site for Biomedical Informatics project and data requests.

  • Project Request Form: Example projects would be to build a database or web application, or to provide data integration.
  • Data Request Form: Use this form to request a custom report from OnCore or other Biomedical Informatics applications.

Mouse Genetics Laboratory Shared Resource to hold weekly consultation meetings
Mouse Genetics Laboratory Shared Resource co-directors David Largaespada, Ph.D., and Anindya Bagchi, Ph.D., will hold weekly consultation meetings on Mondays at 2 p.m. If you are interested in meeting about an upcoming project, please contact Laura Bendzick (612-626-3743, green711@umn.edu) and let her know you are coming.

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Education and Events

Melanoma Interdisciplinary Group
 Tuesday, July 7, 4:30 p.m., Mayo C456
Discussion of melanoma ASCO abstracts. For more information, contact Arkadiusz Dudek, M.D., Ph.D.

Rein in Sarcoma 'Party in the Park'
Monday, July 20, 2009, 6-9:30 p.m., Cafesjian's Carousel and Como Park Visitors Center, St. Paul
Rein in Sarcoma's 9th annual Party in the Park will feature unlimited carousel rides, entertainment, a silent auction, and children's activities. University of Minnesota sarcoma doctors and researchers will be at the event to answer questions about sarcoma. Rein in Sarcoma raises funds for sarcoma research and physician education at the University of Minnesota, and provides hope and relief for those affected by sarcoma. Suggested donation to attend is $15 per individual, or $20 per family. For more information about Rein in Sarcoma and the Party in the Park, visit the Rein in Sarcoma Web site.

Before the public event, The Karen Wyckoff Rein in Sarcoma Foundation will host a free picnic from 4:30 to 6 p.m. for sarcoma survivors, patients, loved ones, and those who have lost someone to sarcoma. You must register to attend the picnic.

Call for abstracts: Women's Health Research Conference
Monday, September 21, 2009, McNamara Alumni Center, University of Minnesota
"A Focus on Women's Mental Health and Neurosciences" is the theme for the
6th annual Women's Health Research Conference presented by the University's Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health. Poster abstracts are being accepted on any topics regarding women's health or gender-specific research across the lifespan. The deadline for award consideration has been extended to Wednesday, July 15. If you do not wish to be considered for an award, you may submit an abstract as late as August 3 and you will be recognized in the program. Award winners will receive a gift certificate and an opportunity to give an oral presentation at the conference. For more information, visit www.womenshealth.umn.edu, or contact wmhealth@umn.edu or 612-626-1125.

Visit the Upcoming Events Web page for more event listings.
Visit the Professional Education Web page for more conference and special lecture listings.

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Program Meetings

Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program
Thursday, July 9, 2009, 4:15 p.m., 450 MCRB
"Furan metabolite profiling reveals the involvement of glutathione mediated protein crosslinks in furan metabolism"
Ding Lu, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Peterson Lab, Masonic Cancer Center

Light refreshments will be available.

BMT Conference
Monday, July 13, 2009, 1:15-2:15 p.m., 450 MCRB
"Investigation into immune evasion mechanisms in a pre-clinical model of acute myeloid leukemia"
Justin Kline, M.D., Assistant Professor, Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago

Host: Daniel Weisdorf, M.D.

Visit the Professional Education Web page for complete program meeting schedules.

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Funding News and Opportunities

NIH

K12/CAPS Scholar Positions
The NIH K12/Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS) is calling for applications for 1-year clinical research scholar awards. The anticipated start date is August 1, 2009, pending NIH approval of the positions, candidates, and mentoring teams. Assistant professors from all schools in the Academic Health Center and other departments that conduct clinical research (human research) are eligible to apply for these awards. Researchers at affiliated institutions, including Hennepin County Medical Center and Minneapolis VA Medical Center, also are eligible.

To be eligible for consideration, the applicant must be an assistant professor and have completed at least three years of mentored training experience (e.g. NIH K award or equivalent mentored career development award); have completed an M.S. degree in clinical research or have an equivalent research degree; and have a plan for an NIH grant to be submitted by the end of the one-year award period.

If interested, please see the full announcement and application instructions for details. Contact the CAPS Coordinator with questions regarding the application process (tharp@epi.umn.edu). Additional contacts for the CAPS program are: Russell V. Luepker, M.D., M.S., CAPS Program Director (luepker@epi.umn.edu); James D. Neaton, Ph.D., M.S., CAPS Co-Director (jim@ccbr.umn.edu), and Elizabeth R. Seaquist, M.D., CAPS Co-Director (seaqu001@umn.edu).

DOD:

Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP)
Department of Defense
Application Receipt Date(s): See below.
Funding: See program announcement.

Non-federal:

Promise Grants - Special Focus: Prevention
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Application Receipt Date(s): Preapplication - July 15, 2009; Full Application - December 7, 2009
Funding: $5 million total costs (direct and indirect) a 3-5 year project period

Visit the Funding News & Opportunities Web page to see listings previously published in Update. Also, a list of organizations that provide funding for cancer research is provided on our Research Funding Resources page.

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