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 August 4 and 18. Please submit items to Gina Kennedy, kenne069@umn.edu, by noon Friday before each publication date.


In This Issue

Director's Message

News

Education and Events

Program Meetings

Funding News and Opportunities

 

Director's Message

I'm often asked this question: What is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center?

I'm sure that when you tell some of your friends and relatives that you're with the Masonic Cancer Center, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, that you also are asked the same question.

To have a ready answer for the next time you're asked this question, I'd like to share with you this article: "NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers: Why they matter." It was written by Linda Weiss, Ph.D., chief of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Centers Branch Office of Centers, Training, and Resources. I think it provides a clear explanation of the purpose of NCI-designated cancer centers, and I encourage you to read it to better understand our unique role.

As one of only two NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in Minnesota and the only one in the greater Twin Cities region, we are leaders in cancer research, treatment, and education. Our efforts are contributing to numerous advances in the understanding and treatment of cancer that are helping increasing numbers of patients. We can take great pride in who we are and what we do!

Douglas Yee, M.D.
Director

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News

Members in the news

  • Douglas Yee, M.D. , director, Masonic Cancer Center, was quoted in the July 19, 2009 Star Tribune about a breast cancer awareness bill sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The bill, intended to fund a public education campaign and research on breast cancer in women younger than 45, has drawn debate among breast cancer organizations and groups.
  • Logan Spector, Ph.D. , Prevention and Etiology Research Program, was quoted in news reports by WCCO Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, FOX 9 News, Science Daily, and other outlets about research that found childhood cancer risk rises with mother's age. Spector and Kimberly Johnson, Ph.D. , postdoctoral fellow in pediatric epidemiology, led the research team on this study, published in the July issue of Epidemiology.
  • Kristin Anderson, Ph.D. , Prevention and Etiology Research Program, was cited in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about her recent study that consumption of burned meat increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
  • Research by Jian-Min Yuan, M.D. , Ph.D. , Prevention and Etiology Research Program, about a byproduct in urine that may help determine a smoker's risk of developing lung cancer, was reported on WSYR-TV, Syracuse, N.Y.
  • Daniel Weisdorf, M.D. , and Dan Kaufman, M.D. , Ph.D. , both of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Research Program, were quoted in a July 8 Minnesota Daily article about the loosening of federal restrictions on stem cell research.

Masonic Cancer Center researchers awarded NIH grants
Three University of Minnesota cancer scientists were each recently awarded $100,000 grants from the National Institutes of Health for research on pediatric cancer. The scientists, all with the University's Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, include:

  • Julie Ross, Ph.D. , professor and director, Division of Pediatric Epidemiology & Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, will collaborate with David Largaespada, Ph.D. , on a laboratory study of folic acid to investigate whether folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may protect against the occurrence of brain tumors in offspring. Largaespada leads the cancer center's Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Research Program.
  • Jen Poynter, Ph.D. , assistant professor, pediatric epidemiology, will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of genetic changes that occur in pediatric germ cell tumors (the cells that develop into mature eggs and sperm). While the cause of these tumors is unknown, researchers believe they occur during fetal development.
  • Anne Jurek, Ph.D. , assistant professor, pediatric epidemiology, will examine how well information from questionnaires completed by study participants corresponds to information found in their medical records.

Stick It To Cancer Hockey Tournament donates $55,000 for breast cancer research
Representatives from the Stick It To Cancer Tournament visited the Masonic Cancer Center July 15, 2009 to present a check for $55,000 for breast cancer research. Douglas Yee, M.D. , director, met with the tournament representatives to thank them for the donation and to discuss recent advances in breast cancer research. The Masonic Cancer Center has been the designated recipient of funds raised at the tournament for four years. Over 70 girls' and women's hockey teams competed in the tournament last April at the National Sports Center Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. Read more.

Kudos
John Wagner, M.D. , co-leader, Transplant Biology and Therapy Research Program, was recently awarded the Simon Gratz Research Prize for alumni of Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. The award is given to alumni whose work in the last five years has most advanced the medical or surgical treatment of disease, or whose research has produced results with real practical value.

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Education and Events

Ice Cream Social
Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 2 p.m. , 2nd floor, Moos Tower
The Masonic Cancer Center's August Ice Cream Social will be sponsored by the Sachdev and Schwertfeger labs and held on 2nd floor Moos Tower. A serving of ice cream with fixings is $1.

Save the Date: Program in Health Disparities Research Poster Session and Awards Dinner
Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 4:30 p.m. poster session; 5:15 p.m. awards dinner, Minneapolis Urban League
The Program in Health Disparities Research (PHDR) will host a poster session and awards dinner for the Planning Grants in Health Disparities Research Program. Learn about the research progress of previous grantees and other PHDR members, and see the 2009 awardees present their research plans to the public.

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

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

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Funding News and Opportunities

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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