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2008

December

Carolyn Torkelson, M.D., was quoted in a Minnesota Public Radio story about a research finding reported at last week's San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that shows why some women with breast cancer respond well to the drug Tamoxifen and others do not. Read more.

Jean Forster, Ph.D., Prevention and Etiology Program, was quoted in the Star Tribune about the difference in smoking rates among girls and boys found in a recent Minnesota Department of Health survey.

Daniel Weisdorf, M.D., co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in the Pioneer Press, Science Daily, and Minnesota Daily about a study that found age alone should not prevent older patients with leukemia and related blood diseases from receiving stem cell transplants. Brian McClune, D.O., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was also quoted in the Science Daily story. The study was presented at the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting. Weisdorf and McClune led the study in collaboration with researchers at other cancer centers. Read more.

Linda Burns, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in a Bloomberg News report that results from the latest studies make it likely that the drug Rituxin plus chemotherapy will become the new treatment standard for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Abstracts about these studies also were presented at ASH.

Anja-Katrin Bielinsky, Ph.D. Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, was mentioned in e! Science News for taking part in a study where biologists managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine—called the replisomed—that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.

Robert Kratzke, M.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, talked about cancer on the WCCO Radio program Saturday Night with Esme, hosted by Esme Murphy, on December 6. The program was a tribute to Bill Carlson, a WCCO newscaster who died of cancer last February.

Brian Van Ness, Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, was quoted in a Minnesota Daily article about his recent study that found a link between gene variations and cancer survival.

John Ohlfest, Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer and Tumor Biology and Progression programs, and Liz Pluhar, D.V.M., Ph.D., Masonic Cancer Center and College of Veterinary Medicine, were featured in a follow-up news report on KARE-11 TV about Batman, the dog who underwent brain cancer surgery and an experimental vaccine therapy in August,. The story also was featured on NBC affiliate News2 in Charleston, S.C. This brain tumor research is a collaborative effort between the Masonic Cancer Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Medical School. Funding from the Children's Cancer Research Fund is making much of this brain tumor research possible.

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., associate director of population sciences and director of The Center for Tobacco Research, was quoted about public health concerns surrounding smokeless tobacco products being marketed by tobacco companies on the Boston Globe Web site. An article was originally published by the Associated Press.

November

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., Masonic Cancer Center associate director of population sciences and director of the Tobacco Use Research Center, was quoted in an Associated Press article about public health officials' concerns about a new smokeless tobacco product being launched next year.

Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio about President-elect Obama's plans for embryonic stem cell research. Read more and listen to the interview.

Douglas Yee, M.D., director, was quoted in an article "Cancer research seeing positive impact" in the fall/winter 2008 Blue Cross Blue Shield member publication.

Michael Verneris, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, is quoted in the Bemidji Pioneer in an article regarding a former patient of his who underwent total marrow irradiation and participated in the recent 40th anniversary celebration of the University's Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program.

John Kersey, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program member and Masonic Cancer Center founding director emeritus, and David Stahl, survivor of the world first successful bone marrow transplant for malignant lymphoma, were featured in a Minnesota Public Radio news report last Tuesday. The story was done in conjunction with the 40th anniversary celebration of the University of Minnesota's bone marrow transplantation program. Kersey led the team that performed the bone marrow transplant on Stahl. Kersey and John Wagner, M.D., co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, also were featured in a Star Tribune article about the 40th anniversary reunion, where more than 500 bone marrow transplant survivors and their family members from across the country celebrated their survivorship with physicians, nurses, and others involved in their treatment.

Update readers who missed the interview with Selwyn Vickers, M.D., on WCCO Radio's Mondale and Jones on November 5 can hear it on the Web site.

Selwyn Vickers, M.D., Tumor Biology and Progression Program, will be interviewed about pancreatic cancer treatment and research on Wednesday, November 5 on WCCO Radio's Mondale & Jones program, 9:20-10:00 a.m. The program can be heard on 830 AM or by visiting the WCCO Web site and clicking on "Listen Live."

Douglas Yee, M.D., was quoted in a MinnPost.com article about the higher risk of breast cancer among Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish women of European ancestry.

Brian Van Ness, Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, was quoted in news reports by Minnesota Daily, Medical News Today, and United Press International about his study that showed a link between gene variations and cancer survival.

October

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., Prevention and Etiology Program, was interviewed about childhood cancer treatment and survivorship on WCCO Radio's Steele Talkin' program on Sunday.

Brian Van Ness, Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, was featured in news reports by WCCO Radio and FOX 9 News about his study that shows a link between gene variations and cancer survival. His study successfully identified combinations of genes associated with early clinical relapse of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells that produce antibodies. These results raise the possibility that a patient's genetic background exerts an important influence on the patient's prognosis and response to treatment. Read more.

Peter Argenta, M.D., Women's Cancer Program, was quoted in an article about cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment appearing on the Mpls/St. Paul Magazine Web site.

Gregory Vercellotti, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in a Rochester Post Bulletin article about research advances in development of blood substitutes.

Lawrence An, M.D, was quoted in news reports by Star Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, and WCCO Radio about his research study suggesting that the payment of bonuses to physician offices may be a way to get more smokers referred to quit lines.

Mukta Arora, M.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, and Mark Kirstein, Pharm.D., Women's Cancer Program, were among three researchers recognized upon completion of the AHC Clinical Scholars Program, a pilot program that began in 2005 as a precursor to the NIH K12-funded CAPS program. The latest issue of Accelerate, the monthly newsletter of the Office of Clinical Research,reports on the recognition reception held September 18, 2008 at the Campus Club in Coffman Memorial Union. Read more.

Prevention and Etiology Program members Kristen Anderson, Ph.D., and Timothy Church, Ph.D., were recently featured on the School of Public Health's Public Health Moment, a weekly podcast featuring U of M public health experts. Anderson discusses breast cancer awareness and Church addresses prostate cancer screening. Listen to the segments.

Todd Tuttle, M.D., Women's Cancer Program member, is quoted in an article on Tennessean.com about the increase in breast cancer patients opting to have both breasts removed. Read more.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Masonic Cancer Center director, talked with Governor Tim Pawlenty on the Governor's weekly radio program Friday about advances in cancer research and treatment and the role of the Masonic Cancer Center in some of those innovations.

September

Robert Fecik, Ph.D., was quoted in an article in Chemistry World on a recent article in the journal Science that reported the in vivo antibacterial efficacy of a novel FtsZ inhibitor. FtsZ is a protein that is the bacterial homolog of tubulin, the drug target for Taxol and other anticancer drugs.

Beth Virnig, Ph.D., co-leader of Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship Program, is quoted in the October issue of Good Housekeeping. Virnig's comments pertain to her study that fewer women who have a lumpectomy for breast cancer are undergoing a full course of radiation and thereby increasing their changes of local recurrence of the disease. Her recommendation is for women to talk with a radiation oncologist before surgery.

Christopher Moertel, M.D., was interviewed by FOX 9 News about a Swedish study on cell phones and cancer.

John Wagner, M.D., co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in The Badger Herald about stem cell research in an article about the World Stem Cell Summit in Madison, Wisc., last week.

Todd Tuttle, M.D., member of the Women's Cancer Research Program, was quoted in a Vanderbilt Medical Center news release about his study that more women diagnosed with breast cancer are opting for bilateral mastectomies. The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center recorded a fivefold increase in bilateral mastectomies from 2002 to 2007. The story was covered by Nashville Public Radio.

Tobacco research by the Masonic Cancer Center's Tobacco Research Center was referenced in news articles in the Bemidji Pioneer and the Pioneer Press about the first anniversary of Minnesota's smoking ban.

Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program member, was quoted in a September 9 New York Times article on prospects for the development of red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Masonic Cancer Center director, was quoted in Fitness magazine and the Coloradoan about healthy lifestyle choices to reduce risk of breast cancer.

August

Todd Tuttle, M.D., Women's Cancer Program member, was quoted in a Newsweek article and interviewed on Calgary Today AM 770 CHQR in Calgary, Alberta about women choosing prophylactic mastectomies, despite the fact that there is no guarantee of improved survival rates.

David Perdue, M.D., was quoted in news reports by WCCO Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Star Tribune, Rochester Post Bulletin, and City Pages about research studies that found American Indians living in Minnesota and the Northern Plains have high rates of cancer. He also was a guest on Twin Cities Public Television's Almanac program August 22 to discuss the findings. The studies are online and published in the journal Cancer. Read more.

John Ohlfest, Ph.D., Elizabeth Pluhar, D.V.M., Ph.D.,and Jaime Modiano, D.V.M., Ph.D., have been featured in newspapers across the country including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Monterey Herald in Monterey, Calif., Republican American in Waterbury, Conn., The Courant in Hartford, Conn., and also locally on the front page of the Minnesota Daily about a experimental treatment for "Batman," a dog with a brain tumor. The story originally appeared in the Star Tribune.

Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article on recent studies of production of red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells.

Douglas Yee, M.D., director, was featured in a FOX 9 TV news report on August 4 about MRI and mammography for detection of breast cancer.

John Ohlfest, Ph.D., Jaime Modiano, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pluhar, D.V.M., Ph.D., were featured in reports about Batman, a dog that received an experimental treatment for a brain tumor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, on KARE-11 TV, Star Tribune, WCCO Radio's Mondale and Jones Show, and KSTP-TV. Read more.

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D. Prevention and Etiology Program member, was quoted in an Associated Press article published in the Detroit News about the study he presented at ASCO that children who survive cancer face a greater risk of heart problems later in life.

July

Chris Moertel, M.D., Masonic Cancer Center member, was interviewed by Fox 9 News (June 23), WCCO-TV (June 24), and the Star Tribune about a cell phone health-risk advisory issued by Ronald Herberman, M.D., director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, and chair of the Masonic Cancer Center’s External Scientific Advisory Board.

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., Prevention and Etiology Program member, was quoted in an article in Coping with Cancer magazine about his research presented at ASCO that found childhood cancer survivors face an increased risk of heart disease.

Julie Ross, Ph.D., member of the Prevention and Etiology and Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention programs, was featured in articles in the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune regarding the $30 million yearly funding passed by Congress for children's cancer research. It includes $1 million to support a national database developed largely by the University of Minnesota.

David Rothenberger, M.D., Masonic Cancer Center's associate director for clinical affairs, was interviewed on Fox News July 14 about the finding that colorectal cancer screening rates are still too low.

Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D., Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program member, was interviewed in a July 14 report on Fox News about a Minneapolis girl with a puzzling illness involving severe eczema, intractable abdominal pain, bruising, and multiple allergies. Kumar helped the family understand the complex problem and coordinate the girl's care, which involved intensive therapy for eczema at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

June

The Clinical Cancer Letter, a newsletter about cancer research for clinicians, featured information about the research study "Childhood cancer survivors face increased risk of heart disease" led by Prevention and Etiology Program member Daniel Mulrooney, M.D. Mulrooney presented the research at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Read more about the study.

May

Selwyn Vickers, M.D., associate director of translational research, discussed pancreatic cancer research and treatment on WCCO Radio's Mondale & Jones program May 28.

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., Prevention and Etiology Program member, was quoted in the Star Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times, and was interviewed on WCCO-Radio about his research finding that childhood cancer survivors are at higher risk for serious heart conditions.The story was also covered by Reuters, Bloomberg News, HealthDay News, Associated Press, Pioneer Press, Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

Tim Emory, M.D., Women's Cancer Program member, was quoted in a Mpls.St. Paul Magazine article about the frequency of cancer diagnosis through mammography screening.

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., co-leader, Prevention and Etiology Program, quoted in a story on the CBS News Web site about the changing demographics of powder cocaine users.

Douglas Yee, M.D., was quoted in an article in the April 25 issue of The Cancer Letter on the recent Minnesota Masonic Charities donation of $65 million to the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.

Margot Cleary, Ph.D., Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program member at the Hormel Institute, was quoted in a news article in the May issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The article, "Understanding pathways to calorie restriction: A way to prevent cancer," discussed research being conducted in the Cleary lab.

Anna Leininger, M.S., coordinator of the Minnesota Colorectal Cancer Initiative and consultant to the William C. Bernstein Hereditary Cancer Registry, worked with producers at the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and a family with Lynch Syndrome to raise awareness and tell one family's story of living with hereditary colon cancer. The two video segments can be viewed at the CBS news website: "Eye to Eye: Colon Cancer's DNA"; "Genetic Link to Colon Cancer".

Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., leader of the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, was quoted in a Minnesota Daily article about the Crookston campus plan to ban the use and sale of all tobacco products on campus property, including outdoors, starting next year.

Karen Hanson, Ph.D., Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, was quoted in a news report by WCCO Radio about her study that found adolescent smokers who cut back on smoking do not necessarily reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., member of the Prevention and Etiology Program, was quoted in news reports by WCCO Radio, Minnesota Public Radio,and KSTP-TV about his study published in the journal Cancer showing that most survivors of childhood acute myeloid leukemia are living longer, productive lives. Read the news release.

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., co-leader of the Prevention and Etiology Program, was quoted in an Associated Press article, "Powdered cocaine not just for white yuppies any more." The article appeared in the Boston Herald and Las Vegas Sun.

Zigang Dong, M.D., Dr.Ph., Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program member, was quoted in the Austin Daily Herald and Rochester Post-Bulletin about the Hormel Institute's plan to hire 10 additional faculty as part of its cancer research expansion and renovation program.

Michael Verneris, M.D., Transplant Biology and Research Program member, was interviewed by the magazine New Scientist regarding a study showing a reduction in breast cancer for women who had fetal microchimerism.

April

Yoji Shimizu, Ph.D., leader of the Immunology Program, is the subject of a University of Minnesota Medical School Web site article, "From Research to a Rock Band." Read more.

A study of menstrual phase effects on smoking relapse by Sharon Allen, M.D., Ph.D., Prevention and Etiology Program member, was reported on the BBC.

Daniel Weisdorf, M.D., co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was quoted in news reports by the Star Tribune , Pioneer Press, and WCCO about the treatment of Minnesota Vikings football player Kenechi Udeze, who announced earlier this month that his leukemia is in remission and that his brother is a 100 percent match for a bone marrow transplant, which is planned for later this year.

Ameeta Kelekar, Ph.D., Tumor Biology and Therapy Program member, was quoted in an article about Indian musicians performing in the Twin Cities in Friday's Star Tribune. Kelekar is president of the Indian Music Society of Minnesota.

Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., co-leader of the Prevention and Etiology Program, was quoted in reports by the Star Tribune, KSTP-TV, FOX 9-TV, Mankato Free Press, Mpls/St. Paul Business Journal, and WCCO Radio's Mondale & Jones program about a new study that provides the first scientific evidence that the Freedom to Breathe Act is creating healthier workplaces for hospitality employees. Hatsukami led this research study in collaboration with ClearWay Minnesota. Working with her were Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program members Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., Sharon Murphy, Ph.D., Prevention and Etiology Program member Bruce Lindgren, M.S., and Joni Jensen, M.P.H., coordinator of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Research Center project. Read more.

March

Cancer Center member Nancy Nachreiner, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, is featured in the Public Health Moment on the Web site of the School of Public Health, discussing her research on issues related to cancer survivors returning to work. Her study on returning to work is also featured in the winter issue of Advances, a School of Public Health publication.

Chris Moertel, M.D., Cancer Center member, was featured in a KSTP-TV news report about a 14-month-old boy who survived infant congenital glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Patricia Judson, M.D., Women's Cancer Program member, was quoted in MedPage Today about study results presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting showing that ovarian cancer patients taking statins at the time of surgical debulking had a significantly better progression-free and overall survival than other patients. The study was conducted by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Stephen Hecht, Ph.D., Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program leader, was quoted in an article in The Tehran Times about the dangers of parents smoking around their children.

Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., Transplant Biology and Therapy Program member, was quoted in a segment produced by Ivanhoe News Wire and aired on WECT-TV6 in North Carolina about research he conducted in order to cure a rare genetic skin disease epidermolysis bullosa.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director and co-leader of the Women's Cancer Program, and Tufia Haddad, M.D., Women's Cancer Program member, were quoted in a Reuters Health article about a presurgical trial of erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with stage I to IIIA breast cancer that may predict which patients will respond to erlotinib treatment after tumor resection. The findings of the trial conducted by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine researchers were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Yee and Haddad wrote an accompanying editorial. Read more.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director, was featured in a news report by Fox/Channel 9 News about a Women's Health Initiative study that found women remain at risk for breast cancer three years after stopping hormone therapy. The study was published in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

David Rothenberger, M.D., Cancer Center associate director of clinical affairs, was quoted in a New York Times article about how abnormalities that are indicators of colon cancer are often overlooked. The story also ran in the San Jose Mercury News. Read the New York Times article.

Levi Downs, M.D., co-leader of Women's Cancer Research Program, was quoted in the Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, Reuters Health, Science Daily and other media outlets about his research study that found thalidomide coupled with chemotherapy (topotecan) is a promising treatment for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. Program member Peter Argenta, M.D., was quoted about the same study in a news report by KSTP-TV. Learn more about this research.

Jaime Modiano, V.M.D., Ph.D., member of the Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program, was quoted in news reports by WCCO Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, KSTP-TV, and Science Daily about a study that discovered a genetic cancer link between humans and dogs. Modiano collaborated with Matthew Breen, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University's Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research on this research study. Modiano will be featured in a Minnesota Daily article on Tuesday, March 4. Learn more about this research.

John Wagner, M.D., co-leader of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, and program member Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., were featured in a KARE 11 News Extra report about a 5-year-old New Jersey boy with a rare skin disease, epidermolysis bullosa (EB), who became the first human to receive a bone marrow transplant for EB. This transplant was done at University of Minnesota. See the KARE 11 report.

David Rothenberger, M.D., associate director of clinical affairs, was mentioned in an article about colonoscopies in the Red Wing Republican Eagle.

Dan Mulrooney, M.D., member of the Prevention and Etiology Program, was a guest on Sunday'sWCCO radio's On-Call program discussing cancer survivorship issues and the third annual survivorship educational conference on March 15.

Chris Moertel, M.D., commented on the treatment of brain tumors in a Star Tribune article on February 29. The article was about radio host Eleanor Mondale's announcement that her brain tumor had returned and that she would be undergoing treatment.

February

Ed Greeno, M.D., Cancer Center member, was featured in a news story by KSTP-TV Channel 5 last Friday evening about the care of cancer patients from the Parker Hughes Cancer Clinic, which has suspended patient care.

Chris Pennell, Ph.D., member of the Immunology Program, and Sandra Rivera, community events coordinator, were quoted in an article in the Minnesota Daily about the Masonic Cancer Center's "Cancer and the Human Body" educational exhibit held at the Science Museum of Minnesota last Saturday. Read more.

The following Cancer Center members are listed in the March issue of Minnesota Monthly magazine's 2008 Best Doctors for Women:

• Dermatology: Maria Hordinsky, M.D.
• Oncology/Breast Cancer: Barbara Bowers, M.D.; Todd Tuttle, M.D.; and Douglas Yee, M.D.
• Oncology/Gynecological: Peter Argenta, M.D.; Linda Carson, M.D.; Levi Downs, M.D.; Melissa Geller, M.D.; and Patricia Judson, M.D.
• Oncology/Radiologic: Kathryn Dusenbery, M.D

Cancer Center member Mark Reding, M.D., was quoted in an Associated Press article about Minnesota Viking Kenechi Udeze, who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The story appeared in the Star Tribune and other news outlets across the country. Reding also was quoted in a WCCO Radio news report. Read the article.

Cancer Center Director Douglas Yee, M.D., was quoted in the February 16 issue of Science News in an article titled "Weighty Evidence: The link between obesity, metabolic hormones, and tumors brings the promise of new targets for cancer therapies." Read the article.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director, was quoted on MinnPost.com in an article about women with cancer and exercise.

Todd Tuttle, M.D., member of the Women's Cancer Program, was quoted in a February 5 Washington Post article about the increase in the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer who are opting for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM). Results of a study on the increase in CPM by Tuttle and his colleagues were published in the October 22 online issue of the Journal of Oncology.

Selwyn Vickers, M.D., Todd Tuttle, M.D., Eric Jensen, M.D., and Ed Greeno, M.D., are featured in Pictures of Health, published by the Academic Health Center, in an article about the new Minnesota Pancreas and Liver Center, where oncology surgeons and clinicians from the University and physicians at Hennepin County Medical Center merge their strengths to deliver an unprecedented level of care. In same issue, the research of Jaime Modiano, V.M.D., Ph.D., at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Cancer Center is featured in an article titled "Cause for paws: When it comes to cancer, man's best friend really might be a dog and vice versa."

John Wagner, M.D., and Brenda Weigel, M.D., members of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, were mentioned in an article in Insideview, a newsletter for and about employees of University of Minnesota Medical Center, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital, and surrounding clinics. The article, "A leading-edge approach: Special stem cell treatment helped her beat the odds," describes the successful treatment of Sydney Scott, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when she was 13 weeks old and was the first to received mesenchymal stem cells along with a cord blood transplant through a clinical trial offered by Wagner and Weigel. In the same issue it was reported that Margaret MacMillan, M.D., member of the Transplant Biology and Therapy Program, was interviewed for an article in the Whittier Daily News that featured a bone marrow transplant patient from California treated at the children's hospital for Fanconi anemia. In addition, it was reported that Selwyn Vickers, M.D., was quoted in the January 11 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal about the Minnesota Pancreas and Liver Center. A front page story about the center was also featured in January's MD News.

January

Margot Cleary, Ph.D., University of Minnesota Hormel Institute researcher and member of the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, was quoted in news reports on KARE 11-TV, KSTP-TV, WCCO Radio, the Rochester Post Bulletin, and by The Press Association regarding her research that provides further evidence that breast cancer and obesity are linked. Cleary's research was also mentioned in Dublin's Irish Independent. Read more.

Michael Nelson, M.D., Douglas Yee, M.D., and Barbara Bowers, M.D., were mentioned in an article on MRI/MRS research for detecting and treating breast cancer in Scope, Fairview's newsletter to medical staff.

A January 27 article in the Decatur, Ill., Herald & Review,"Veteran finds himself in another struggle with a deadly enemy: leukemia," is about how a chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient in Findlay, Ill., hopes to participate in a cord blood transplant clinical trial at the Masonic Cancer Center.

Cancer Center member Timothy Hallstrom, Ph.D., and colleagues at Duke University have discovered how key genes cause breast and ovarian cancer cells to either multiply or die. This discovery opens the door to developing drugs that target these E2F1 target genes, balance their dual functions, and give women diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer a greater chance for long-term survival. The finding is reported today in the January issue of Cancer Cell. Read more. The research results were reported by KARE-11, KSTP-TV, WCCO radio, and the Minnesota Daily.

Douglas Yee, M.D., Cancer Center director, and John Kersey, M.D., founding director emeritus, were mentioned in a Hibbing Daily Tribune article about a fundraiser for breast cancer research that was organized by sixth graders at Assumption School. The students offered their bake sale proceeds for the dollar-for-dollar matching program that the University of Minnesota has launched to fund an endowed chair named for Kersey. Kathy Beenen, development director for women's health at the Minnesota Medical Foundation, came to the school to formally accept the donation and deliver a letter of thanks from Yee.

In a recent Academic Health Center Health Talk & You column, Cancer Center member Nelson Rhodus, D.M.D., M.P.H., writes that if detected early enough, oral cancer survival rates are as high as 75 to 90 percent. To prevent oral cancer before it starts, Rhodus and his colleagues are researching ways to simplify early detection and refine early diagnostic testing methods. Read Health Talk & You.

Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., member of the Women's Cancer Program, was quoted by Reuters about her recent study that morphine plus celecoxib may provide better cancer pain control, published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Cancer Center members Selwyn Vickers, M.D., Todd Tuttle, M.D., and Ed Greeno, M.D., were quoted in an article about the new Minnesota Pancreas and Liver Center in M.D. News, a monthly publication distributed to physicians' offices.