From rxpgnews.com
American Cancer Society awards new research and training grants
By American Cancer Society,
Apr 8, 2013 - 4:00:00 AM
The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 175 national research and training grants totaling $79,073,250 for fiscal year 2013. The grants will fund investigators at 93 institutions across the United States; 164 are new grants while 11 are renewals of previous grants. The grants will go into effect July 1, 2013.
Among those newly awarded is Stephen J. Meltzer, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, who will receive a prestigious American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professorship. Dr. Meltzer received the grant award for his pioneering work in the field of esophageal cancer; a cancer whose incidence is increasing in the U.S.
For more than 65 years, the American Cancer Society has funded research and training of health professionals to investigate the causes, prevention, and early detection of cancer, as well as new treatments, cancer survivorship, and end of life support for patients and their families. Since its founding in 1946, the American Cancer Society's extramural research grants program has devoted more than $3.9 billion to cancer research and has funded 46 researchers who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
Below are highlights of new grants.
Stephen J. Meltzer, MD, of Johns Hopkins University is being awarded a prestigious American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professorship. Dr Meltzer is researching molecular biomarkers that can not only detect Barrett's esophagus but can also determine in which people the condition is likely to progress to esophageal cancer. The current test for Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition, is gastrointestinal endoscopy, an invasive procedure too expensive for general screening. Detecting the disorder can facilitate early detection of esophageal cancer, which is most often detected in advanced stages.
Timothy C. Hallstrom, PhD, of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, is studying the genetic mechanism that causes retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eye in infants. Dr. Hallstrom is investigating a cellular protein that regulates cell growth to identify the mechanism by which the protein controls cell death. His work could serve as the basis for genetic therapies to halt growth of cancer cells in retinoblastoma and other tumors.
Rene L. Galindo, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, focuses her research on childhood cancer. She is particularly interested in rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer of the body's soft tissues. Survival is poor among children with this disease, and those who do survive can have life-long disfigurements that result from surgery and chemotherapy. Dr. Galindo is investigating the mechanism by which an abnormal gene converts a normal cell into a cancer cell with the goal of developing therapies to prevent this process.
Tatiana Kalin, MD, PhD, of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is researching a new approach to combating the progression of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in in the United States. She is exploring how a particular cell protein called FoxM1, which is abundant in lung cancer and many other cancers, causes a cancer to grow and spread to other organs. Her research will increase understanding of how lung cancer progresses at the molecular level, paving the way for therapies that target the disease at this most basic stage.
Nicholas Marshall, PhD, of the University of Texas at Austin, is studying a cell protein called kynurenine that enhances cancer cell growth and suppresses the body's immune system. Various studies have shown that the higher the level of kynurenine in the blood, the poorer the prognosis for a person with cancer. Dr. Marshall is working on a technology to degrade kynurenine to inhibit tumor production and strengthen the immune system.
Alec Kimmelman, MD, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is seeking new treatments for pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly of human cancers. The disease is currently highly resistant to all available treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. Nearly all pancreatic cancers have cellular mutations that activate a cell protein called the Kras oncogene. Dr. Kimmelman is studying what triggers this oncogene to cause cancer. Such an understanding is basic to development of effective treatment of this disease.
Russell Kent Pachynski, MD, of Stanford University is investigating how the human immune system can be stimulated and manipulated to eradicate cancer. Dr. Pachynski is interested in targeting cancer at the cellular level to increase the cell's immune response. He is studying the role that a cell protein called chemerin plays in producing immunity to cancer, and he has demonstrated in experiments in mice that tumors exposed to chemerin grow more slowly and are significantly smaller. His studies could serve as the basis for development of immunotherapies to treat many different types of cancer.
Hongbo Chi, PhD, of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is researching the role that a protein called mTOR plays in regulating human T-cell growth and function. T-cells are the body's disease-fighting agents. Dr. Chi is focusing on how mTOR functions and maintains T-cell equilibrium and how disruption of this equilibrium from mutations in mTOR can lead to many cancers, including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His goal is to translate his research into new cancer treatments.
Marina K. Holz, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine is focusing her research on ways to improve treatment of the nearly 60% of all breast cancers that are estrogen receptor-positive. Current endocrine therapies, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, are effective treatments for only about half of these cancers. Dr. Holz is studying how a cell-growth regulator, mTOR, can be combined with endocrine therapies to create more broadly effective treatments for this most common breast cancer.
Zhongsheng You, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine is studying a type of DNA mutation called a double-strand break that can lead to cancer. Most human cancers are caused by DNA mutations, but the body's cells normally repair themselves when breaks occur. When this self-repair doesn't happen, cancer can develop. Dr. You seeks to understand the processes by which the body monitors DNA mutations and repairs them. A fundamental understanding of these processes is vital to development of effective treatments.
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