News | DirectConnect | 2009 | 2009-10-16

October 16, 2009

October 16, 2009

Announcements

Chad Ellis Joins Yale Cancer Center

I am pleased to announce Chad Ellis, PhD as Deputy Director for Research at Yale Cancer Center. Chad will oversee the Center's eight research programs and twelve shared resources. He will also lead the application efforts for Yale Cancer Center's Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Chad joins the Cancer Center from the NCI where he was a Program Director for the Cancer Centers Program.

Opening the Doors to Smilow

On Tuesday, October 20th, we welcome all faculty and staff to celebrate the opening of Smilow Cancer Hospital with us between 2 - 5 PM in the building lobby. We have exciting months ahead of us as we transition our patients to receive their care at Smilow. Please join us to celebrate this wonderful milestone in cancer care at Yale.

Pipeline Presentations

Yale Cancer Center will launch a series of Pipeline presentations for our members beginning in November. Each session features a pharmaceutical company working in cancer. This new series will provide Yale Cancer Center members with the opportunity to learn about novel agents and existing clinical trial opportunities. The Pipeline presentations include a one hour overview of the company's oncology drug portfolio, followed by individual meetings with interested faculty members.

The first Pipeline presentation is scheduled with

OSI Pharmaceuticals

on Wednesday, November 4th at 2:00 PM

in TAC N203. To schedule an individual session with OSI following their presentation, please contact Paula O'Mara.

Yale Cancer Center Welcomes Two Pathology Members

Qin Yan, PhD

has been appointed an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Yale School of Medicine. Before joining the Yale faculty, Dr. Yan was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. William Kaelin at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his postdoctoral work, Dr. Yan identified one of the first enzymes, known as histone demethylases, that can remove the active methyl marks from histone, and created the first mouse knockout model of this group of enzymes. His current research will determine the impact of these enzymes in cancer progression and the mechanisms by which their enzymatic activity contributes to the malignant transformation of cells. Dr. Yan is a member of the Gene Regulation and Functional Genomics Research Program at Yale Cancer Center.

Narendra Wajapeyee, PhD

recently completed his postdoctoral work with Dr. Michael Green at the University of Massachusetts, where he performed multiple genome-wide RNAi screens to identify the regulators of epigenetic silencing and cellular senescence. He joins the Yale School of Medicine faculty as an Assistant Professor of Pathology. The focus of his research at Yale will be to understand the mechanism of genetic and epigenetic regulation of cancer causing genes using Genome-wide RNAi screen, high-throughput deep sequencing, and small molecule library screens, and to translate the results to the early detection and treatment of cancers.

Notables

Susan Mayne, PhD Named Researcher of the Year by

Business New Haven

In recognition of her leadership and commitment to cancer prevention research,

Susan Mayne, PhD

, was named Researcher of the Year in

Business New Haven

's annual Healthcare Heroes publication. Dr. Mayne is a Professor

and Director of Chronic Disease and Epidemiology at the School of Public Health and Associate Director of Prevention and Cancer Control at Yale Cancer Center. Her research investigates the link between nutrition and disease.

Smilow Update

Following the dedication ceremonies next week, the first patients will be treated at Smilow Cancer Hospital on Monday, October 26th in the radiation oncology treatment area in the lower level of the building. Construction teams continue to finalize the lower level and first floor patient spaces and will continue on the upper levels of the building in the coming weeks.

To prepare for the transition, the Education and Orientation team has started providing staff with 3 ½ hour orientation sessions that serve to outline the Smilow vision, culture, operational model, and the building itself. These sessions include a video featuring Dr. Thomas Lynch and Abe Lopman, along with three of our patients sharing their experiences. Attendees have provided very positive feedback to date, particularly on the panel discussion with patients, and the tour of Smilow.

Employees who will be working in Smilow Cancer Hospital can register for an orientation session by contacting Loren Bartley in the Institute for Excellence at 688-7544 or through the YNHH intranet employee self service application.

New Clinical Trial Available

HIC 0901004690

Principal Investigator: Francine Foss, MD
A Pilot Study of Sorafenib Examining Biomarkers in Refractory or Relapsed T-Cell Lymphoma Patients

Award Opportunities

Yale Cancer Center Research Prize and Award for Clinical Excellence

We are pleased to announce two annual, competitive awards in the areas of excellence in research and clinical care for Yale Cancer Center members. All members are encouraged to apply, or nominate a colleague for one of the awards. Each award will be announced at the Yale Cancer Center Conclave to be held on Monday, November 23, 2009.
Learn More >>

Sidney Kimmel Scholar Award

The Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research is accepting applications for the 2010 Kimmel Scholar and Translational Science Awards. These awards provide $100,000 per year for two years to outstanding young cancer researchers. Applications for the 2010 Award are due December 2, 2009.
Learn More >>

Shared Resource Highlight

Flow Cytometry

Flow Cytometry is a technique that allows the rapid measurement of characteristics of small particles, such as cells, microspheres, or certain molecules, through the use of fluorescent markers and scattered light, and the isolation of particles with unique properties based on those markers. It has multiple applications in Cancer Research and relates to a number of programs within Yale Cancer Center. The Flow Cytometry Shared Resource's mission is threefold: to provide flow cytometry services that are of high quality, readily available and at reasonable cost; to educate the Yale community on the applications of flow cytometry in medical research; and to collaborate with investigators in the development of new applications. The Resource provides access to state-of-the-art multiparameter cell analysis and sorting capabilities.

Mark Shlomchik, MD, PhD
(203) 737-2089

Learn More >>

Recent Publications

Predictors of marriage and divorce in adult survivors of childhood cancers: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Janson C, Leisenring W, Cox C, Termuhlen AM, Mertens AC, Whitton JA, Goodman P, Zeltzer L, Robison LL, Krull KR, Kadan-Lottick NS.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Oct;18(10):2626-35.
Read More >>

Care of the pregnant thyroid cancer patient.

Holt EH.
Curr Opin Oncol. 2009 Oct 6.
Read More >>

What do breast surgeons do?

Schwartz JC, Rishi M, Christy CJ, Grube BJ, Lannin DR.
Am J Surg. 2009 Oct;198(4):544-6.
Read More >>

Semantic web data warehousing for caGrid.

McCusker JP, Phillips JA, Beltrán AG, Finkelstein A, Krauthammer M.
BMC Bioinformatics. 2009 Oct 1;10 Suppl 10:S2.
Read More >>