The inaugural year of the YCC T-TARE (Translational - Targeted Area of Research Excellence) awards was a great success with seven promising applications received! This award mechanism, administered by Julie L. Boyer, PhD, Associate Director for Translational Research Administration, provides seed money to members of Yale Cancer Center to support studies with a significant translational research component. T-TARE proposals require a collaborative effort among three or more faculty members - basic and clinical scientists, junior and senior investigators - and are intended to provide a basis for submission of new multi-investigator grant applications to the National Cancer Institute.
Congratulations to this year's awardees:
Madhav Dhodapkar, MBBS / $100K
Targeting genetic instability towards personalized cancer prevention
Co-Investigators: David Schatz, Richard Flavell, Rick Lifton, Xiaopan Yao
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD / $200K
The biology and treatment of primary and metastatic lung cancer
Co-Investigators: Lieping Chen, Scott Gettinger, David Stern, Yossi Schlessinger, Daniel Morgensztern, Katie Politi, Tom Lynch, Joanne Weidhaas, Frank Slack, Susan Mayne, Ben Toll, Frank Detterbeck, Peter Salovey, Jack Elias, Peter Koo, Chun Geun Lee, Karen Anderson, Don Nguyen, Dan Boffa, Abhi Patel, Narendra Wajapeyee, Dan Zelterman, Xiaopan Yao
Harriet Kluger, MD / $150K
Comprehensive approaches for understanding and treating melanoma brain metastases
Co-Investigators: Lieping Chen, Peter Glazer, Mario Sznol, Marcus Bosenberg, David Rimm, Yuval Kluger, Joseph Chang, Xiaopan Yao
W. Mark Saltzman, PhD andJoseph Piepmeier, MD / $130K
Translation of convection-enhanced delivery of drug-loaded nanoparticles for treatment of glioma
Co-Investigators: Fahmeed Hyder, Murat Gunel, Katsuhito Yasuno
Special Funding Announcement: The Yale-Gilead Proposal for Research Support
On behalf of Yossi Schlessinger, Rick Lifton, and myself, members of the Steering Committee that manages the Yale-Gilead collaboration, I am pleased to invite you to propose research ideas for consideration for funding under the Yale-Gilead collaboration.
We would like to invite transformative ideas in the following areas of cancer biology:
Identification of new targets in cancer therapy based on sequencing of tumor DNA
Novel siRNA screening for cancer 'driver' genes
Synthetic lethal analysis
Other transformative ideas
Applicants must provide a one-paragraph description of the proposed study. Ideas that align with the mission of the collaboration will be invited to submit a more detailed proposal with a budget.
Lunch will be served at 11:30, with our program occurring from 12:00 to 1:00.
Notables
Frank Slack, PhD
will participate in the Hope Funds for Cancer Research panel, along with Joan Massague, Malcolm A.S. Moore, and Larry Norton, and moderated by Robert Bazell, on May 7th in New York City.
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Cathy Lyons has announced the promotion of Jill Williams, RN to the position of Patient Services Manager, Smilow Cancer Hospital, NP 11. Jill is extremely well qualified for this position with over 23 years of experience, much of that time in leadership positions. Jill is an exceptional patient and staff advocate and has introduced and championed a number of best practices on NP 11.
Daniel Boffa, MD, presented the plenary lecture at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting last week in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His presentation focused on lymph node evaluation by open and VATS approaches.
Nancy Ruddle, PhD has been elected as a Council Delegate from the Section on Medical Sciences for the American Association for the Advancement in Science.
Faye Rogers, PhD has received the Norma Lies Mitchell Exceptional Project Grant from the Breast Cancer Alliance to support her research project, "Gene-targeted Apoptosis as a Therapeutic Strategy for HER2-positive Breast Cancer."
Clinical Trials Update
Disease Team research leaders met one-on-one with the oncologists from the Smilow Cancer Care Centers who joined our faculty on January 1 and oncologists from the Greenwich Hospital affiliated practices.
At the conclusion of the discussions, everyone enjoyed dining and informal networking.
Four specific cooperative group research trials (in lung, colon, and breast cancer) were opened for network-wide participation.
Development Update
Tony Ciabattoni, of Laguna Beach, CA, recently made a $25,000 gift to the translational research program at Yale Cancer Center. Mr. Ciabattoni made the gift in gratitude for the counsel that Dr. Roy Herbst provided to a friend who is receiving treatment. For more information about the YCC grateful patient program and to speak to a development officer about participating, please contact Peter Lamothe.
Employee Profile: Rachel Barnett, MS
The Employee Profile recognizes the diverse contributions made by Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital staff have to meet our patient care, research, education, and outreach goals. The staff profiled are examples of the great work being done here, and the dedication and values we possess. To suggest someone to be profiled, please contactEmily Fenton.
Within the Yale Cancer Center Cancer Genetic Counseling Program, Senior Genetic Counselor Rachel Barnett, MS, CGC, is responsible for direct patient care. This means that oftentimes she is the first person patients encounter when they are considering genetic counseling or testing. The Yale Cancer Center Cancer Genetic Counseling Program provides genetic counseling and testing to people at increased risk for hereditary cancer and helps them to make informed medical decisions based on their own personal risk assessment.
Rachel meets with patients and takes a detailed family history to determine the likelihood that their cancer is hereditary. If they are determined to be a good candidate for genetic testing, Rachel will then discuss the impact the test results will have on the family as a whole, explain the different tests that are available, and ultimately she will order the appropriate test. These interventions can have a huge impact on a person's life by allowing them to better manage their health and reduce their risk of ever developing cancer.
"It is a wonderful feeling to be able to tell someone that they are not at increased risk for cancer," said Rachel. "It is also rewarding when you do discover a hereditary cancer and you can help other family members by giving them options to prevent cancer, and make them aware that there is a risk so they can be more vigilant."
Rachel's interest in genetics started back in high school when she took a summer course on the topic. She explained that she was fascinated by how much knowledge there was about genes and that so many different sciences were highlighted within the study of genes. By the time she got to college, she knew she wanted to enter the field of genetics and has been at Yale since 2004. She enjoys the ever changing nature of the field and the fact that there are always new and exciting discoveries being made.
Ellen Matloff, MS, CGC, Research Scientist in the Department of Genetics and Director of the Yale Cancer Center Cancer Genetic Counseling Program commented, "Rachel Barnett has been the tireless clinic coordinator for Cancer Genetic Counseling for close to 8 years and is known for her efficiency, her strong work ethic and her positive and empathetic approach with all of our patients."
Funding Opportunities
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation Grants - Re-Programming the Cancer Cell
Applications are being accepted for the 2012 Grants from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. Yale Cancer Center can send one application for review. If interested, please send a copy of your CV and a two-page description of your proposed project on the topic "Reprogramming the Cancer Cell" by email to Jan Zulkeski in Dr. Daniel DiMaio's.
James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Research Awards in Brain Cancer Research
Projects submitted should be sufficiently cross-disciplinary or heterodox to have a strong likelihood of influencing the development of new ways of thinking about important problems.
The James S. McDonnell Foundation is particularly interested in supporting novel research that will generate new knowledge leading to increased rates of survival and improve functional recovery for individuals with brain cancer.
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) supports investigators with more than five years of experience in blood cancer research. The goal of this initiative is to accelerate the development of therapeutic approaches for myeloma and may include proposals in basic science, validation, or translation research. Proposals may request up to $100,000 per year for 2 years.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Honorable A. David Mazzone Special Challenge Award Research Program 2012
Proposals must be from teams capable of providing unique scientific expertise to the solution of a significant problem in prostate cancer research. A team may be assembled from one institution, or several institutions, from across the globe. These awards focus on funding Treatment Sciences: Investigations of new ideas in man or laboratory support of a high impact clinical investigation.
Treatment Sciences research with a high probability of near-term patient benefit is required in the following topic areas:
Translational research in metabolism/adiposity/nutrition/survivorship
Molecular imaging in both primary and metastatic disease
Co-targeting tumor microenvironment
First-in-field research on new targets in metastatic disease systemic treatment
Mechanisms of resistance to new treatments for advanced prostate cancer
Diagnostics and biomarkers that differentiate indolent from metastatic prostate cancer
The Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence Integrative Approaches to Computational Biomedicine Conference to be held in London, September 18-20, 2012.
IL-17-mediated signaling and intestinal tumorigenesis. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Mechanisms.
Chae, W.-J. and Bothwell, A.L.M. (2011).
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Treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer: the role of radiation therapy.
Johung K, Saif MW, Chang BW.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2012 Feb 1;82(2):508-18.
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A proposal for the timing of management of patients with melanoma presenting during pregnancy.
Broer N, Buonocore S, Goldberg C, Truini C, Faries MB, Narayan D, Ariyan S.
J Surg Oncol. 2012 Feb 13.
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An analysis of measured and estimated creatinine clearance rates in normal weight, overweight, and obese patients with gynecologic cancers.
Nelson WK, Formica RN Jr, Cooper DL, Schwartz PE, Rutherford TJ.
J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2012 Feb 13.
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A modular approach to the design of protein-based smart gels.
Grove TZ, Forster J, Pimienta G, Dufresne E, Regan L.
Biopolymers. 2012 Feb 10.
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Postmenopausal hormone therapy and ductal carcinoma in situ: A population-based case-control study.
Calvocoressi L, Stowe MH, Carter D, Claus EB.
Cancer Epidemiol. 2012 Feb 6.
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Two sides of the same coin: EGFR exon 19 deletions and insertions in lung cancer.
Politi K, Lynch TJ.
Clin Cancer Res. 2012 Feb 8.
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Inflammasome-mediated dysbiosis regulates progression of NAFLD and obesity.
Henao-Mejia J, Elinav E, Jin C, Hao L, Mehal WZ, Strowig T, Thaiss CA, Kau AL, Eisenbarth SC, Jurczak MJ, Camporez JP, Shulman GI, Gordon JI, Hoffman HM, Flavell RA.
Nature. 2012 Feb 1;482(7384):179-85.
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American Thyroid Association Design and Feasibility of a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Prophylactic Central Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.
Carling T, Carty SE, Ciarleglio MM, Cooper DS, Doherty GM, Kim LT, Kloos RT, Mazzaferri EL Sr, Peduzzi PN, Roman SA, Sippel RS, Sosa JA, Stack BC Jr, Steward DL, Tufano RP, Tuttle RM, Udelsman R.
Thyroid. 2012 Feb 7.
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Sequence-Specific Biosensors Report Drug-Induced Changes in Epigenetic Silencing in Living Cells.
Huang X, Narayanaswamy R, Fenn K, Szpakowski S, Sasaki C, Costa J, Blancafort P, Lizardi PM.
DNA Cell Biol. 2012 Feb 7.
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In silico Experimentation of Glioma Microenvironment Development and Anti-tumor Therapy.
Wu Y, Lu Y, Chen W, Fu J, Fan R.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2012 Feb;8(2):e1002355.
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IL-17F deficiency inhibits small intestinal tumorigenesis in ApcMin/+ mice.
Chae WJ, Bothwell AL.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2011 Oct 14;414(1):31-6. Epub 2011 Sep 12.
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Countdown to the CCSG Submission
221 days until our CCSG
grant is due on
September 25, 2012.
Yale Cancer Center's weekly radio program on CT Public Radio is ranked number 2 in the world for cancer programs on iTunes. Subscribe to the show.
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Yale Cancer Center Grand Rounds
Video presentations from Yale Cancer Center members are now available online.
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