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February 21, 2011 |
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MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTORBrain Tumor InitiativeThe Cancer Center leadership is interested in promoting the wonderful depth and breadth of research that takes place in the area of brain tumors. Those of you who have been on campus for a few years recognize a few stops and starts. Now we mean it. Having "launched" the breast cancer program in development, we are now keen to pursue the brain tumor initiative. I fully expect this successful effort to lead to more integration of science, Cancer Center supported pilot grants leading to multi investigator efforts, PPG and a SPORE that validate the quality and uniqueness of the research efforts we have. This will lead to designation as a scientific program in the Case CCC in about 2014. To this end, I have asked Candece Gladson and Jill Barnholtz-Sloan to outline a program and scientific focus groups: Brain Tumor Initiative. Please review, offer your comments, and participate in the upcoming series of meetings to develop this initiative! Please contact Kristin Waite with any questions. There is no reason our group can not be recognized as a leader in the country. Thanks for your involvement! News from the NCI Cancer Center Directors RetreatAt the recent retreat for the NCI Cancer Center Directors held Friday, February 18, Harold Varmus offered a number of important perspectives. First, there was discussion about the organization of cooperative groups. I have asked our leaders of cooperative group efforts and individuals who lead committees at ECOG, GOG and SWOG to participate in a conference call about how cancer centers, and in particular our cancer center, can advise on the reorganization structure. Second, there was discussion and presentation around the topic of community outreach activity of cancer centers, which takes place in a number of different ways. All of them impact where we should be thinking soon, and certainly in time for our renewable application. For instance, Moffitt has now has engaged with 18 different centers for tissue and data collection for all cancer types. UNC is advertising the fact it is providing videoconferencing for five of the major cancer diseases. UPMC uses via oncology to develop a strong database for both local practice and clinical trials, and is also tracking deviations from standard therapy. More than half of NCI-designated cancer centers have grants that promote collaborative interactions with community cancer centers. In some cases these are with minority institutions, in others, they are simply high quality nonaligned community hospitals with active cancer programs. This offers us the opportunity to be much more responsive to RFAs for the next new community-based activities that come out from NCI. It is also an opportunity for us to be more involved with our community sites and to identify them as partners for tissue collection, clinical management, and clinical trials research. We are a consortium, which could uniquely provide interaction to a very large proportion of the patient population around Cleveland. Third, there was discussion about dissemination of important new advances in cancer research and cancer therapeutics. We all read these publications as they come out, and often times we hear about them at national meetings. They are sometimes reflected in the NCI Cancer Bulletin. However, it is infrequent for us to comment upon them on our website or in our newsletters. I have asked my administrative staff to make a point of doing so with publicly available information. Likewise, I would ask that you bring to our attention important new advances by sending an email to cancer@case.edu. Fourth, there was considerable discussion regarding the current status of the NCI budget. It is tough times indeed, and under these certain circumstances a number of contingencies have been made. For instance, only up to the 7th percentile will be funded, and thereafter between the 8th and 15th percentile program officers will make the determination of which grants to prioritize. Thus, it is critical to get to know your program officer. If there is some loosening of the budget, it will allow for retention of more SPORE grants. In addition, cancer centers could experience as much as a 5% cut in noncompetitive renewal funding. This is totally dependent on the budgets. On the other hand, even with budget reductions, the outlook next year may not be quite as bad because current ARRA funding obligations will disappear. Dr. Varmus had two additional comments about involvement between cancer center investigators and the NCI. First, the NCI sponsors a number of programs and would like cancer centers to participate in their public meetings. Examples include clinical trials improvement, CTEP, the translational research initiative, biorepository research, and the re-organization of CaBig. In addition, he is very excited about the response he has received regarding the provocative questions in cancer. (See the Provocative Questions website and proposed question page). He has had a number of open forum discussions, actively reviews the website, and is interested in additional comments and perspectives. Take note that this could easily become the nidus for the next generation of new RFA announcements. Might I suggest you take the time to look at the information on the postings, register, and submit your own provocative idea. If you would like to send me a copy of your posting, terrific! Finally, Dr. Varmus appeared to be doing a terrific job balancing the need for basic investigation with application and therapeutic investigation. He spoke a good deal about a molecular driven therapeutics. Thus while we all value highly basic investigation, it is the time to link this to human disease and the therapeutic potential. Stan Gerson, MD CASE CCC IN THE NEWSCleveland Clinic Geneticist Takes Part in Testing of Abraham Lincoln's DNA Gene Test for Prostate Cancer in the Works XMRV: Study Shows Virus Can Cause 'Persistent Infection' in Monkeys Soda Coloring Ingredient Linked to Cancer Red Wine Boosts Drug for Breast Cancer, Study Says University Hospitals Studies FDA-approved 3-D Mammography System MARK YOUR CALENDARSCancer Center Seminar Series: MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer
Friday, February 25 Please join us Friday, February 25 at the next Cancer Center Seminar Series featuring Cheryl Thompson, PhD. Dr. Thompson, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, will present MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer. Dr. Thompson received her PhD in Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology from Case Western Reserve University. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Computational Genomic Epidemiology of Cancer (CoGEC) program under guidance of Dr. Robert Elston and is currently predominantly supported through the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Thompson's primary research interests are in the identification of genetic and molecular factors influencing risk of cancer as well as factors associated with prognosis and treatment outcomes. Her current major research projects include the identification of inherited variation influencing risk of breast cancer and mammographic density. Additional projects have begun to investigate the role of microRNAs in breast cancer detection, risk and prognosis, as well as response to common breast cancer therapies. She is also working on a project to study the ability of circulating microRNAs to discriminate between patients with benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. Cancer Imaging Program Cellular Imaging Focus Group "Mini Talk"The leaders of the Cancer Imaging Program invite you to attend a Cellular Imaging Focus Group "Mini Talk", Monday, February 28 at 3:30 pm in Wearn B-37. Drs. David Wilson, Zhenghong Lee and Alex Huang are featured presenters. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please contact Drs. Zhenghong Lee (zxl11@case.edu) or James Basilion (james.basilion@case.edu) for more information. |
EVENTS
**All events are open to anyone interested in attending February 21Pathology Research Seminar Physiology and Biophysics Seminar February 22Cancer Biology Invited Speaker Seminar Immunology Seminar Taussig Cancer Institute Core Curriculum Series February 23Hematology and Oncology Division Research Conference Department of Immunology Faculty Research in Progress Seminar DNA Repair Inhibition Journal Club February 24February 25Hematology/Oncology Fellows Taussig Cancer Institute Grand Rounds Cancer Center Seminar Series Cancer Center Research in Progress Seminar
UPCOMING CANCER CENTER SYMPOSIUMS & EVENTSBreast Cancer Detection and Management: Issues for 2011 Case CCC Annual Scientific Retreat ADDITIONAL UPCOMING SEMINARS & EVENTSActive Living Research Annual Conference 14th Annual Meeting of the Translational Research Cancer Centers Consortium 2011 Multilevel Interventions in Health Care: Building the Foundation for Future Research Goals 4th Annual Biospecimen Research Network (BRN) Symposium: Advancing Cancer Research Through Biospecimen Science Fourth Annual Translational to Clinical (T2C) Wound Care Conference 2011 Clinical and Translational Research and Education Meeting: ACRT/SCTS Joint Annual Meeting Cincinnati Cancer Symposium Series: 2011 Symposium on NF-κB, Cancer, Obesity, and Inflammation 4th International Symposium on Cancer Metastasis and the Lymphovascular System International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting Cancer Health Disparities Summit 2011 8th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology |
9th Annual Midwest Blood Club SymposiumThe Midwest Blood Club will hold its 9th Annual Symposium April 21-22 at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. Since 2003, this meeting has been organized to foster greater communication between hematology/oncology investigators within the Midwest region by creating a forum where researchers can meet and share ideas and data on stem cell biology, transplantation, cell/gene therapy, leukemogenesis, and immunotherapy. The meeting will be composed of invited presentations from investigators, as well as selected presentations from students and postdoctoral/clinical fellows. Both oral and poster presentations will be selected from the abstracts submitted by the April 1 deadline. A banquet will be held on Thursday night for all the participants. ONCOMINE Tutorial/WorkshopThe third hands-on Oncomine computer Tutorial/Workshop is scheduled for Friday, February 25 from 2-3 pm in NA5-03 of the Lerner Research Institute. All are welcome to attend this introduction to the Oncomine Database, even if you would simply like to learn more. Prior to attending, participants should register an account at Oncomine.com using their "Case.edu" or "CCF.org" login. Please bring their own laptop or be prepared to share with a friend. Contact Patrick Leahy with any questions. |
ANNOUNCEMENTSiMedRIS TrainingNew cancer research protocols requiring IRB review will be submitted, reviewed and stored electronically using the Case Cancer IRB electronic, web-based submission and review database provided by iMedRIS™ Data Corporation. Part 4 (How to Respond to Stipulations) and Part 5 (How to submit Amendments) of the iMedRIS™ training sessions will be offered through February. All interactive training will be accessible online using Adobe Acrobat Connect and telephone conference line and can be accessed at personal workstations. For more information or to download training guides, please visit the iRIS Training Page. To register, please contact Mariesa Malinowski or Mark Tennant. |
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES |
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ASCO Medical Student Rotation |
National CENter for ReGenerAtive Medicine UnderGraduate StudEnt (ENGAGE) Summer Program |
NIH BULLETIN – Notices and Funding OpportunitiesChildhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS)(Limited Competition U24) (RFA-CA-11-501) |
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| Produced by: Gillian Irwin Todd 11100 Euclid Avenue, Wearn 149 Cleveland, Ohio 44106-5065 216-844-8317 phone 216-844-7832 fax gillian.irwin@case.edu |
HELP US HELP YOU!If you have a new grant, recently won an award, or have other newsworthy items, please let us know so we can publicize them in the newsletter and other media outlets. You deserve the accolades! Send items to gillian.irwin@case.edu. |
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