HCC retreat's goal is to foster research collaboration
Hollings Cancer Center held its third annual research retreat on Dec. 5 at Wild Dunes. Approximately 150 MUSC faculty, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows attended the event.
Participants
of the annual HCC research retreat were offered a day of learning and collaboration.
The purpose of the retreat is to foster research collaboration and development within the MUSC community that will lead to new cancer approaches and novel therapies.
This year's event was expanded to include University of South Carolina faculty from the School of Medicine, S.C. Cancer Center, School of Public Health and other USC science departments. USC faculty participated in the presentations and the afternoon poster session.
The retreat agenda continued the theme of previous years: interactive and translational research. This year's agenda reflected upon the growth that has occurred in research programs throughout the past year. The translational program was established as the fourth research program and the prevention and control program became the fifth.
The translational research program, under the leadership of David Cole, M.D., has developed cancer focus groups in breast, genitourinary, head and neck and thoracic cancers. USC's James Hebert, Sc.D., is leading the prevention and control program with sub-programs in molecular epidemiology research, behavior/psychosocial research and environmental/population-based studies.
This year's oral presentations in basic research showcased the work of two junior researchers in each of the three basic research programs: cancer biology, functional genetics and basic and pre-clinical therapeutics. These investigators presented novel basic research that is leading to discoveries in treatments.
The basic research oral presentations were followed by presentations by translational program leader Cole and by leaders of the cancer focus groups.
“These research activities support the basic research enterprise and in turn, depend on interactions among different laboratories and programs and interactions of basic scientists with translational scientists and clinical investigators,” said Yusuf Hannun, M.D., deputy director of Hollings Cancer Center and Ralph F. Hirschmann chair and professor of biomedical research.
The four translational presentations highlighted areas where combined basic and clinical research are needed.
Hebert provided an overview of the developing Cancer Prevention and Control Program. The intent of the collaborative USC/MUSC program is to serve the needs of South Carolina by spanning the major universities having programs in cancer research. Prevention and control efforts will focus on the four cancer areas targeted by the translational research program plus colon cancer.
The afternoon poster session included 59 posters from MUSC and USC with research projects from the basic, translational and prevention and control programs.
Oral presenters were:
Cancer Biology Program—Stephanie Robinson, “Mapping the Insulin-like
Growth Factor 1: IGF-Binding Protein Interface using Biotinylated IGF-1,”
and Tarek Taha, “Downregulation of Sphingosine Kinase-1 by DNA Damaging
Agents: Dependence on ZVAD-Sensitive Proteases and p53,”; Functional Genetics
Program—Christina Fieber, “VEGF Induces Akt3 mRNA Stability Via the Edg3
Receptor,” and John Yordy, “Interaction of the Nuclear Autoantigen SP100
with the Transcription Factor Ets1,”; Basic and PreClinical Therapeutics
Program—Mohammed Salem, “Double-Stranded RNA (dsRNA) Danger Motif is Potent
Adjuvant for Accentuating Peptide-Based Cancer Vaccine by Bridging Innate
and Adaptive Immunity,” and Michael Rossi, “In vivo and invitro Analysis
of Telomerase Modulation by Ceramide and Chemotherapeutic Agents in Human
Head and Neck Cancer.”
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as
needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations
for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South
Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107
or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst
Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu
or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community
Press at 849-1778.