April 2013
Table of Contents
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Shared Resource Spotlight
Tissue and Data Acquisition and
Analysis Core
TDAAC is a shared resource core designed to provide high-quality-controlled human tissue samples to investigators, as well as provide customized services to assist them in all tissue collection, consenting, and processing needs.
TDAAC offers the following services:
-Quality-controlled human residual tumor and hematopoietic samples
-Customized human tissue collection, handling and informed consent services
-Processing of tissue and hematopoietic samples for specialized studies
Co-directors:
Contact Information:
(804) 628-2010
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Leaders' Update
A message from Director Gordon Ginder
We are pleased to share with you an update from the senior leader's retreat where Massey's program leaders, associate directors, administrative leaders and other senior center leaders discussed the center's short-term and long-term efforts and priorities.
This message continues with:
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Research Highlights
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New drug combination therapy developed to treat leukemia
A combination of drugs ABT-737 and BEZ235 could lead to profound leukemia cell death by disrupting the function of two major pro-survival proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. The effectiveness of the therapy lies in its ability to target a pro-survival cell signaling pathway known as PI3K/AKT/mTOR, upon which the leukemia cells have become dependent.
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Prostate cancer trial aims to reduce radiation treatments
A recently opened Phase I clinical trial is testing an innovative radiation therapy for patients with early stage prostate cancer that has the potential to drastically reduce treatment time. The treatment uses an external beam called stereotactic radiation therapy to deliver a concentrated dose of radiation to the tumor with extreme accuracy.
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Simpler colonoscopies are safer
A new study has discovered that as the complexity of colonoscopies increase, a higher risk of adverse events, such as GI bleeding or colonic perforation, are reported. Many factors affect the likelihood of those adverse events, including the surgeon's colonoscopy volume and the type of the procedure and facility where the colonoscopy is done.
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Center News
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Cancer Research Retreat
Save the date for Massey's annual Cancer Research Retreat, which will be held on June 13, 2013.
The keynote speaker will be Timothy Ley, M.D., from the Genome Institute at Washington University, who is an internationally known expert in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia and other blood-related disorders. Dr. Ley's research group is currently using both genetic approaches and expression profiling to improve the efficiency of the process of homologous recombination in both embryonic and hematopoietic stem cells.
The deadline for abstract submissions is May 20, 2013.
Stay tuned for more information.
Massey Challenge raises half a million to support cancer research
Thank you to everyone who participated in the HDL, Inc. Massey Challenge! Together, we reached our $500,000 goal to support Massey's monumental fight against cancer.
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Member Showcase
Massey welcomes Iain Morgan, Ph.D., director of the VCU Philips Institute and chair of the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the VCU School of Dentistry, as one of the newest research members in the Cancer Molecular Genetics program.
Dr. Morgan's research focuses on developing novel therapeutics to intervene in the HPV life cycle to reduce disease burden from this pathogen and to increase understanding of cellular
transcription and replication. He has also made several key contributions in determining the mechanism of cell transformation of many oncogenes.
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Researcher Recognition
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Congratulations to Andrei Budanov and Zendra Zehner.
Andrei Budanov, M.S., Ph.D., Cancer Molecular Genetics member, was awarded an RO1 from the National Institutes of Health for his project titled, "The role of P53-inducible Sesn1 and Sesn2 genes in lung carcinogenesis."
Zendra Zehner, Ph.D., Cancer Molecular and Genetics member, and Sarah Seashols, M.S., VCU Department of Forensic Science instructor, were recently awarded a two-year, $310,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice to study microRNAs for forensic science. Zehner hopes to use the microRNA findings to also develop a new and improved prostate cancer test that will use appropriate bodily fluids to check for microRNAs denoting cancer. An easier test will mean better screening measures and the opportunity to find and start treating prostate cancer earlier.
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