Yale Cancer Center's Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) renewal is due to the National Cancer Institute on Tuesday, September 25. I am pleased to report that our application is in great shape and that we are in the final stages of editing and polishing the grant. I am very grateful for the hard work and dedication of our senior leadership who have been invaluable throughout the writing process over the last several months. I would especially like to thank Chad Ellis and his team, including Adam Roshka, Hilary Prosnitz, Christine Holberg, Michelle Dingus, and Andrea Aldrich for their efforts; their organization and writing have made the process as smooth and seamless as possible.
Over the next couple of weeks we may have last minute requests and questions for many of you. Your quick response and approval is crucial to enabling us to submit the grant to Grants and Contracts in a timely manner for submission to the NCI before September 25th. Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation.
Valerie Horsley Receives Presidential Award
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Valerie Horsley has been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her work on the generation of skin cells. The award, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. It recognizes Valerie's work on the generation of skin cells, which has already earned her many honors. Valerie is a member of our Signal Transduction Research Program.
Notables
Dr. Herta Chao has been promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology). Dr. Chao is a member of our Developmental Therapeutics Research Program and cares for patients at the West Haven VA Cancer Center.
Dr. Brenda Cartmel has been awarded an R03 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of exercise on cortisol dysregulation in ovarian cancer survivors. The study will explore whether a 6-month home-based exercise intervention will alter the diurnal cortisol patterns in ovarian cancer and the association between diurnal cortisol patterns and quality of life, depression, and fatigue in ovarian cancer survivors.
Dr. Michael DiGiovanna received a grant from the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative to fund his study on combination targeting of the IGF-1 receptor and HER2 in breast cancer. This is the fourth consecutive year that Dr. DiGiovanna has received funding from the program.
In the News
New Melanoma Driver Genes Found in Largest DNA Sequencing Study to Date
Yale Cancer Center geneticists, biochemists, and structural biologists have painted the most comprehensive picture yet of the molecular landscape of melanoma, a highly aggressive and often deadly skin cancer. The study appears in the July 29 advance online publication of Nature Genetics.
The Yale study used powerful DNA sequencing technologies to examine 147 melanomas originating from both sun-exposed and sun-shielded sites.
The study revealed an excess of UV-induced mutations in sun-exposed melanomas. Most of these are passenger mutations that do not have a functional role in melanoma. "We devised a mathematical model to sort out the relevant DNA alterations from over 25,000 total mutations," says co-author Michael Krauthammer, Associate Professor of Pathology, who directed the bioinformatics effort for the study.
The Comprehensive Cancer Center at VACT Healthcare System in West Haven had its first day of clinical operations in its new space in Building 2, fifth floor West, on Thursday July 26. Above, Veteran Kevin Mitchell cuts the ribbon to officially open the infusion room in its new location. Pictured with Mr. Mitchell are staff from the Chemotherapy Room, Dr. Michal Rose (Director, Cancer Center, far left) and VA Connecticut Director Janice Boss (second from the left, back row).
Closer to Free
The BoDeans to Perform Closer to Free
The BoDeans, the 80 and 90s rock band who released the song "Closer to Free" on their 1993 album will perform on the New Haven Green on Friday, August 10th at 7 PM as part of the free Music on the Green series sponsored by Yale-New Haven Hospital.
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.
Since the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven opened about two and a half years ago, Kristine Lamb has been a Clinical Referral Specialist in Diagnostic Radiology. After an appointment, patients check-out with Kristine and she arranges the scheduling of follow-up appointments, such as imaging and surgery, and makes sure they have everything they need before they leave. She also works with breast surgery, GYN, infusion, and medical oncology to coordinate a patient's care.
"Seeing a patient smile is a huge reward for me, and lets me know that I must be doing something right. It is not an easy job, and not just because of the scheduling, you become attached to the patients, and it's hard seeing them go through something as devastating as cancer," Kristine said.
Kristine is on the front line and interacts with patients on a daily basis. She commented on how lucky she is to have such a great staff to support her. Her manager, Sally Howell of Diagnostic Radiology at YNHH, said, "Kristine consistently demonstrates the 'I am Yale New Haven' pledge to our patients and families. I am delighted that she is being recognized in the Employee Profile for DirectConnect. Kudos to Kristine!"
Funding Opportunities
Uniting Against Lung Cancer
Uniting Against Lung Cancer announces funding opportunities for research aimed at improved treatment and a cure for lung cancers. Last year, Uniting Against Lung Cancer funded over $1 million in research; we look forward to increasing our support this year.
The Foundation is prioritizing novel ideas with potential to make a significant impact on current treatment of lung cancer and patient survival, adding years rather than months. We have placed high priority on funding research that has a clear path to clinical application and/or therapeutic development. Proposals for basic science are greatly aided by a forward-looking research plan outlining clinical potential. UALC funding is intended primarily as seed money for promising and potentially transformative new projects, rather than funding projects that already receive considerable support. Cross discipline collaborations are strongly encouraged. Proposals do not require large amounts of preliminary data, but must have a clear hypothesis and research plan to be completed within the two-year grant term.
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Followship Awards
The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is designed to provide early career scientists with resources to further hone their cancer research skills and explore their own ideas while working with mentors in top universities and cancer research centers.
Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the guidance of a sponsor
--
a scientist (tenured, tenure-track, or equivalent position) capable of providing mentorship to the fellow. Awards are made to institutions for the support of the fellow under direct supervision of the sponsor.
The foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies, and prevention.
For early-stage, innovative, cutting-edge, and high risk biomedical research that has the potential to be transformative. The proposed research should not yet have qualified for significant funding from outside sources. Research should benefit children, particularly in the U.S. $100,000 per year for 3 years. ($300,000)
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Epidemiology Grants
These grants are designed to support the research of investigators who have a specific focus on the epidemiology, early detection or the prevention of childhood cancer. ALSF will award support to established investigators who have a track record of peer-reviewed publications in relevant areas. These awards are expected to provide additional funds that will allow investigators to pursue novel and promising epidemiological approaches to understanding the cause of childhood cancers and how such insight can be used for early detection or prevention of childhood cancer.
Gabrielle's Angel Foundation funds the nation's best science in the fields of leukemia, lymphoma, and related cancers of the blood. The Foundation not only funds conventional scientific research, but also projects that combine integrative (complementary) therapies or botanical agents. We focus on projects for cancer prevention, detection and treatment that are most likely to be translated into clinical trials within a 3-5 year period. These Medical Research Awards, distributed on a yearly basis, each total $225,000.00 and are given over a three-year period.
Exome sequencing identifies recurrent somatic RAC1 mutations in melanoma.
Krauthammer M, Kong Y, Ha BH, Evans P, Bacchiocchi A, McCusker JP, Cheng E, Davis MJ, Goh G, Choi M, Ariyan S, Narayan D, Dutton-Regester K, Capatana A, Holman EC, Bosenberg M, Sznol M, Kluger HM, Brash DE, Stern DF, Materin MA, Lo RS, Mane S, Ma S, Kidd KK, Hayward NK, Lifton RP, Schlessinger J, Boggon TJ, Halaban R.
Understanding the molecular mechanism of sequence dependent Tenofovir removal by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase: Differences in primer binding site versus polypurine tract.
53 days until our CCSG
grant is due on
September 25, 2012.
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