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Gerard Evan, PhD Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research, University of California, San Francisco |
It's increasingly difficult to do the type of high-risk, more speculative science that might, just might, make a big difference to our understanding and treatment of cancer. The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation has, uniquely, given my laboratory the chance to think, and experiment, outside the box and address some hard questions about how cancers form and how they are sustained - and their support comes with the additional privilege of membership in their talented and highly collaborative Institute Without Walls.”
Dr. Evan is taking an innovative approach to reprogramming cancer cells, with the potential for widely applicable results. He is focusing on two critical signals that underpin the growth of all cells with the aim of determining whether cancer cells have a greater need for these signals than normal cells that would render them peculiarly vulnerable to inhibition by a drug. This would be analogous to the way that cancer cells’ higher rate of multiplication makes them more vulnerable than normal cells to death through chemotherapy. This research could open up currently unused strategies for targeted drug intervention, applicable to many types of cancer. |
John D. Crispino, PhD Associate Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University |
This award will not only provide resources to enable my laboratory to pursue translational research, which is otherwise difficult to fund in the current environment, but it will also facilitate my collaborations with the outstanding cancer researchers that form the SWCRF's Institute Without Walls. I am honored to join this group of talented and dedicated scientists.”
Dr. Crispino will be collaborating with other SWCRF investigators in focusing on Acute Megakaryocytic Leukemia, a particularly aggressive leukemia with an average survival of 8 months after diagnosis. His research will focus on understanding the specific abnormal signals that cause platelet-releasing blood cells to be produced in excessive quantities, causing this cancer. These abnormal signals are also found in other related types of cancer. In addition, he will utilize two different approaches to develop new therapeutic agents to block abnormal cell growth and restore normal cell behavior. |
Steven Collins, M.D. Professor of Medicine, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center |
We have recently discovered that calcium is an important upstream regulator of signal transduction pathways regulating leukemia cell proliferation, and the award from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation will prove invaluable in supporting this exciting new area of research in my laboratory and in identifying compounds that specifically target this pathway.”
Dr. Collins’ research will focus on specifically understanding the ways that a particular calcium-based signal tells leukemia (and probably other cancer) cells to multiply abnormally. It has recently become possible to study this signal because of technological advances. Once the mechanics are understood, Dr. Collins will investigate compounds that can intervene in the signaling process to restore more normal signals. Because it is possible that a class of drugs already under investigation may be effective for this intervention, this research could translate into patient treatment relatively quickly.