The Keller Laboratory at cc-TDI: 05/01/2009

Friday, May 22, 2009

Aislynn Graduates!

We couldn't be more proud of Aislynn Samano who graduated today with a Masters Degree from UTHSCSA. Aislynn's thesis encompassed a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluating drug efficacy in genetically-engineered mouse models of medulloblastoma. The results of her study are especially important to academic and pharmaceutical approaches to preclinical therapeutics. Important contributors included lab members Eri Taniguchi (alumnist now), Sachiko Ohshima and Aoife Kilcoyne as well as imaging collaborators Osamu Togao, Ai-Ling Lin, Duff Davis, and Tim Duong and engineering collaborators Brent Nowak and Thomas Whitney. We plan to submit a manuscript on Aislynn's exciting work later this month. Congratulations, Aislynn!

[ Update (7/15/09): Exciting News! Aislynn has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Armand J. Guarino Award for Academic Excellence in Master of Science Studies !! ]

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Koichi featured by ALSF News

Koichi has been featured in the "newsroom" of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation website as a past recipient of an ALSF career development award. To see the ALSF news spotlight, click here.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Sachiko Wins Poster Presentation

Congratulations to Sachiko, who won 1st Place in the poster competition for the 7th Annual Center for Biomedical Neuroscience Retreat today. Sachiko's poster explores the role of receptor proteins as therapeutic targets in metastatic medulloblastoma. way to go, Sachiko!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Welcoming Ashwathi!

Ashwathi Mohan will be joining our research team as a GCCRI 2009 Summer intern. Ashwathi is currently an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University and is a graduate of the Northside Health Careers High School in San Antonio. After completing her Molecular and Cell Biology Major and a Classics (Latin) minor, she plans on pursuing a combined M.D. and Ph.D. Her goal is to both practice medicine and continue biomedical research.

[ 06/09/2009: Congratulations to Ashwathi, who was recently selected as a University Scholar scholarship from Texas A&M University. This prestigious award is based on academic achievement and the intent to pursue postgraduate studies. ]

You Can Participate in our Novel Therapeutics Studies !

One would like to think that tangibly better treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and other childhood cancers can be found in a matter of years, instead of tens of years. Finding new treatments starts with research, perhaps even a new research approach to identifying effective new treatments. The Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute focuses on finding molecules in childhood cancers that can be directly turned off or on by drugs so that the tumor stops growing. Behind our novel approach is the use of genetically-engineered mice. Our Pediatric Preclinical Testing Initiative uses mice modified from before birth so that at a certain age, and in a certain tissue, the same mutations found in a child’s cancer are activated in the mouse. These special mouse models of childhood cancer can be used to test a treatment to see whether the tumor growth and spread (metastasis) can be reversed. The specific aspect of these mice having normal immune systems is a real plus, too, because white blood cells play an important role in how tumors evolve and respond to therapy.

Our program is designed around community participation. Through the Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute, you can contribute directly to this grass-roots initiative. Donations through small gifts or grants will assist in studying compounds that may be effective in treating such childhood cancers as alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, or medulloblastoma (the alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma model was featured by Dr. Keller's long time collaborator and former mentor, 2007 Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi, in his Nobel Prize lecture {see 16 minutes onward}.)

For additional information regarding supporting this program please contact Charles Keller at charles@cc-tdi.org. Results obtained through these studies will be shared with the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, as well as the Children’s Oncology Group, which designs clinical trials for childhood cancer.