Macy Easom Golf Tournament benefits Childhood Cancer Families

Yesterday, Middle Georgia Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine sponsored the 4th annual Macy Easom Memorial Charity Golf Tournament, benefitting the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation. Macy was a young girl who, like Joanna, lost her battle against childhood cancer. Macy's parents and Joanna's parents (along with help from JMCCF and MGO employees and volunteers) organize this annual benefit to raise awareness and to provide tangible support to families of children currently going through their own treatment. It was a privilege to be a part of this event near Warner Robins, GA (where the JMCCF is headquartered). This fundraiser is a heart-warming way in which the memory of Macy, Joanna and other children from this area can be honored by helping the families of children who are currently facing the same challenges. 
      
[ below:  Charles with golf partners (left to right) Jeff, Aaron and Sam. ]
 

 

Tohru's Paper accepted to Genes & Cancer

Congratulations to Tohru, whose paper on pituitary tumors was just accepted to Genes & Cancer.  Tohru showed that a certain protein (ie, homeobox transcription factor) defines a newly discovered type of progenitor cells after birth that give rise to  pituitary tumors.  (yes, actually, this was a fortuitous discovery... as we were originally trying to investigate childhood muscle and cerebellar tumors).  Tohru's work fits well with the recent important discovery of pituitary stem cells by Gleiberman and colleagues.  The publication of our work in Genes & Cancer is particularly appropriate because of this journal's focus on the interplay of development and cancer biology.  Our thanks to UTHSCSA and extramural collaborators, who include pathologist Brian Rubin at the Cleveland Clinic, Bernd Scheithauer of the Mayo Clinic, and Wilmon Grant and Daniel Marks at OHSU.

[ above right: histology from a new pituitary tumor mouse model; 

  below right: microCT-based Virtual Histology of a pituitary tumor. ]

[ update June 6, 2010:  Tohru's paper is now in print, Genes  Cancer 2010;1 388-402 ]