The Keller Laboratory at cc-TDI: Jul 5, 2015

Sunday, July 5, 2015

CURE Childhood Cancer Foundation Awards Multiyear Grant to cc-TDI

We are pleased to announce that the Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute was selected to receive a multiyear research grant awarded by CURE Childhood Cancer foundation of Atlanta, GA. The grant will help fund our CUREfast Cancer Registry for Familial and Sporadic Tumors. We have pioneered an approach to the difficult decision that some families make when choosing to donate tissue that provides resources to the scientific community to bring about new knowledge and potential new drug treatments for changed outcomes. We are excited to work with CURE Childhood Cancer and honored to be selected as one of their grantees.

Our thanks to the Shenandoah Sharks!

We are grateful to The Shenandoah Sharks, a Summer swim team in Shenandoah, Texas. These swimmers and their families recently held a swim-a-thon in memory of Thomas, the brother to a member of the team, Emily. Thomas had an inconquerable spirit during his battle with childhood cancer. Fittingly, the motto for this event was Fortitudo: strength-courage-perseverance. Our thanks go to all the swimmers and their families who made this fundraiser possible, and for remembering Thomas in this way.

[ pictured: Charles holding the Sharks' t-shirt with Thomas' parents, Beni and Cynthia. ]

Welcoming Cora & Adelae

We are excited to welcome our Summer students to the lab this week.

Adelae is an incoming freshman at Bates College. Her project is in our 'skunkworks' of trying to redefine how targeted therapies can be delivered -- by surgeons! This project involves a lot of 3D printing and robots... the type of experience ideal for Adelae's interest in systems biology and neuroscience.

Cora is a Chemical Engineering student at University of Massachusetts, entering her Junior year this Fall. Her work will be focused on The Alexa Project, which will define the resources available for drug discovery in NF1-associated Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (a form of brain tumor).

[ pictured: Adelae (left) and Cora (right) ]

Matt, our newest muscle stem cell biologist

We are excited to welcome Matt to our cc-TDI scientific team. Dr. Matthew Randolph earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2000 from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. He practiced mixed animal medicine as an associate veterinarian in northeast Georgia for five years. Matthew then pursued a career in cancer research and recently trained as a stem cell biologist at Emory University, in the laboratory of Dr. Grace Pavlath, while earning his PhD in Biochemistry, Cell, and Developmental Biology. He has joined cc-TDI as a post-doctoral researcher and will investigate novel therapies for childhood cancers, including the cancer of muscle, rhabdomyosarcoma. Matthew and his wife, Casey, enjoy hiking, working with children, and watching science-fiction shows.

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.