The Keller Laboratory at cc-TDI

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

We are grateful to BC Cancer Research Institute sarcoma scientist, Dr. Poul Sorensen, who delivers today the 2013 Scott Michael Carter Memorial Lectureship on, "The application of genomics to identify diagnostic biomarkers, drivers and therapeutic targets for pediatric cancers".

Monday, April 1, 2013

Congratulations, Imran!

We couldn't be more proud of lab alumnist, M. Imran Aslam, who was recently chosen as an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins University Osler Program. Imran was a medical student researcher at our laboratory in San Antonio, and later an HHMI medical student scholar co-mentored by our laboratory and the laboratory of Dr. Brian Druker. Imran has made impactful studies of rhabdomyosarcoma, and now is on an exciting path towards a career as a physician-scientist. Congratulations, Imran!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

visiting Bernard at CSU

This week included a visit to our collaborator Dr. Bernard Seguin at Colorado State University's Flint Animal Cancer Center. The faculty and staff of this outstanding program are truly inspiring. Thanks to Lynda, who gave a warm Colorado welcome and clothed our key lab members with CSU T-shirts :)

Stay tuned for an exciting multi-institutional collaboration...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Miles Alpern Levin Memorial Lectureship

We are grateful to NCI scientist, Dr. Javed Khan, who delivered the 2013 Miles Alpern Levin Memorial Lectureship today on. "The application of genomics to identify diagnostic biomarkers, drivers and therapeutic targets for pediatric cancers". The recent results of deep sequencing for alveolar and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma from Javed's laboratory are very provocative.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Congratulations, Claire & Liz!

A very interesting review for the journal Oncogene by Summer lab members Claire and Liz has been accepted for publication. This out-of-the-box paper explores how Pharma companies might find benefit in developing treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma. This work was supported in part by the Ethan Jostad Foundation for Childhood Cancer.

Friday, March 1, 2013

visits to Mt Sinai, Dana Farber

We are grateful to our hosts at the Department of Oncological Sciences at Mt. Sinai as well as at the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for the opportunity to present our laboratory team's research on rhabdomyosarcoma. Featured were the studies of Ken, Jinu and Imran.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

NCI funds sarcoma study

We are excited to be part of the program project NF-kB Regulated Metabolic Shifts in Childhood Sarcomas directed by Dr. Peter Houghton at Nationwide Children's Hospital and newly funded by NIH/NCI. The studies within the project led by Dr. Denis Guttridge in which we will participate will investigate the NFkB signaling pathway in rhabdomyosarcoma.

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.