Multi-disciplinary Collaboration

Many thanks to our Boston-area collaborators for partnership in studying biology and new therapeutics for rhabdomyosarcoma.  So much comes from working across disciplines.     

Congratulations, Sangeet!

We are excited that Sangeet's pilot project proposal, " Chemokine Regulation of the Leptomeningeal Metastasis of Medulloblastoma " has been funded by the Knight Cancer Institute Translational Research Group and made possible by the Schnitzer Investment Corp.  
  
way to go, Sangeet!
  
  

To  Friends at the Schnitzer Investment Corp, our team and I are grateful that you have made possible our pilot grant.  Preventing the spread of brain tumor cells to the spine is an important issue for children of Oregon and across the world.  We hope to take the opportunity you have created for us to study this cancer-related process to not only understand how it occurs, but also to understand how to prevent it (or to treat it if already established).  As you have proven, the community is always an important part of new and innovative research endeavors.  Charles

  

  

Lyla Nsouli Foundation funds Supplement to the DIPG Consortium

We are grateful to the The Lyla Nsouli Foundation for Children’s Brain Cancer Research for the $28,000 supplement to our TheCureStartsNow funded project entitled, "Rapid Preclinical Development of a Targeted Therapy Combination for DIPG".  This supplement allows us to expand our six institution consortium in North America to include 2 other expert laboratories in Europe:
  

• Dannis G. van Vuurden MD, MSc, & Esther Hulleman, VU Cancer Center Amsterdam, and
• Jacques Grill, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France

The ultimate goal is to move the most effective single agent or combination therapy forward to early phase clinical trials in the next 18-24 months. This is the first time that a group of basic and translational scientists and physicians from eight institutions throughout North America and Europe have come together as a consortium to focus on DIPGs and to focus on a bench-to-bedside approach to rationally target therapy for children with DIPGs.

  
For the Open Science Forum week to week update of this project, click here.  
  

TheCureStartsNow funds DIPG International Preclinical Study

We and our collaborators are grateful for the new $100,000 award from The Cure Starts Now circle of foundations for our project, Rapid Preclinical Development of a Targeted Therapy Combination for DIPG.  We are excited to get this project underway immediately, which addresses the goal our multi-national team and this foundation and its supporters share in making DIPG a uniformly survivable cancer.  Our team consists of the following laboratories:

Charles Keller MD, Kellie Nazemi MD, Nate Selden MD, PhD and Dan Guillaume MD, PhD at the Oregon Health & Science University

Oren Becher MD, Duke University Medical Center

Michelle Monje MD, PhD, Stanford University

Maryam Fouladi MD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Cynthia Hawkins, MD, PhD, University of Toronto

Xiao-Nan Li MD, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine

We are again thankful to The DIPG Symposium Collaboration, The Cure Starts Now Foundation, Reflections of Grace Foundation, The Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation, Cancerfree Kids, Carly’s Crusaders, The Max Lacewell Foundation, Smiles for Sophie Forever Foundation and Benny’s World Foundation for making our project possible. 

    

For the Open Science Forum week to week update of this project, click here.  

  

Our thanks to the Kyla McCullough Gift Fund

We sincerely thank the family and community that remember Kyla McCullough through the KMGF.  For the second year in a row, the KMGF has sponsored a scientific instrument purchase - here an Intravital Microscope to facilitate improved studies of leptomeningeal metastasis.  We are grateful for this generous gift, and the chance to be part of Kyla's rememberance.  

  

CTOS - Second International Conference on Sarcoma Biology

It has been a productive set of tandem meetings.  Charles presented an opening evening session talk at the Second International Conference on Sarcoma Biology on the cell of origin of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and undifferentiated sarcomas, while OHSU & the Pediatric Cancer Biology Program have had 3 well-visited posters (including one co-authored by Melissa Hill and our colleagues at the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation).
 

The Wayman Tisdale Story (osteosarcoma,basketball & jazz)

 

Reposted from the Scott Carter Foundation website as written by Amanda. 
 
Hollywood is coming to Holland Hall! On Saturday, October 29, 2011 the world wide movie premiere of the “The Wayman Tisdale Story” will take place at the Walter Arts Center at Holland Hall. The film celebrates the life and legacy of three time All-American, Gold Medal Olympian, NBA Star, World Renowned Jazz musician and Tulsan, Wayman Tisdale. The event is free and open to the public.
 
“The Wayman Tisdale Story” features never before seen interviews with Wayman Tisdale as he tells his own life story from childhood to his battle with Cancer. The film also features interviews with Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Toby Keith, Marcus Miller, Dave Koz, A.C. Green, Jonathan Butler, Steve McKeever, Billy Tubbs and the Tisdale family. Emmy nominated documentary director Brian Schodorf produced and directed the film and will be speaking at the premiere. The Los Angeles Times says “The Wayman Tisdale Story is a must-see film for all audiences.” View the trailer here.
 
The Scott Carter Foundation is excited to join forces with filmmaker Brian Schodorf to host the first public screening of “The Wayman Tisdale Story“. The event will be just like a Hollywood premiere–complete with a red carpet, photo ops, and the viewing of the hour long documentary. “The Wayman Tisdale Story” has been featured in multiple film festivals and has won numerous awards. It also features the song “Cryin’ for Me” which was written and performed as a tribute to Tisdale by Toby Keith.
 

Wayman Tisdale passed away in 2009 after a two-year battle with Cancer. He suffered from Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, that also took the life of Tulsan, Scott Carter at age 13 in 1993. According to the American Cancer Society, each year about 800 new cases of Osteosarcoma are diagnosed in the United States. About 400 of these are in children and teens. Osteosarcoma is not a common Cancer and more research is needed. To date, the Scott Carter Foundation has raised $1.7 million for Children’s Cancer research. Read more about the Foundation here.  “The Wayman Tisdale Story” premiere will take place at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 29 at the Walter Arts Center at Holland Hall, located at 5666 East 81st Street (Tulsa, Oklahoma). Doors open at 6:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. The Tisdale family, Director Brian Schodorf and the Carter family will be available for interviews. A copy of the movie is available upon request.