The Keller Laboratory at cc-TDI

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Scientific Writer needed

We are looking for a volunteer technical writer from the community to co-author a scientific paper on childhood cancer research from results already compiled. This endeavor is an experiments of sorts to see whether we can begin to blend the community with academics to create a seamless and efficient way of moving towards new treatments for childhood cancers. If you have time and interest, please contact Charles at keller (at) ohsu.edu. with thanks, the Keller Lab team.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Our thanks to the Ethan Jostad Foundation

We are grateful to partner with the Ethan Jostad Foundation for Childhood Cancer in the search for treatments of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. This foundation has both patient/family assistance and research as the center of their mission. We are thankful for the gift of $11,400 that supports the preclinical studies of a specific new agent potentially capable of stopping tumor cell spreading (metastasis). These studies will specifically employ our genetically-engineered mouse model of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. We are honored to be part of Ethan's rememberance.

[ pictured: Guangheng Li and Charles Keller (left) with Chris and Kim Jostad (right) ]

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Graphics Volunteer Needed

We are hoping to work with a volunteer in the community with graphic arts/communication experience. The project is about 6 weeks long and may take 8-12 hours a week. If you have time and interest, please contact Charles at keller (at) ohsu.edu. with thanks, the Keller Lab team

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Congratulations, Ken and Anu!

Congratulations to authors Ken and Anu whose manuscript describing the role of Protein Kinase C iota in rhabdomyosarcoma was accepted today to the journal, Oncogene. Co-authors include lab alumni Laura and Sheila, UTHSCSA biostatistics collaborators Joel Michalek and Lee Ann Zarzabal, Mayo PKC biology collaborators Capella Weems and Alan Fields, and long-time sarcoma pathologist collaborator Brian Rubin at Cleveland Clinic. This work was supported by by NIH/NCI grant 1R01CA133229-04 and -05 awarded to the Keller lab and NIH/NCI grant 4R01CA081436-13 and the V Foundation for Cancer Research awarded to Dr. Fields.

For a full list of KellerLab & collaborator publications in the last year and beyond, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/collections/public/10calZ-r8sAIil6mkZzynGqAV/?sort=date&direction=descending .

[ 2/22/2012: Ken's article, Protein kinase C iota as a therapeutic target in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, is now online here.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Congratulations, Anu!

(01/13/12): Article entitled, "(18) F-FDG microPET imaging detects early transient response to an IGF1R inhibitor in genetically engineered rhabdomyosarcoma models" is now online here as PMID 22238194.

(12/17/11) Many congratulations to lab alumni, Anu, on her study from our lab of PET scan monitoring of targeted therapy responses in alveolar & embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, which has been accepted for publication in Pediatric Blood & Cancer. Co-authors include current lab member Jinu, lab alumni Laura & Suresh, and collaborators Lee Ann Zarzabel & Joel Michalek (UTHSCSA), Stan McHardy (SWRI), Doug Hawkins (Seattle Children's Hospital) and Suman Malempati (OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital).

Thursday, December 29, 2011

JMCCF funds Rhabdomyosarcoma Research

We are grateful to the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation for our new 2012 research grant of $12,000 for the project, "60 by 60: Finding the Very Best Targeted Therapy Combination for Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma". JMCCF is a very important organization not only for funding research, but also for supporting families of childhood cancer patients in central Georgia and beyond.

We are thankful to our long term partners at JMCCF for allowing us to be part of their mission.

Welcoming Amy!

We are pleased to Amy Paul join our laboratory as a new intern in pediatric oncology translational research. Amy is a recent graduate of the OHSU School of Nursing and will be functioning in important roles for our childhood tumor bank & registry as well as a canine personalized sarcoma therapy trial.

in her own words:

"My interest in working in pediatric oncology first arose in 2008 when I spent my first summer during nursing school as a volunteer camp counselor at a camp for children with cancer. For 8 days, I bonded with 18 middle-school aged girls all affected by cancer in some way either as a patient, survivor or as a sibling, I then realized that this was my hearts calling in life as a Registered Nurse and community advocate for cancer. I then started training for a marathon with a local chapter of Team in Training for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where I recognized and learned the growing importance for cancer research, which deepened my hearts desire to expand my participation in this field of medicine. The ability to directly work with the children and families at Doernbecher's (Children's Hospital) as well in the research lab is an incredible opportunity that will only add to my knowledge and experience in my future nursing practice as I aspire to be a pediatric oncology nurse."

We're excited for Amy to be part of our team and look forward to furthering her career!

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.