Congratulations, Jinu!

Congratulations to Jinu whose paper addressing receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance was accepted today to Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.  Co-authors of the study include Jason Glover, Jeff Tyner, Marc Loriaux from the laboratory of Brian Druker, Keller lab alumni Aoife Kilcoyne, Laura Nelon and Corrine Chua, as well as Texas collaborators Ranadip Pal, Jennifer Carew, Yongjian Ouyang and Joel Michalek, Cleveland Clinic collaborator Brian Rubin and Ireland collaborator Frank Giles.  
  
[ 08/21/12:  "An adaptive Src–PDGFRA–Raf axis in rhabdomyosarcoma", now online here ! ]

Our thanks to the Patrick M. Callahan Memorial Fund

We are grateful to the community that supports the Patrick M. Callahan Memorial Fund.  Your generous gift moves us closer to finding not only the causes of this disease, but the actual drugs that might be put into clinical trials to benefit children and young adults who like Patrick did, face the challenge of muscle cancer.  Thank you for allowing us this opportunity to be part of Patrick’s legacy in helping make metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma a survivable disease. 
  
ps.  stay tuned for exciting results of last year's contribution, which is being submitted to a scientific journal shortly.  
  
[right:  Patrick at a Phillies game, by permission of his mother, Joann]
  

Scott Carter Foundation BIG SHOW!

It was a pleasure to attend the Scott Carter Foundation Big Show! this weekend.  The SCF raises funds to support the training of new scientists for childhood cancer research.  It's inspiring to see a community rally around an idea created by a boy, Scott, who saw a world with cures for all children affected by cancer.

Legacy Gift paper accepted to PBC!

Congratulations to Jen and her co-authors, whose paper on legacy gifts (autopsy tissue for research) was accepted to Pediatric Blood & Cancer, the leading journal for pediatric hematology-oncology.  For more details of this project, see www.ccurefast.org as well as our open science forum.   
  
[ "Overcoming autopsy barriers in pediatric cancer research", now online here! ]

Pediatric Cancer Nanocourse 2012

We are grateful and inspired by the 12 participants that came to Portland for the one-week Pediatric Cancer Nanocourse.  The goal was to create science‐informed liaisons between childhood cancer researchers and the community in order to empower the public to drive the cure of rare cancers. We firmly believe liaisons like these dedicated individuals, many of whom experienced unthinkable loss, are needed to speed the development of new and effective childhood cancer treatments.  We welcome the opportunity to work together with these individuals and the community in this shared mission.

[ update 1/31/2014:  see details of the 2012 Nanocourse peer-reviewed publication. ]

Welcoming Summer Student, Melissa

“I am a student at Sheldon High School, where my main concentrations are math and science, particularly chemistry. The area that most fascinates me at this time is neuroscience, because the brain is the most complex organ in the body and works in such advanced and amazing ways. I find it riveting that I could study the brain for my entire life and never completely understand how it works. A related interest is oncology. Like the brain, there is much about this field that remains unknown. I consider cancer one of life’s greatest mysteries that I believe be solved through the hard work of enthusiastic scientists in medical laboratories.  I have the enthusiasm that comes from knowing the pursuit of a cure will have a profound affect on everyone.”

   

"My initial interest in pediatric oncology occurred after I first read My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. When I read this book I was especially interested the character Kate who is diagnosed with leukemia at a very young age. Since then, I have developed this interest and hope to one day become a pediatric oncologist helping children in their fight against cancer. Because of this ambitious goal, I am already planning my future to make a medical career within reach. For instance, I have dedicated myself academically to the sciences and math at the college level during sophomore year. I became interested in the research being done at the OHSU Keller Laboratory when I heard Dr. Laura Davis speak at the Doernbecher Open House for Kiwanis Club. I eagerly await this summer and the research I will be doing at Keller Lab."

Melissa is a Faith Fulmer Foundation Summer intern for osteosarcoma research.  

Welcoming Summer Student, Claire

"I grew up in the Portland area attending Jesuit High School and am currently a sophomore in the Oregon State University Honors College majoring in Biochemistry & Biophysics with the hope of attending medical school. My interest in pediatric oncology began six years ago when I began volunteering and fundraising for the Children's Cancer Association, a small Portland-based nonprofit. My experience with children with cancer along with my passion for chemistry are what make me so excited to become a part of the Keller lab team and have the opportunity to learn from the other lab team members."

  

“I want to work at the Keller Lab this summer because I think that it will be a really great opportunity for me to get an idea of what I want to do career-wise. Also, it will give me great experience working in a real research laboratory and doing something worthwhile with my time. I have always been very interested in how cancer affects of the body and the ways that chemotherapy can cure cancer. I have also been very fascinated with all the different ways to treat cancer and all the new developments in the field, which is why I am so excited to get a chance to work in a lab where those developments are taking place. I have had a limited amount of experience working in an undergraduate Biochemistry/Biophysics lab doing an experiment with E. coli, but I have not had extensive experience in a research laboratory.  By the start of summer I will have completed a full year of Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Multivariable Vector Calculus, along with a number of Baccalaureate Core classes. I am a student in the Oregon State University Honors College, a member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars, on the Dean's List at Oregon State, and I am currently receiving multiple scholarships based on my academic achievements and campus involvement. I am a quiet, considerate person who is very eager to learn and help the Keller Lab team this summer. I look forward to what is ahead of me this summer.”

  

Claire is a Faith Fulmer Foundation Summer intern for osteosarcoma research.