Congratulations, Suresh !

Many congratulations to Suresh on the publication of his paper in Circulation, entitled "Microscopic computed tomography-based virtual histology for visualization and morphometry of atherosclerosis in diabetic apolipoprotein e mutant mice". This was a joint project between Suresh and co-first author Hernan Martinez from the laboratory of Seema Ahuja at our university. As is our mantra, multi-disciplinary collaborations often lead to interesting studies and advances... this one in the field of heart disease.

[ above right: rendering of atherosclerotic plaque, made possible through freeware available from the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute. ]

COG CNS Biology Committee Meeting in Bethesda

Yesterday and today the Children's Oncology Group Biology Committee met to discuss important new ways to help risk stratify patients with childhood brain tumors, as well as exciting potential new therapeutic approaches. We presented some of our work on targeting the ubiquitin-proteasome system in medulloblastoma. The highlight of the meeting, though, was the collaborative nature and the great scientific exchanges.

Welcoming Judy !

We are excited to welcome UTHSCSA graduate student, Chi-Yun 'Judy' Chang to our laboratory for her Fall rotation. Judy graduated with a BS in Biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. During college, she worked in the laboratory of Dr. John T. McDevitt, developing a particle based flow cytometric assay for CA-125 for comparison with the UT Nano-Biochip system. Judy hopes to be involved in research in with cancer in the future.

Aislynn receives Guarino Award

At Convocation today, Aislynn was acknowledged as the recipient of the 2009 Armand J. Guarino Award for Academic Excellence in Master of Science Studies. As Aislynn described in her acceptance speech, her project on childhood brain tumors (medulloblastoma) was a truly multi-disciplinary endeavor. Aislynn's strong communication skills and ability to bring in collaborators across diverse disciplines made her project possible. The second of two publications from her work will be submitted this coming week. We are so proud of what Aislynn has achieved. We wish her good luck and great success in Chicago!

[ above-right: Aislynn and her parents at the awards ceremony ]

Scott Carter Foundation BIG SHOW & Golf Classic

Koichi and Charles were privileged to participate in this year's annual Scott Carter Foundation fundraiser weekend, that included the "Big Show" and the Golf Tournament at the Indian Springs Country Club in Tulsa. Scott's Family and the Foundation's many selfless volunteers make ongoing important contributions of profound impact to childhood cancer research and advocacy. We appreciate all that they do!

Welcoming Courtney !

We are excited to have a new student research assistant in our lab, Courtney Kubicek. Courtney received her first Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M in May of 2009. While at Texas A&M she was an executive officer of the safe ride program CARPOOL, which pioneered and set the standard for safe ride programs nationwide. Currently Courtney is a nursing student at the UTHSCSA, and she will work part-time assisting our PPTI program (drug testing for childhood cancers using genetically-engineered mouse models). Courtney has a long term goal of obtaining my Master's in Anesthesiology.

Congratulations to Corrine, a TST Scholar !

Many congratulations to Corrine on being selected by the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science as Translational Science Training (TST) Program Scholar for 2009/2010! This competitive CTSA program, and Corrine was selected as one of 6 recipients by a 16-member interdisciplinary committee. The award encompasses a stipend, travel to a national meeting and funds for research. We are all so proud of Corrine's accomplishment!