National Center for Integrative Biological Computing

Congratulations to our colleagues at the Scientific Imaging and Computing Institute at the University of Utah on their very well prepared site visit for the National Center for Integrative Biological Computing.  Our proposed collaborative project for this NIH P41 grant uses shape analysis to evaluate disease progression in medulloblastoma.  This is a truly unique team of gifted computer scientists, and it is a privilege to be able to work together. 

Welcoming Sheila Hampton to our Lab

Sheila comes to us from the Institute for Drug Development at the CTRC where she performed preclinical drug testing and therapeutic cell testing studies. Sheila earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from West Texas A&M University. Her future plans are to attend the Cytogenetics Program at UTHSCSA in the Fall.

[ top right:  Sheila diligently working through mouse path slides.  picture courtesy of photographer and labmate, Laura Nelon :) ]

in appreciation of Tony

We'd like to acknowledge and thank Antonio (Tony) Dennie, Computer Support Specialist at GCCRI, for all that he does regularly to keep our research program going.  It seems there is never a problem too large for Tony to tackle.  We sure do appreciate all your expertise and long hours, Tony!

2010 Scott Carter Fellow, Jinu Abraham

Jinu earned his doctoral degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  During the course of his Ph.D, he studied the regulation of Drosophila hematopoiesis by SUMO modification under the guidance of Dr. Soichi Tanda.  In the Keller laboratory, Jinu is investigating the mechanisms of resistance to receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors in rhabdomyosarcoma.  He is also investigating the efficacy of other novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma.  Dr. Abraham's future goal is to become an independent scientist in the fields of Cancer Biology and Therapeutics.

Honoring Koichi

Our sincerest appreciation goes to postdoctoral fellow, Koichi Nishijo, who is moving to the next stage of his biomedical career as a clinical trials coordinator for Bayer, Japan.  As a postdoctoral fellow in our laboratory, Koichi first-authored papers in Cancer Research as well as The FASEB Journal, and was co-author of 2 other papers in print or in review.  Koichi was also recipient of a nationally-competitive Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Young Investigator Award and was a Scott Carter Foundation Fellow in our laboratory.  We will miss you, Koichi, but wish you great successes in your career.     

[above right:  Koichi (left) and Charles (right) at a going away lunch on Tuesday]

Our thanks to Marathoner Jennifer Rebeles!

Our sincerest thanks go to Jenny, who ran the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon on December 6 in support of the GCCRI Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program.  Jenny's family and friends provided a substantial contribution that furthers research on novel compounds that might be one day used in the treatment of childhood cancers.  Jenny is also a staff member at the GCCRI, and directing manager of our advanced instrumentation resource facility.  It is very kind of her to support our research and programs in childhood cancer research in so many ways.  Thank you, Jenny! 

[ top right:  photos from Jenny's Marathon.  We think she must have passed that person in front of her!  ]  

Sachiko Presents to the Texas Oklahoma Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium

Today Sachiko presented her work on, "The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System as a Therapeutic Target in Medulloblastoma" to the multi-institutional Texas-Oklahoma Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium.  Her presentation was well received and considered promising as an approach for a clinical trial.  The greatest value, of course, was in the multi-disciplinary exchange between clinicians, clinical researchers and basic scientists. 

Congratulations again to Sachiko on an excellent presentation.