The Keller Laboratory at cc-TDI

Friday, October 15, 2010

Welcoming Guangheng !

We are excited to welcome surgeon-scientist Dr Guangheng Li the Keller laboratory. 'GH' received his M.D in 1996 from Henan Medical University and his Ph.D in 2002 from the Shanghai Second Medical University. As a member of the Stem Cell Research Center in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at University of Pittsburgh, GH authored or co-authored numberous tissue engineering and stem cell studies that have been published in the Journal of Tissue Engineering, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Nature Biotechnology, and Arthritis and Rheumatism. His research has focused primarily on using gene therapy, skeletal muscle stem cell and protein therapy to improve bone healing and delay the process of joints disease. In the Keller laboratory, GH will extend these interests to the study of activated muscle stem cells and muscle cancer (rhabdomyosarcoma).

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Pediatric Cancer Biology Strategic Planning Retreat

We thank the leadership and key members of the OHSU Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, as well as our partners from the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation for attending this Fall's first annual strategic planing retreat for the OHSU Pediatric Cancer Biology Program. The retreat met yesterday at Skamania Lodge in the Columbia River Gorge. The event was moderated by Dr. Cory Hallam, Director of Commercialization Alliances and Innovation as well as the Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (CITE) at the University of Texas at San Antonio. It was a very productive day, with the only caveat that we were indoors nearly the entire time, whilst it was a beautiful day outside. Still, it was a tremendously valuable activity and will lead to a highly specific strategic plan to be generated in the coming weeks.

[ credits and thanks to Dr. Linda Stork for the Gorge photo ]

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Hyundai Hope on Wheels funds Rhabdomyosarcoma study

We are grateful to the Portland area and national Hyundai dealers who so graciously fuel the Hyundai Hope on Wheels program to fund childhood cancer research across the nation. Our laboratory yesterday received a generous award of $100,000 to study the response of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma to growth factor inhibitors... and to determine the mechanisms by which such strategies might be improved to prevent relapse and inhibitor resistance. We are all also very humbled by rhabdomyosarcoma patient, Josh Flanery, who took his time to talk with the group about his own experience with adolescent and young adult cancer.

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxOlgtbd5Z0

Fox News coverage: http://www.kptv.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4353023

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Exciting New NCI Award

We are thankful to be one of a handful of recipients of an R01 supplement exceeding $200k in response to the Carolyn Price Walker Act. This award to our laboratory and the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation is meant to increase awareness of the improved outcomes of childhood cancer patients when treated at specialized, multi-disciplinary centers. We also have a project to increase awareness of the value of biopsy samples for scientific research when tumors grow despite treatment. Many thanks to the great number of people on the team at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Melissa Hill at the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation, and Nancy Goodman of Kids vs Cancer for making this possible.

COG Fall Meeting

This past week was the Children's Oncology Group Fall meeting. Normally, the COG meets twice a year to discuss design and results (when available) of the latest clinical trials. This was a particularly special meeting, in that founding COG Chair, Dr. Gregory Reaman, was recognized for his phenomenal legacy of work with COG & CureSearch, and physician-scientist Dr. Peter Adamson took the leadership position moving forward. This meeting was well attended by pediatric oncology medical caregivers and the public alike. Our lab's contributions were a rhabdomyosarcoma presentation to the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Biology Special Session, as well as chairing (with the help of Maryam Fouladi) the CNS new therapeutics session.

[ above right: Charles and Ross Vick, advisory director member of QuadW, discussing sarcoma research ]

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Legislation and Childhood Cancer

Groups like CureSearch, foundations and individuals approach childhood cancer advocacy through hard work in lobbying for executive and legislative initiative that improve the research and care of childhood cancer patients. One example is that September is "Childhood Cancer Awareness Month" by Presidential Proclamation. Nancy Goodman is a childhood cancer parent and founder of KidsvCancer.org who regularly lobbies on behalf of childhood cancer causes. Another advocacy group for increasing drug availability for cancer patients is the Abigail Alliance. These groups certainly deserve our thanks and support in their efforts.

[ 9/15/10 For a touching story about a little girl named Joanna whose memory is bringing awareness and rallying a community around childhood cancer patients, click here. ]

[ 9/16/10 See Nancy Goodman's testimony before the House at http://www.kidsvcancer.org/pediatric-cancer-caucus/ ]

Saturday, September 11, 2010

speeding the pace of Phase I studies

We'd like to acknowledge nurse Rae Acosta who is coordinator for the Pediatric Oncology Phase I program at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, with whom we team to design preclinical trials that address special populations of pediatric cancer patients most in need of drug development. Dr. Suman Malempati is overall leader of this COG-affiliated Phase I program, and it is the cross talk that we develop with Rae and Suman that makes what we do in the research lab seem all the more tangible.

[ above right: Jen (left) and Rae (right) next to some new equipment in the lab ]

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.