Science Article
February 6, 2003
Kim Robien, graduate student in the Cancer Research Prevention Program of the Public Health Sciences Division, is one of four young scientists elected to the Associate Member Council of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The council is a leadership body of 13 early-career scientists engaged in cancer research.
The 96-year-old association, known as the world's largest cancer-research organization with more than 18,000 laboratory and clinical-science members, is based in Philadelphia.
Robien, also a doctoral candidate in nutritional sciences at the University of Washington, received her master of science degree in dietetics at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, and her bachelor of science degree in dietetics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Her dissertation research involves evaluation of the risk of relapse associated with genetic variation in folate metabolism and the use of antifolate medications during hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Her adviser is Dr. Neli Ulrich.
Robien noted that as one of two graduate-student representatives on Fred Hutchinson's Student/Postdoctoral Advisory Committee, she has become familiar with issues facing graduate students, medical fellows and postdoctoral fellows in the interdisciplinary fields of cancer research.
"One overriding theme is that time and money are precious commodities during our training years," she said.
Dr. Linda Buck of the Basic Sciences Division is the recipient of the Perl/University of North Carolina Neuroscience Prize.
The $10,000 award recognizes seminal achievement in neuroscience. Buck will share the honor with Dr. Richard Axel, a neuroscientist at Columbia University.
Buck's lab studies how animals detect chemicals and how the nervous system translates smells into perceptions and behaviors. She discovered genes that contain the blueprints for olfactory receptors, work she began while a postdoctoral fellow in Axel's laboratory.
Her later work revealed how olfactory signals are organized in the nose and brain. It also provided information about the perception of taste and the detection of pheromones, the chemical signals released by animals that elicit instinctive behaviors.
In addition, Buck has begun studies on factors that control lifespan in worms and onset of puberty in mice.
Do you have a purebred dog that wouldn't mind a cheek swab? The laboratory of Dr. Elaine Ostrander wants you.
Ostrander, of the Human Biology and Clinical Research divisions, seeks purebred dogs registered with the All American Kennel Club to fill out its breed collections.
Her lab studies the relationships between modern dog breeds to make the best use of breed structures when mapping disease-associated genes in canines.
In high demand are terriers and northern breeds such as Alaskan malamute or Siberian husky.
All that is required from a dog for inclusion in the lab's research is a cheek-swab donation and a copy of its pedigree.
To participate or for more information, e-mail Heidi Parker, hgparker@fhcrc.org, or Nate Sutter, nsutter@fhcrc.org, for a collection kit.
Dr. Brian Reid, investigator in the Human Biology and Public Health Sciences divisions, has co-chaired an advisory group to the National Cancer Institute that recommended creation of a new research consortium to promote advances in stomach and esophageal cancers.
In a report to the NCI director, the Stomach/Esophageal Cancers Progress Review Group proposed that a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary group be developed to improve access to gastrointestinal cancer care and clinical trials for patients at high risk for developing disease. The report suggested that funds for such a consortium be sought from the National Institutes of Health as well as industry partners.
In addition, the advisory panel identified 10 research priorities for the next five years including patient and provider education, development of new therapies, population studies and prevention strategies.
Gastroesophageal cancers are the second most common cause of cancer death in the world. In 2000, more than 1.2 million new cases were identified and nearly 1 million people died from the disease.
See the report at http://prg.nci.nih.gov/stomach/finalreport.html.
The Institute for Systems Biology and Fred Hutchinson will host "Systems Biology and Human Disease," an international symposium featuring global leaders in predictive and preventive medicine, to be held Sunday and Monday, April 13-14, at the institute, 1441 N. 34th St.
Speakers, who include Dr. Lee Hartwell, center president and director, and Dr. Leonid Krugylak of the Human Biology Division, will represent immunity, infectious disease and the genetics and genomics of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Admission to the symposium is free, but those interested are asked to register at http://www.systemsbiology.org.
Visit the site to see a copy of the symposium schedule.
Dr. Arlene A. Forastiere, professor of oncology and otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will present a seminar, "Management of Esophageal Cancer Using a Multimodality Approach" at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in Pelton Auditorium.
