August 2018
Table of Contents
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Shared Resource Spotlight
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Cancer Informatics Core
The Cancer Informatics Core facilitates biomedical and translational research by providing methods and tools to record, integrate, manage, analyze and visualize various biomedical, behavioral and clinical data. Available services include consultation, data integration and honest broker services, feasibility assessment, cohort identification, clinical annotation, dataset and report development, electronic data capture and bioinformatics support. These services rely on the CIC Universal Data Store, which consists of consolidated and linked data from VCU Health System's various clinical-related data systems.
To request a CIC service, except for Bioinformatics, fill out a CIC Service Request Form.
To request Bioinformatics services, fill out a Massey Bioinformatics Service Request Form.
For more information, contact core director, Tamas Gal, Ph.D., at 628.2123 or tsgal@vcu.edu.
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Leaders' Update
A message from Deputy Director Steven Grossman
Dear colleagues,
Identifying novel therapeutics arising from Massey science is of the highest priority for Massey Cancer Center. To that end, Dr. Steve Grant and I are are spearheading the establishment of a formalized process that supports a translational pipeline for drug development at Massey.
This message continues with more about the efforts underway to develop the first Massey born and raised cancer drug.
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Research Highlights
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Study shows palliative care associated with shorter hospitalizations and reduced medical costs
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Developmental Therapeutic member
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Palliative care consultations
administered within three days of admission are linked to shorter hospitalizations and significant cost savings for chronically ill adults, according to a large
meta-analysis study
co-authored by Egidio Del Fabbro and Brian Cassel. These findings, recently published in
JAMA Internal Medicine
, indicate that the greatest cost reduction attributed to palliative care
was
seen among cancer
patients.
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Protein involved in milk production during pregnancy identified as potential target for novel breast cancer therapies
Massey research led by Charles Clevenger discovered that the enzyme cyclophilin A regulates the Jak2/Stat5 genetic pathway, which is responsible for the natural maturation of mammary glands as well as the development of breast cancer cells. Published in
Cancer Research,
t
his study identifies cyclophilin A as a relevant target for therapeutic intervention in breast cancer. Clevenger will continue to conduct further studies in pre-clinical models.
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Center News
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Research Retreat features promising cancer research at VCU
In June, VCU researchers came together for Massey's annual Cancer Research Retreat. Presentations were given by Massey researchers Paul Dent, Vanessa Sheppard, Seth Corey and Mario Acunzo, with the keynote lecture delivered by Channing Der from UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. More then 65 students and postdoctoral fellows
participated in the afternoon poster session.
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Massey first in the region to use a new device that marks breast tumors for removal
Massey is the first in the region to use a new, FDA-approved device called Magseed™ that guides surgeons in locating and removing breast tumors as an alternative to wire localization. Magseed™ is a magnetic seed made of stainless steel that can be placed
in the tumor at anytime. S
tudies have shown that surgical outcomes
are better with the seed than
with
wire localization.
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Member Showcase
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Thomson evaluates behavioral trends to integrate effective cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle strategies
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Cancer Prevention and Control member
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Maria Thomson joined Massey as a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program in 2017. She studies patient and caregiver decision-making as a means to streamline cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle interventions into the standard course of clinical care. Thomson is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy.
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Researcher Recognition
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Faber named program leader of Developmental Therapeutics
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Developmental Therapeutics co-leader
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Massey researcher Anthony Faber has been appointed as the co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics research program. He will serve in this capacity alongside Steven Grant, who has co-led the program since 2011. In this role, he will work with Grant to strengthen the program's membership, facilitate transdisciplinary collaboration among its members, cultivate its cancer-focused
grant funding and foster
translational
research leading to new clinical trials.
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Upcoming Events
Cancer Research Seminars
September 19, 2018: Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, will lead a seminar from 4-5 PM in GRL-131.
Monthly Research Meetings
Swim Across America Richmond Open Water Swim
For a full listing of events,
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Massey in the Media
WTVR CBS 6
Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Top Cancer News
CDC
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
Nature Medicine
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Share with us your research, awards and accomplishments!
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Connect with us!
Join Massey's online communities.
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