A Rogel Cancer Center Shared Resources Newsletter

AUGUST 2023

A MESSAGE FROM DR. KELLER

Dear Rogel Cancer Center Members,

As we soak up the last weeks of summer, we have begun to peer ahead to the burst of fall activities scheduled to occur as our campus community reconvenes. We are particularly excited to highlight opportunities where you can connect with the leadership and staff from the Rogel Shared Resources.

September marks the return of Researchpalooza, an annual event dedicated to learning more about the organizations that support campus research. We invite you to stop by the Rogel Shared Resource exhibitor tables to mingle and catch up on the newest offerings from each of our facilities.

The Midwest Association of Core Directors (MWACD) meeting will be hosted by the University of Michigan this October. MWACD is a chapter of the international Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF), and the meeting attracts core directors, researchers, and support staff from across the Midwest. Attendees will hear the latest in cutting-edge research and may register to attend tours of our campus core facilities.

We look forward to engaging with you at these events to discuss the ways we can support your research needs.

Sincerely,

Evan T. Keller, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Associate Director for Shared Resources

Rogel Cancer Center

EVENTS

RESEARCHPALOOZA

9.13.23 | 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor

Driveway on the north side of the MSRB

Join the UMMS Office of Research for this event hosting dozens of exhibitors from labs and offices of the Medical School and across campus. Researchpalooza is the perfect opportunity for colleagues and friends to have a great time and meet, mingle, and learn more about many of the organizations that offer their stellar services to faculty, students, and staff, all at one convenient time and location.

TABLE: ROGEL SHARED RESOURCE

12: Preclinical Molecular Imaging (a.k.a. Center for Molecular Imaging)

44: Transgenic Animal Models

45: Flow Cytometry

46: Proteomics

49: Cell and Tissue Imaging (a.k.a. Microscopy)

51: Epigenetics & Epigenomics

51: Single Cell Spatial Analysis / Advanced Genomics Core

57: Rogel Cancer Center

3rd Annual U-M Drug Discovery Symposium

09.21.23 | 8:55 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington

This symposium aims to highlight success stories from the drug discovery community at the University of Michigan. Faculty and trainees are offered an opportunity to share best practices and network with others involved with drug discovery research on campus. This event will feature five speakers and a networking lunch, for the complete itinerary, please visit Annual U-M Drug Discovery Symposium | Life Sciences Institute.

Midwest Association of Core Directors (MWACD) annual meeting

10.16-17.23 | 11 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Registration

NCRC, 2800 Plymouth Rd.

The Midwest Association of Core Directors (MWACD) is a chapter of the International Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF). The purpose of MWACD is to promote the mission and purpose of ABRF and represent and serve the interests of core resource facilities staff, users, administrators, and interested members of the scientific community across the Midwest and Canadian Prairie.

SERVICE SPOTLIGHT

Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis is a powerful tool for understanding the role of proteins in cancer development, progression, and to develop biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

With multiple state-of-the-art mass spectrometers, Proteomics SR (PRO-SR) offers a wide range of services including differential global proteomic and post-translational modification analysis, characterization of protein-protein interactions, and advanced bioinformatics support to further the mission of Rogel laboratories.

And with its latest acquisition of Orbitrap Ascend, an ultrafast, high-resolution mass spectrometer with electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), PRO-SR aims to expand the breadth and depth of its services in the coming months.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) bearing a lysine-to-methionine mutation in histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27M) are lethal childhood brain cancers. A recent publication from the laboratory of Sriram Venneti, M.D., Ph.D. applied a proteogenomic approach to assess the effect of and to gain deeper insight into potential mechanism(s) of action of a PROTAC compound (AU-15330), which targets key components of the SWI/SNF complex, in cell line models of DMGs.

PRO-SR contributed to the study by performing multiplexed differential protein expression analysis which identified loss of members of the SWI/SNF complex in H3K27M cells treated with AU-15330. Further, multi-omic analysis (proteomic, transcriptomic and ATAC-seq) identified many congruently down-regulated genes including FOXO1, a master transcriptional regulator. Pharmacologic inhibition of FOXO1 resulted in cell death in H3K27M cells, thus opening potentially new therapeutic avenues.

Read the full manuscript: Targeting SWI/SNF ATPases in H3.3K27M diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas.

NEWS AND UPDATES

Single Cell Spatial Analysis Shared Resource (SCSA-SR) acquires new instrument

The Single Cell Analysis Shared Resource / Advanced Genomics Core has acquired the 10x Genomics Xenium, an instrument that allows for subcellular-level transcriptomic analysis while preserving spatial context.

This cutting-edge technology offers pre-validated biologically relevant targets for tissue panels, with the option to customize up to 100 additional targets based on the specific area of interest. The current panel offerings include human breast, human brain, human lung, human multi-tissue/cancer, mouse brain, and mouse multi-tissue. Furthermore, researchers can create standalone custom panels tailored to their research questions, incorporating up to 300 genes. We are confident that this state-of-the-art technology will uncover novel biological insights and empower researchers to explore diverse scientific inquiries.

For more information about the Xenium and the panel design process, feel free to reach out to us at advanced-genomics@umich.edu

Congratulations!

...to Principal Investigators Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Michigan) and Sarki Abdulkadir, M.D., Ph.D. (Northwestern University), on being awarded a Prostate Cancer Foundation Tactical grant for their project titled, “Tactical Approaches to Repress oncogenic Gene Expression in prostatic Tumors (TARGET).”

The team of investigators, including Jeanne Stuckey, Ph.D., managing director of the Structure and Drug Screening Shared Resource, will employ a suite of cutting-edge drug development techniques to develop an effective inhibitor of MYC, a major driver of ~70% of all cancers including prostate cancer.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NCI Research Specialist (Core-based Scientist) Award (R50) PAR-23-243

Submit by November 2 to NIH / NCI
Letter of Intent due 30 days prior to application due date

The Research Specialist (RS) Award is designed to encourage the development of stable research career opportunities for exceptional scientists who want to continue to pursue research within the context of an existing NCI-funded basic, translational, clinical or population science cancer research program, but not serve as independent investigators.

RS must have an advanced degree
RS must have been contributing to the Unit Director's NCI-funded research for at least 2 years
RS must have full-time, non-tenure track position
RS must be supported (including salary) for not less than 6 person-months effort on the Unit Director's NCI-funded research grants

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