Paul Bunn, Jr., MD
Director's Message: Sept. 16, 2008
Members,
The Cancer Center has just become part of the new Aptium Oncology GI Cancer Consortium (AGICC), an eight-institution organization that aims to speed the process of finding and efficiently testing active new compounds for patients with gastrointestinal cancers so useful drugs will reach the market quicker.
Other members of the consortium are the Norris Cancer Center at the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York University Langone Medical Center, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, and the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center in Newark, Delaware.
Wells Messersmith, MD, who is associate professor of Medical Oncology and director of GI Medical Oncology, will be in charge of our project here. He says the AGICC consortium will focus on translational research and conduct Phase II trials. A key goal is to design a new process for clinical trials that is faster, more efficient and less bureaucratic. Specifically, AGICC is structured to bring investigators together to test new drugs as they come along, in contrast to pharmaceutical company-driven studies that usually are created to test a specific drug.
"When Gail (Eckhardt, MD) first sent the grant application to me, I thought it sounded interesting because you learn that in translational research there is a black hole between well-structured academic centers and well-structured cooperative groups," Dr. Messersmith says. "This consortium will make it easier to get our investigator-initiated ideas off the ground. The group includes thought leaders in GI oncology, grouped together in an academic framework where ideas can be discussed, and in a contractural framework where you don't need to get subcontracts."
The grant is $125,000 per year for two years. I think being chosen to be part of this consortium shows that the Cancer Center is in the top echelon of GI programs.
Xiao-Jing Wang, MD, PhD
Welcome to Xiao-Jing Wang, MD, PhD , who is a new member of the Dermatology faculty. Dr. Wang was recruited from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland to help grow the University of Colorado Denver's head and neck cancer program.
Dr. Wang was educated in China and came to the United States for a post-doctoral program in skin cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She then moved to Baylor, where she did a second post-doctoral program with Dennis Roop, PhD, who is now director of the Charles C. Gates Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology Program at UC Denver.
Originally a skin-cancer researcher, seeing pictures of people with head and neck cancer made Dr. Wang move into the field. "The pictures were really graphic," she says. "I felt this is really horrible. We need to do something about it. When you look at the head and neck cancer field, you rarely can find basic scientists. Not many basic scientists know the problem, and head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer."
She was recruited to OSU to build a head and neck cancer program there within the Department of Otolaryngology. It took her several years because she started from scratch. She says that the fact the surgeons there did so many operations gave her the opportunity to use tissue samples to delve into the molecular anatomy of head and neck cancer and develop a humanized mouse model.
Dr. Wang is the first person to develop a transgenic knockout mouse for head and neck cancers. She says that the grant she wrote to get funding for the project was the first time she'd ever written a perfect grant without preliminary data, just feasibility data. It was funded in the first round, something she attributes to "coincidence."
Now she's here, and she's ready to hit the ground running. She brought three faculty members with her. Steve Makowski, MD, PhD is in the Department of Pulmonology; he is developing a model for lung squamous cell cancer. Shilon Lu, MD, PhD, is in the Department of Otolaryngology; Dr. Lu works on a tobacco-related head and neck cancer model. Qinghong Zhang, PhD, is in the Department of Dermatology; Dr. Zhang is a basic scientist who works in the area of microRNA.
Dr. Wang's first goal is to set up a head and neck cancer tumor bank. Her ultimate goal: a SPORE. She says she had an offer at another prestigious university, but her heart led her to Denver.
"I love the strengths of this campus," she says. "First, this is a great place for head and neck cancer clinical trials. Second is the lung cancer SPORE. Dr. Bunn is a role model for how to develop a successful program. I can also bring something here. When I went to Portland, there was really no head and neck research at all, and I had not created a program before. Now I now what I need to do. Six years ago, when I went to Oregon, I would not be ready for this job. Now I am ready. This is a campus where I see lots of strengths and also where I can contribute."
Cancer League of Colorado, a philanthropic organization that was one of the Cancer Center's founding organizations, is seeking members for its scientific advisory board. The scientific advisory board is a group of Colorado medical doctors and research specialists who volunteer their time to insure the funds are sent to worthy organizations throughout the state of Colorado. Research for such grants is conducted at several facilities, which include the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Colorado State University, Children’s Hospital and the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Care. Generally 90% of Cancer League’s funds are awarded for research grants; the remaining 10% are awarded to service grants.
If you are interested in applying for one of the four board seats that are open, please send your CV to Cheryl Balgley, VP Funds Allocation, Cheryl.Balgley@Sun.com by Fri., Sept. 19.
Rick Garbe, MD and Al Halverstadt at the start of their ride.
Finally, the Cancer Center's coffers are a bit richer today thanks to the efforts of a retired minister and an anesthesiologist. Al Halverstadt and Rick Garbe, MD, approached us earlier this year because they decided they wanted to ride their bicycles across the continental United States, and they figured they may as well raise some money while they did it. After all, they said, they're not getting any younger so they might as well just do it.
Rick is a prostate cancer survivor, and he has also cared for many cancer patients. Al's wife and sister are both cancer survivors, and through his ministry, he helped many people through their journey with cancer.
Their ride started in Astoria, Oregon, on June 15. They finished the last of 3,692 miles on Aug. 4. In between, they saw the United States and were joined by a couple dozen others, also riding to raise money for various causes. Al and Rick set a goal of $100,000--pretty staunch considering neither had ever really raised money to that level before. But they're well on their way. So far, they have raised $78,175.
What they've done is tremendous. You can read about their trip and make a donation, if you so choose, on their website: www.cycling2curecancer.org.
Have a great week!
Paul A. Bunn, Jr., MD
James Dudley Chair in Cancer Research
Professor and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center