Seventeen Cancer Research Projects, Including Five Pediatric Cancer Initiatives, Receive Funding From Donations

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The 17 most promising preliminary cancer research projects at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center recently received more than $1 million in funding generated by donations and fundraising events. The researchers received the funds following an internal, peer-reviewed competitive process that is led by the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, the not-for-profit that raises funds and manages all donations made to Roswell Park.

The researchers submitted their project proposals to the Alliance Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), made up of objective Roswell Park scientists, that scored the applications and chose what projects received funding based on their potential to find cancer cures and save lives.

“The Scientific Advisory Committee ensures that donations are put to the best possible use and that the most promising research projects receive funding,” Candace Johnson, PhD, President and CEO, and Wallace Family Chair of Translational Research, said.

Five of the 17 funded projects are aimed at eradicating pediatric cancer and were funded by Carly’s Club, an Roswell Park program that raises money for pediatric cancer research and patient support programs though donations, community events and fundraisers like Carly’s Crossing and Summer Splash. The five pediatric-focused studies aim to advance the understanding of pediatric cancer, develop more effective treatments and prevent recurrence of the disease so that more children’s lives can be saved. These innovative studies often lead to long-term funding from national organizations, as well as new treatments.

“Thanks to Carly’s Club supporters, we are able to take cutting-edge ideas and start putting them into action,” Andrei Gudkov, PhD, DSci, Senior Vice President of Basic Science and Garman Family Chair in Cell Stress Biology, who received one of the five pediatric research grants, said. “These initiatives have the ability to lead us to finding solutions for currently unresolved problems of pediatric oncology. For example, our proposed study has a strong chance to help our youngest patients, who are battling devastating side effects from cancer treatment.”

The grant awardees and descriptions of the funded pediatric research projects are as follows:

• Dr. Gudkov received $85,000 for a project to test whether two drugs could treat the harmful damage that results from using toxic cancer treatments in pediatric cancer patients. There is no current treatment to prevent or treat damage that is done to DNA from treatments like chemotherapy.
• Eugene Yu, PhD, Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Genetics, received $100,000 for a project to determine if specific genetic mutations cause the spread of synovial sarcoma, one of the most common solid tumors in children, adolescents and young adults. The project could lead to identifying genetic mutations that could be targeted with more effective treatments.
• Asoke Mal, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cell Stress Biology, received $99,927 to investigate the influence of a specific gene on the progression of an aggressive form of pediatric muscle cancer. The study may provide information that is needed to develop more beneficial treatments for the disease, which has a poor prognosis and does not respond well to available therapies.
• Xinjiang Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology and Assistant Member in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, received $85,000 to test whether a newly identified drug could kill lymphoma cells in pediatric patients that have become resistant to chemotherapy. The new therapy could prevent recurrence of the disease and significantly improve patients’ survival rates.
• Danuta Kozbor, PhD, Associate Professor of Immunology and Microbiology, received $85,000 to investigate whether a novel compound could boost the efficacy of a vaccine to inhibit the spread of neuroblastoma, the most frequent solid tumor in children above the age of 1. The project has been developed in collaboration with Barbara Bambach, MD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The 12 other grant awardees and their projects are listed below:

1. Grace Dy, MD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, received $50,000 for her project, “Molecular mechanisms of host-mediated resistance to targeted therapy in patients with NSCLC.”
2. Andrei Bakin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Genetics, received $50,000 for his project, “Ribosome biogenesis and nuclear stress in breast cancer aggressiveness.”
3. Bora Baysal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received $50,000 for his project, “Structural determinants of RNA editing by APOBEC3A cytidine deaminase.”
4. John Ebos, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, received $50,000 for his project, “Soluble PD-L1 as a surrogate biomarker of cancer and cancer therapy.”
5. Gokul Das, PhD, Associate Member in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, received $50,000 for his project, “Therapeutic implications of mutant p53-estrogen receptor-beta signaling crosstalk in serous ovarian cancer.”
6. Elizabeth Griffiths, MD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, received $50,000 for her project, “Targeting the immune checkpoint PD-L1 to enhance decitabine efficacy in AML.”
7. David Goodrich, PhD, Interim Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Professor of Oncology, received $50,000 for his project, “A new model for understanding prostate cancer metastasis.”
8. Leigh Ellis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, received $50,000 for his project, “Identifying genetic drivers of aggressive prostate cancer.”
9. Eric Kauffman, MD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Departments of Urology and Cancer Genetics, received $50,000 for his project, “Is iron the elusive ‘missing ingredient’ for human clear cell renal cell carcinoma tumorigenesis?”
10. Maansi Bansal-Travers, PhD, MS, Assistant Member and Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Health Behavior, received $50,000 for her study, “Promotion of low-dose CT for lung cancer screening among smokers calling a quitline.”
11. Richard O’Connor, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Health Behavior, received $49,581 for his project, “Developing human laboratory assessments of tobacco product substantial equivalency.”
12. Zhihong Gong, PhD, Assistant Member and Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, received $50,000 for her project, “Circulating miRNAs as a biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis by race.”

The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation raises and accepts all contributions to benefit Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. These funds are put to immediate use to increase the pace from research trials into improved clinical care, to ensure state-of-the-art facilities and to help improve the quality of life for patients and their families. The Alliance Foundation is the inaugural winner of the Torch Award for Philanthropic Excellence presented by the Better Business Bureau Foundation of Upstate New York and is consistently ranked among the top charitable organizations in the U.S. for fiscal responsibility by Charity Navigator. For more information about supporting Roswell Park through the Alliance Foundation or to make a donation, please go online at www.roswellpark.org/giving.

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The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1898, Roswell Park is one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org. Follow Roswell Park on Facebook and Twitter.