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Contact: Ranjit Arab, University Relations, (785) 864-8855

Grant unites Kansas cancer researchers

LAWRENCE - Researchers throughout the state will now be able to attack cancer from five different fronts, thanks to a group of scientists led by a University of Kansas professor.

Gunda Georg, university distinguished professor in medicinal chemistry at KU, put together a proposal that has led to a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The five-year, $9.9 million grant will bring together researchers from KU, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas State University and Emporia State University to establish a Center for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics.

The researchers also will receive matching funds from KU and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation. The grant was submitted by KU's Higuchi Biosciences Center, which will administer the money.

Nineteen scientists from the state schools will fight cancer through five different projects. These projects include research on lung cancer, ovarian cancer, a strain of childhood leukemia, tumor growth and methods to improve the delivery of anti-cancer drugs. The scientists also will work with researchers at the University of Costa Rica, who will provide natural products and extracts that may lead to the development of anti-cancer agents.

As the principal investigator of the effort, Georg spent months combing through resumes and proposals from junior faculty researchers at the various institutions. She discovered that many of the scientists had overlapping research that could benefit through collaboration. She also realized that many of the younger researchers could benefit immensely from a mentoring program with senior researchers.

"There is a tremendous interest in collaborative work among the researchers in Kansas," Georg said. "When this opportunity came along, we had already formed the Experimental Therapeutics Program in the Kansas Cancer Institute. We had a goal - we knew where we wanted to go."

Specifically, the grant will fund experimental cancer research by junior faculty members.

"It's really important for these junior faculty to get this money early in their career, because it will really help them get things going," Georg said.

Along with jump-starting their projects, the grant also will connect them with some of the most experienced researchers in this area through a mentoring program.

One researcher who will take advantage of the grant is Sandra Quackenbush. Quackenbush, assistant professor of molecular biosciences at KU, will use the grant to continue her research on seasonal tumors in the walleye fish that are caused by a virus. One of the viral proteins is related to cellular protein found in some human tumors. By investigating the mechanisms responsible for the appearance and regression of the tumor in fish, Quackenbush hopes to eventually gain insight into treatment for humans.

"If we know what causes the seasonal growth of tumor cells, we can identify and perhaps treat them," she said.

Quackenbush said she was grateful to be a part of the project because it had opened up several new possibilities to her.

"The really nice thing about the COBRE grant is that it's a way for me to interact with Dr. Georg and other medicinal chemistry researchers," she said. "Had I done this on my own, I probably wouldn't have pursued that."

Lester Mitscher, university distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry at KU, will serve as a mentor on two separate projects. Mitscher, who recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Chemical Society, said he was looking forward to working with the younger researchers.

"It's particularly useful for younger faculty to have the chance to talk to people who have had success over the years and to bounce ideas off of them - it should increase their batting average, so to speak," he said.

Mitscher also said that he was excited to continue collaborating with researchers throughout the state.

"We generally feel our competition is not with each other, but with the rest of the world," he said.