Announcements

A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame provides an important new insight into how cancer cells are able to avoid the cell death process. The findings may reveal a novel chemotherapeutic approach to prevent the spread of cancers.

Metastasis, the spread of cancer from one organ to other parts of the body, relies on cancer cells’ ability to evade a cell death process called anoikis, according to Zachary T. Schafer, Coleman Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at Notre Dame. Metastasizing cancer cells are able to block anoikis, which normally results from detachment from the extracellular matrix. However, Schafer notes that the molecular mechanisms that cancer cells detached from the extracellular matrix use to survive have not been well understood.

Dr. Basar Bilgicer has received a Leukemia Research Foundation Award.

This is a one-year, $100k grant

for his work "Designer Nanoparticles to Target Multiple Myeloma and Its Microenvironment."

Norman Dovichi, the Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received the 2013 ANACHEM Award from the Association of Analytical Chemistry (ANACHEM) for his achievements as an analytical chemist and educator.

Research being presented at two international conferences this summer demonstrates that breast cancer survival improves when a patient’s depressive symptoms—a common occurrence among cancer patients-- are detected and addressed.

The study, by Rudolph M. Navari, MD, Ph.D., FACP,  at the University of Notre Dame and associate professor and dean of the Indian School reports on the experiences of some 200 breast cancer patients five years after their initial diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer and the detection of depressive symptoms in the wake of their diagnosis. The research is being presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists in Chicago June 2 and at the annual meetings of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Berlin, Germany on June 29. Navari is an adjunct professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame and associate dean and director of Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend.

Robert V. Stahelin, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB), has been selected as one of four inaugural Showalter Scholars at IUSM.

Pascal Jean-Pierre, Dept. of Psychology, University of Notre Dame has been named as an Indiana Clinical Translational Science Institute Young Investigator, receiving support for his research on chemotherapy-related neurocognitive dysfunction.

Mimi Beck, the Notre Dame Relay for Life Registration Chair sent the following message:

Our fundraising for the 2013 ND Relay for Life totaled $203,140.22 – the largest amount in the history of ND Relay.  We got there together, with every step walked, every luminary dedicated, every prayer uttered, and every penny given.  Thank you for being there, and thank you for making this our biggest and best Relay yet.…

Jordan Scott, a Univerrsity of Notre Dame graduate student working with Rob Stahelin, won a Best Poster Award during the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Boston in April.

Jeni Prosperi, Dept. Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, IUSMSB has received funding from the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant to support her project on “The Role of APC in Chemotherapeutic Responsiveness of Breast Cancer”

"Notre Dame came into this partnership a little later than IU or Purdue so we're really trying to get more researchers involved and provide more information about what we bring to the table," Bullock said. "It's really about trying to lower the activation energy for any sort of research. Researchers have so many things on their plate -- anything we can do to simplify the process is beneficial."

Fourth year graduate student Shailaja Kunda was awarded the Faculty for the Future Award. Faculty for the Future fellowships are given to women from developing and emerging countries who are preparing for Ph.D. or post-doctoral studies in the physical sciences at top universities abroad. The goal of the program is to encourage more women to pursue scientific careers. Recipients of the fellowships are selected for their leadership capabilities and scientific talents, and are expected to return to their home countries to continue their careers and inspire other young women to pursue science. This is Kunda’s second year winning the award.

Two College of Science students have received Fulbright scholarships to conduct research in Singapore this year. Patrick Kramer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry this year, and Amy Klegarth, a third year graduate student who has worked in Singapore before, will be involved in different kinds of research.

A big Thank-You to all of the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) volunteers who gathered on April 27 to clean up a two mile stretch of Highway 933 from the Inn at St. Mary’s to Memorial Hospital. The HCRI Adopt-a-Highway program, initiated in fall of 2012, provides a great opportunity for HCRI faculty, staff, trainees, and associates to serve our community and contribute to a cleaner environment.

Oncologist Rudolph M. Navari, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, associate dean and director of the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend and an adjunct professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, has received a $2.1 million grant for a national study to address chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

Dr. Anil K. Sood, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, was the Keynote Speaker to a capacity crowd in Raclin-Carmichael Hall at the Second Annual HCRI Research Day on April 15. 

Professor Hsueh-Chia Chang and Chris Murphy, Chairman and CEO of 1st Source Bank

Hsueh-Chia Chang, Bayer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has been named recipient of the 1st Source Commercialization Award celebrating research that has made it to the marketplace.

Chang, who also is an investigator with the University’s Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics Initiative (AD&T), is a leading researcher in micro/nanofluidics, particularly in the area of nano-electrokenetics.

2^ND ANNUAL RESEARCH DAY – POSTER WINNERS

Undergraduate

1.  Lucy Smith (Littlepage)  “ZNF217 Interacts with the Tumorigenic Isoform of Pyruvate Kinase PKM2”
2. Andjela Pehar (Prosperi)  “Gene Expression Changes Downstream of APC Loss Predict Tumor Phenotype”
3. Matthew Metzinger (Stack)  “Developing a Mouse Model for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer and Obesity Studies”
…

Four University of Notre Dame graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have been selected to attend the 63^rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting from June 30-July 5 in Lindau, Germany. The purpose of the annual meeting is for young researchers and Nobel Laureates to come together to exchange knowledge and ideas, share their enthusiasm for science, and to establish new contacts

Watch Video

University of Notre Dame researchers have successfully created three-dimensional anatomical models from CT scans using 3-D printing technology, a process that holds promise for medical professionals and their patients. A paper by the researchers, “3D Printing of Preclinical X-ray Computed Tomographic Data Sets,” was published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments this week.

The strategy was initiated last spring by then-freshman Evan Doney, a Glynn Family Honors student in the laboratory of W. Matthew Leevy, research assistant professor at the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility. “It’s a very clever idea,” Leevy said. “He did a lot of it independently. He figured out how to convert the tomographic data to a surface map for editing and subsequent 3-D printing.”

Dr. Craig Brater, Dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), has announced that Dr. Rudy Navari has stepped away from his position as Clinical Director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) to focus on clinical cancer research with the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Navari will continue as Associate Dean and Director of  IUSM South Bend and  the expansion of the medical education program.  The program will continue its successful and rapid growth of the M3 and M4 curriculum together with the addition of opportunities for resident physicians to receive training in the South Bend area. IUSM South Bend will begin a search soon for a physician scientist to serve as Associate Director of the HCRI for clinical research.…

Zachary Schultz, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been named a 2013 Cottrell Scholar. Cottrell Scholar Awards are given to early-career professors who have developed excellent research programs and excellent approaches to undergraduate teaching.  Schultz’s award will be effective July 1, 2013.

Biochemistry graduate students Jordan Scott and Katherine Ward have earned an American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) travel award to present their research at the ASBMB annual meeting in Boston this April. Scott and Ward both work in the lab of Robert Stahelin, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine – South Bend and adjunct assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. 

From the election to the economy, mathematical and computational models have been gaining mainstream recognition for their successes in predicting human behavior – and now similar models may be used to predict the behavior of cancer cells in the human body. 

A session at the recent 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting organized by Mark Alber, the Vincent J. Duncan Family Professor of Applied Mathematics at Notre Dame, addressed several roles of mathematical modeling in cancer research.  Alber also moderated a discussion among leading mathematical and computational biologists on multi-scale models used in cancer research.

The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents, edited by Mark A. Suckow, research professor of biological sciences, has won the 2012 Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE Award) for Best Single Volume Reference in Science.

Sanctioned by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM), The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents is a 1,268-page textbook that teaches about animals used in research including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and other rodents.  The book discusses the animals’ basic biology, anatomy, physiology, behavior, infectious and noninfectious diseases, husbandry and breeding, common experimental methods, and use of the species as a research model.

Mary Hesburgh Flaherty, a 1979 Notre Dame alumna and two-time breast cancer survivor, spoke about her experience with cancer at the third annual Pink Zone Luncheon on Feb. 2. Each year the luncheon is hosted by the College of Science and the Notre Dame women’s basketball team to honor breast cancer researchers, clinicians, and survivors and their supporters.

The seventh College of Science Joint Annual Meeting (COS-JAM) will take place in Jordan Hall on Friday, May 3, 2013, as part of the sixth Undergraduate Scholars Conference. The intent of COS-JAM is to highlight the research achievements of undergraduate students conducting scientific research at the University of Notre Dame.…

All undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Engineering and the College of Science are invited to an upcoming open house at Innovation Park to learn more about three of Notre Dame’s professional master’s programs – ESTEEM, M.S. in Patent Law and Global Health. You will have the opportunity to meet with faculty, current students and alumni from the programs. Food and beverages will be served.  Please RSVP for the event here.

If you have any questions regarding the open house please do not hesitate to contact Christan Shelton at (574) 485-2280.

M. Sharon Stack, Ann F. Dunne and Elizabeth Riley Science Director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was recently named to the board of the journal Cancer Research. Her term will last from January 1, 2013 to December 21, 2015. Cancer Research is a bi- monthly journal that publishes basic, preclinical, clinical, prevention and epidemiological cancer research. Cancer Research is the most frequently cited cancer journal in the world.

for cancer-related research in all departments

Due Date: Feb. 15^th, 5:00pm

The 2^nd Annual
Harper Cancer Research Institute Research Day
Monday, April 15, 2013

University of Notre Dame alumna Mary Hesburgh Flaherty, a breast cancer survivor and longtime supporter of the University, will be the featured speaker at the Pink Zone luncheon at 11 a.m. Feb. 2 (Saturday) at the Purcell Pavilion at Notre Dame. The luncheon will precede the annual Notre Dame women’s basketball Pink Zone game at 2 p.m. and is organized by the College of Science to recognize researchers and physicians in the fight against cancer.

The calendar year 2012 was filled with many notable moments of accomplishment, celebration and reflection at Notre Dame. Here are some of the significant happenings.

NICRC is pleased to honor Dr. Michael Rodriguez as the “NICRC Tissue Banking Champion” in recognition of his efforts to promote accrual to the Tissue Biorepository at the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI; http://harpercancer.nd.edu/resources-links/biosample-repository/). 

Faculty members of the Eck Institute for Global Health have placed three recent doctoral recipients at the United States’ National Institute for Health (NIH). Having received offers for these prestigious global research-training opportunities, the trio is now in Maryland.

“Notre Dame has a long history of producing strong PhD candidates in the sciences,” says Robert Bernhard, Vice President for Research. “Having three doctoral students coming out of Notre Dame this fall on their way to NIH says a lot about the strength of our faculty and their ongoing research at Notre Dame.”

Ten University of Notre Dame faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in honor of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

AAAS, founded in 1848 as a nonprofit association, is the world’s largest scientific society and publisher of the prestigious journal Science.

Norman Dovichi, Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Anthony Serianni, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, have been named as Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).  Fellowships are awarded to members who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement or application of chemical science, the chemical science profession, or the management or direction of an organization in which Chemical Science is important.

FY12 Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) application deadlines are as follows:

Pre-Application (Letter of Intent):  December 4, 2012
Confidential Letters of Recommendation:  December 18, 2012
Application:  December 18, 2012…

David Go

An interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Notre Dame has revealed a critical interaction that is occurring at the plasma-liquid interface in that the electrons in plasma actually serve to separate water, producing hydrogen gas.

“As we continue to develop plasma jets for all kinds of applications, be they medical, environmental or for synthesizing materials,” said David B. Go, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, “it’s crucial that we understand the fundamental chemistry that is occurring. The role of electrons has been somewhat overlooked, but we show that they play an important role and must be considered as we continue to try to understand these new microplasma devices.”

Anil K. Sood, M.D., professor in the Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology and co-director of the
Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, will be the keynote speaker at Research Day Monday, April 15, 2013.…

With support from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, University of Notre Dame researchers have engineered nanoparticles that show great promise for the treatment of multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. The research is described in a recent edition of Nature’s Blood Cancer Journal.…

The University of Notre Dame’s Office of the Vice President for Research and the Multidisciplinary Research Committee are hosting a public discussion, “Promoting Multidisciplinary Research: Building Successful Teams and Programs,” from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sept. 27 (Thursday) in the Eck Visitor’s Center auditorium.

Molly Duman Scheel delivers commencement address to high school alma mater                  

Molly Duman Scheel, ND ’94, assistant professor of medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine—South Bend and adjunct assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, delivered the commencement address at her high school alma mater, John Adams High School on June 10, 2012 in South Bend, Ind.…

A new paper by Crislyn D’Souza-Schorey, professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, discusses the biology of tumor-derived microvesicles and their clinical application as circulating biomarkers. Microvesicles are membrane-bound sacs released by tumor cells and can be detected in the body fluids of cancer patients.…

The overall goals of the Walther SRC Grants are to provide seed funds to support the development of novel projects and test innovative ideas, acquire preliminary data for external grant submissions or renewals, and further commercial potential of novel intellectual property.

The overall goals of the Walther ABC Research Grants are to stimulate novel multi-disciplinary integrative cancer research, seed collaborative interactions between at least 2 scientific fields, provide a cross-disciplinary training environment for a post-doctoral fellow, and to generate high quality preliminary data for an extramural funding application.

Two HCRI trainees received poster prizes at the IU Simon Cancer Center Research Day held in Indianapolis, May 9, 2012:

Basic Science Category, Post-Doctoral/Medical Fellows, Third Prize

"The Regulation of Anoikis by Carcinoma-Associated Fibroblasts in Breast Cancer Cells". Ana Jakimenko (Schafer Lab)

 …

    Cancer patients who suffer chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are experiencing effective relief as a result of new research indicating the usefulness of the anti-psychotic olanzapine to control these potentially debilitating side effects.

“This is the first time that breakthrough CINV has been studied in a systematic way,” said Dr. Rudolph M. Navari, lead author of the study and professor of medicine, associate dean of IUSM-SB and clinical director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute.  “This study suggests that olanzapine will be very useful in these patients who feel very sick and sometimes come to the clinic, hospital or emergency room. As a result, patients will feel better.”…

Nine students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians who work in the laboratories of Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) faculty received awards for their work during the institute’s first Research Day Monday, April 23.

13 April 2012:  Xiaoshan Yue, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Amanda Hummon’s lab (Chemistry & Biochemistry, Notre Dame) was awarded a Visionary Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (DOD CDMRP). Her 3-year grant is entitled "Proteomic Analysis to Identify Functional Molecules in Drug Resistance Caused by E-Cadherin Knockdown in 3D-Cultured Colorectal Cancer Models…

Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) Research Day Monday, April 23 will gather cancer researchers from the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB) in an afternoon of exchange and discussion. A keynote address by Beatrice Knudsen, M.D., Ph.D., will discuss “Tissue Banking for Genomic Research and Personalized Medicine.”…

The Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI), a partnership between Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB) and the University of Notre Dame (ND) to explore the causes of and cures for cancer, is establishing an ambitious agenda with the formation of an HCRI Executive Committee.

On Monday, April 23, the first annual HCRI Research Day will assemble current and future members of the institute for an afternoon of interaction and dialogue among faculty, post-doctoral candidates and students. Notre Dame and IUSM-SB faculty who wish to be included in the event should contact harpercancer@nd.edu…