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Dr. Shyamal Desai is in New Orleans Magazine. http://www.myneworleans.com/New-Orleans-Magazine/February-2012/Healthbeat/ Dr. Wayne Vedeckis won an Aesculapian Society Excellence in Teaching Awards. Dr. Shyamal Desai is in many news stories for finding trigger for breast cancer spread. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/lsuh-lrf010312.php Courtney Parke, a recent Biochemistry graduate won the 2011 Chancellor's award. Congratulations to Sherin Hashem who placed 1st in graduate student posters and Virginia Ronchi, for placing 2nd in Post Doc Posters. Watch the Fox news coverage of Dr. Alahari's lab research. Watch the video news story on Dr. Alahari and his lab here! Newly Discovered Protein Discovered May Suppress Breast Cancer Growth Science Daily (Sep. 15, 2011) — Research led by Suresh Alahari, PhD, the Fred Brazda Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and its Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has found that a protein discovered by his laboratory can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. The research is published September 14, 2011 online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Building upon Dr. Alahari's earlier discovery of nischarin, a novel protein that regulates breast cancer cell migration and movement, this current study examines the presence and levels of nischarin in breast cancer tumor tissue from 300 women as well as normal breast tissue samples. The researchers also generated derivatives of human metastatic breast cancer cells to test by manipulating the protein in a mouse model. "We found that normal human breast tissue samples had statistically significantly higher levels of nischarin compared with tumor tissue samples," notes Dr. Alahari, "and tumors grew significantly faster in the cells where we blocked the production of nischarin. Tumor growth and metastasis were also reduced in the samples where we manipulated the overproduction of nischarin. Our research shows that nischarin can function as a tumor suppressor of breast cancer, inhibiting breast cancer progression." The research team also describes the regulation of nischarin and reports the genetic mechanism by which this protein suppressed breast tumor growth, information that could be used to target new treatment approaches. Excluding skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates 230,480 new cases among American females this year, and 2,140 among men in the US, with 39,520 deaths in women and 450 deaths in men. Risk factors include aging, weight gain, combined hormone therapy, physical inactivity, and consumption of one or more alcoholic beverages per day. A family history increases risk, as does never having had children or having a first child after age 30. Mammography can often detect breast cancer at an early stage when treatment options are greatest and a cure is possible. "Next steps include determining whether nischarin controls some of its tumor suppressor roles through regulation of the pathways we reported in this paper," concludes Dr. Alahari, "and these studies are already underway." The LSUHSC research team also included Dr. Robin McGoey, Associate Professor of Pathology. as well as postdoctoral fellows, Drs. Somesh Baranwal, Yanfang Wang, Rajamani Rathinam, and Lianjin Jin. Researchers from Duke University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also contributed. The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Susan Komen Foundation, the Louisiana Board of Regents, and the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium. Dr. David Worthylake Dr. Arthur Haas Dr. William Claycomb and Dr. Wayne Vedeckis were nominated for the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award by the Aesculapian Society. Each year the Aesculapian Society honors the teaching excellence of its faculty, residents, and interns. The society sponsors The Excellence in Teaching Award, which acknowledges these individuals for their approachability, enthusiasm, and superior quality of instruction. Nominees are chosen by each class and then voted on to select a winner. The recipients are then honored at a banquet held by the Aesculapian Society each spring. Dr. May Lam
Suresh Alahari, PhD
Dr. Shyamal Desai Dr. May Lam LSUHSC Biochemistry on the cover (and inside) of ASBMB today. Pages 1, 17 and 20. |
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• Awards Virginia Ronchi, PhD Jason Schwartz Arthur Haas, PhD Shyamal Desai, PhD Wayne Vedeckis, PhD |
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