Lung Cancer SPORE

News and Events

Dr. Jill Siegfried, Principal Investigator of the UPCI SPORE in Lung Cancer was awarded a $1,000,000 grant from the V Foundation, based in Cary, NC. This grant is in honor of Emily Miner, and was announced at the 11th annual V Foundation Wine Celebration. The grant is entitled “Translational Lung Cancer Clinical Trials”.

Christopher J. Bakkenist, PhD, a recipient of a UPCI SPORE in Lung Cancer Developmental Research grant, was awarded the 2009 Lung Cancer Research Foundation Merit Award by the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. He was recognized at the annual Lung Cancer Awareness Symposium & Luncheon at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

Meetings

Friday, November 20, 2009
9:00 am — 10:30 am
Hillman Cancer Center, Research Pavilion Ground Floor conference Room
Speaker: Richard A. Steinman, MD, PhD
Lung SPORE Developmental Research and Career Development Awardee
Topic: “Stopping Seduction: a Primer for Normal Cells to Resist the Advances of Lung Cancer”

Media

”Hormone Therapy Linked to Risk of Death from Lung Cancer” in NCI Cancer Bulletin, September 22. [Read item]

SPORE in Lung Cancer Career Development Award recipient Robert Binder, PhD, featured in Fall 2008 issue of PittMED. (Article is on page 12)

Awards

M. Johnson photo

UPCI SPORE in Lung Cancer award to Michia Johnson as part of the SPORE in Lung Cancer to Promote Diversity in the Health-Related Sciences

Michia Johnson was recently accepted to the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. She has a longstanding interest in dentistry and she intends to incorporate clinical/translational research on oral cancer into her career. She worked in the lab of Laura Niedernhofer, MD/PhD at UPCI, performing research on DNA damage and its role in cancer and aging. Michia tested a new HPRT assay that is now being used to study intrastrand crosslinks.
Subsequently, Michia received an NIH supplement award position to conduct research for one year on lung cancer therapeutics in the laboratory of Jill Sigfried, PhD at UPCI. While Michia was a cancer fellow, she presented her research at the ABRCMS meeting and also at Hampton's Student Research Symposium, where she received a third place award.

“Working as a cancer fellow made me realize I wanted to do something more hands- on. It broadened my desire about medicine to looking at thinks on a cellular level and more in depth….It made me see that I am destined to become a clinician and also gave me more confidence as a scientist.”