Cancer Retreat Awards Two Teams With $50,000 Grants

Two $50,000 grants were awarded as a result of the 2015 half-day cancer research retreat Tuesday, July 14, which took place at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center and involved multidisciplinary researchers from across UC as well as students and residents.

The winning projects are titled, "A New Therapy to Overcome DNA Repair Associated with Resistance to B-Raf Inhibition in Melanoma,” which was presented by the Clifford Grulee Team, and "Leveraging Aptamir and SiRNA Technologies to Overcome Platinum Resistance in Cancer,” which was presented by the Leon Goldman Team. The teams—12 in total—were named in honor of the UC College of Medicine’s first Daniel Drake Medal awardees. 

During the event, which was officially titled "University Retreat for Research: Cincinnati Charge Against Cancer/Cancer Curathon,” cancer-type specific and/or randomized groups were formed to work together on previously unfunded scientific projects. Participants came from health colleges on the Academic Health Center campus as well as from disciplines within design, architecture, art and planning and engineering, among others.

Guest judges and speakers Robert Coleman, MD, and Anil Sood, MD, both from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, decided the winning teams and made the announcement during a reception held downtown that evening. 

"The research retreat was such a success,” says William Barrett, MD, director of the UC Cancer Institute. "New collaborations formed, existing collaborations grew and fantastic ideas were generated. The spirit of enthusiasm, innovation and collegiality was palpable. The presented research proposals were all great and all have the potential for funding.”

Members of the winning teams include:

Grulee Team: Principal Investigator Zalfa Abdel-Malek, dermatology; Howard Elson, radiation oncology; Joan Garrett, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy; Ana Luisa Kadekaro, dermatology; Phil Leming, hematology oncology; Eddie Merino, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (chemistry); Jeffrey Sussman, surgical oncology; Yuhang Zhang, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

Goldman Team: Principal Investigator Pheruza Tarapore, environmental health, and Co-PI Tim Struve, radiation oncology; Samantha Bitter, UC medical student; Michael Fry, Lindner College of Business; Tom Herzog, gynecologic oncology; Kay Kinoshita, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (physics); Caroline Morrison, College of Nursing; Kati LaSance, Vontz Core Imaging Lab.