Science

Two NCI scientists received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement. The award was announced by President Obama in October. The honorees, John Schiller, Ph.D., Laboratory of Cellular Oncology (LCO), Center for Cancer Research, NCI, and Douglas Lowy, M.D., also from LCO and NCI deputy director, received their medals at a White House ceremony on Nov. 20.

By Anne Arthur, Guest Writer

The Third Annual David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award presentation was held on Nov. 18 at NCI at Frederick to honor the outstanding research accomplishments of David Derse, Ph.D., and to stimulate the exchange of innovative ideas that Derse was well known for promoting throughout his scientific career.

This annual event is sponsored by the HIV Drug Resistance Program, with support from Hye Kyung Chung-Derse, Ph.D., NCI, the Foundation for NIH, and colleagues and friends of Derse who contributed to the memorial fund in his honor.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

The family of proteins known as ephrins plays a critical role in a variety of biological processes. In a recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Hee Jun Cho, Ph.D., and colleagues report on the interaction between proteins CNK1 and ephrinB1 that promotes cell movement. Their findings may have an important implication in developing new therapeutics for reducing metastases in certain cancers.

“Eph and ephrin signaling has become an area of intense interest due to the influence these molecules exert on the control of cell adhesion and cell movement,” Cho said. “This signaling affects the formation of tissues during development and has been shown to play an instructive role in angiogenesis, as well as tumor cell invasion.”

By Anne Arthur, Guest Writer

The HIV Drug Resistance Program Conference on “Virus Structure: Putting the Pieces Together” will be held at NCI at Frederick on October 21, 2014, from 1:00 to 5:45 p.m. in the Conference Center auditorium, Building 549.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

They came from as far away as Russia and Japan, and from as nearby as the NCI at Frederick/Fort Detrick campus, Bethesda, and Baltimore, all with one purpose: to honor the mentor, colleague, and friend they have in Joost Oppenheim, as he celebrated his 80th birthday.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on the Center for Cancer Research website.

When the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infects a cell, the virus inserts a copy of its genetic material into the host cell’s DNA. The inserted genetic material, which is also called a provirus, is used to produce new viruses. Because the viral DNA can be inserted at many sites in the host cell DNA, the site of integration marks each infected cell. Patients infected with HIV are currently treated with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), which prevents viral replication in the majority of treated patients. When cART is initiated, most HIV-infected cells die in one or two days, and more of the infected cells die over a period of weeks to months. However there are some long-lived infected cells that do not die, which prevents patients from being cured.

By Frank Blanchard, Staff Writer

A new genetically engineered mouse model appears promising as an effective tool for preclinical testing of novel therapies for ovarian cancer, which tends to be diagnosed in late stage. There are few effective treatments for the disease.

CCR research is recognized in novel competition to encourage the commercialization of breast cancer inventions.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in CCR Connections (Volume 8, No. 1). The Breast Cancer Startup Challenge was named one of six finalists in the HHS Innovates Award Competition, and was one of three finalists recognized by HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr. For more information on the Challenge, see previous article on the Poster website. 

Start-up companies are instrumental in bringing the fruits of scientific research to market. Recognizing an opportunity to bring entrepreneurial minds to bear on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, the Avon Foundation for Women partnered with NCI and the Center for Advancing Innovation to launch the Breast Cancer Startup Challenge.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

Earlier this year, Alan Rein, Ph.D., and Zhi-Ming (Thomas) Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., were elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). They were among 88 microbiologists who were elected to the academy “through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology,” according to the society’s website.

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer

Antibody domains are emerging as promising biopharmaceuticals because of their relatively small size compared to full-sized antibodies, which are too large to effectively penetrate tumors and bind to sterically restricted therapeutic targets.

In an article published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Tianlei Ying, Ph.D., Dimiter Dimitrov, Ph.D., and their colleagues in the Protein Interactions Group, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, reported their design of a novel antibody domain, monomeric CH3 (mCH3).