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  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
  3. Magazine
  4. Page 3

Magazine

Cancer Prevention and Populations Sciences

The Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences (CPPS) Research Group addresses the disparity that cancer incidence in Arkansas is like that of the United States, although cancer mortality is higher in the state. Lower screening rates for breast, cervical and colon cancers partially explain the disparity. 

Cancers of the breast, cervix, prostate, colon and lung are being investigated by the group’s 33 members. The three main research approaches are to (1) identify etiologies and risks factors; (2) implement cancer screening and prevention measures; and (3) develop immune-mediated interventions for preventing cancer. 

2021 was an unprecedented year with CPPS members being awarded new and renewed grants totaling more than $27 million. Notable new grants are a center grant co-lead by Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., professor of Epidemiology in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health to form the Center for Research, Health, and Social Justice. Fagan also leads a community-based research project which combines behavioral and social interventions to best help African Americans in rural counties quit smoking. 

Another new grant led by Taren Swindle, Ph.D., associate professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, plans to optimize and implement strategies to prevent obesity in early childhood. 

HPV immunology expert, Mayumi Nakagawa M.D., Ph.D., renewed a grant to continue with clinical trials for preventing cervical pre-cancer from developing into cancer and to reduce the recurrence of head and neck cancer. 

Learn more about the program

Filed Under: Research Highlights

Cancer Therapeutics

The translational research program, Cancer Therapeutics, at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute was originally known as the Therapeutic Science program. It recently received a name change and more focused mission emphasizing technology associated with the discovery and development of small molecule drug agents, biological therapies and diagnostic tools.

The program focuses on developing hypotheses and evidence-based translational strategies for improved cancer treatment.

The group’s members have a wide range of expertise and practical experience in developing investigational new drug technology applications and conducting studies and clinical trials. The research in the program is highly collaborative across UAMS, nationally and internationally. 

The program’s main goal is the optimization of therapies and technologies that connect the bench to the bedside through the discovery and development of new drugs and diagnostic tools for new cancer targets

The institute is now home to a new dedicated Phase 1 Clinical Trial Unit for cancer clinical trials, giving our scientists a space to directly connect preclinical studies to patient outcomes.

One phase 1 trial currently in progress is a $3.5 million study funded by the National Institutes of Health to study a new way to protect cardiovascular health while treating cancer. Another preclinical drug development project to find a new drug to treat multiple myeloma was recently funded with a $3.6 million gift from the Riney Foundation.

Learn more about the program

Filed Under: Research Highlights

Two Cancer Institute Scientists Inducted into Arkansas Research Alliance Academy

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) inducted two of the Cancer Institute’s best and brightest into their Academy of Fellows and Scholars at the organization’s 2021 annual meeting. ARA is a unique assembly of the state’s top researchers, comprised of more than 20 scientists from Arkansas’ six research campuses. 

Cancer Institute Deputy Director Alan Tackett, Ph.D., was inducted as a fellow into the academy. Tackett is a pioneering researcher in the field of proteomics and established the country’s only National Proteomic Center at the Cancer Institute with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research has been continuously funded by the NIH throughout his career, and his research endeavors have resulted in more than 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has written multiple book chapters, been awarded four U.S. patents, acted as a scientific journal editor-in-chief, and served on more than 35 NIH extramural-funding review panels. 

Tackett oversees three biomedical research laboratories on the UAMS campus and one at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. He is also a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UAMS College of Medicine, and the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. 

Renowned cardiologist, Edward Yeh, M.D., FACC, was inducted into the academy as a scholar. Yeh joined UAMS in 2020 as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and the Nolan Family Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine after serving for 16 years as the chair of the Department of Cardiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Yeh is a leading expert in the field of onco-cardiology. He discovered the molecular basis of chemo-induced cardiotoxicity, which opened a new field of cancer research to find better treatments that minimize the risk of heart complications. 

TOP (Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Arkansas Research Alliance Director Jerry Adams, welcome Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Cancer Institute Deputy Director, to the ARA Academy of Fellows; BOTTOM UAMS Cardio-oncologist Edward Yeh, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine, is welcomed to the academy as a scholar.
TOP (Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Arkansas Research Alliance Director Jerry Adams, welcome Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Cancer Institute Deputy Director, to the ARA Academy of Fellows; BOTTOM UAMS Cardio-oncologist Edward Yeh, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine, is welcomed to the academy as a scholar.

TOP (Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Arkansas Research Alliance Director Jerry Adams, welcome Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Cancer Institute Deputy Director, to the ARA Academy of Fellows; BOTTOM UAMS Cardio-oncologist Edward Yeh, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine, is welcomed to the academy as a scholar.

Filed Under: Research Highlights

Total Immunotherapy UAMS Researcher Sets Five-Year Goal of Curing Myeloma Without Chemo

Myeloma Research Director Frank Zhan, M.D., Ph.D.
Myeloma Research Director Frank Zhan, M.D., Ph.D.

Asking and finding answers to the most complex scientific questions has never been a problem for researchers at the world-renowned Myeloma Center at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. It’s practically a way
of life when you’re dealing with one of the deadliest and often drug resistant blood cancers. 

In 1989, the institute’s myeloma researchers led the way in using the Total Therapy treatment approach that combines novel drugs with tandem autologous stem cell transplantation in a treatment sequence of induction, transplantation, consolidation and maintenance. Today, clinicians all over the world use this treatment approach. 

Although highly successful, many patients are not eligible for this approach and do not enjoy the long-term benefit of this intensive total therapy.
The therapy also comes with toxicities and affects quality of life. 

Armed with $5 million in funding, Myeloma Center Research Director Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, M.D., Ph.D., is leading the center’s research team in a bold new direction. In five years, his team intends to cure myeloma using a total immunotherapy approach with little to no chemotherapy.

“Our plan is to develop novel targeted therapies that will include immunotherapeutic approaches to reduce the need for intensive toxic chemotherapy and stem cell transplant,” said Zhan.

“The broad vision is to target myeloma using combinations of highly effective immunotherapeutics, which we aim to develop, and eventually cure myeloma.”

With previous roles at the Utah Blood and Marrow Transplant and Myeloma Program at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa Health Care, Zhan is an expert in molecular genetics and drug-resistant multiple myeloma.

Zhan’s funding includes a $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and $1.74 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Once the biology of myeloma stem cells is better understood, more novel therapeutic targets can be created and tested, with the ultimate goal being to develop a novel therapy and prevent myeloma relapses,” said Zhan.

His lab is using the DOD grant to study the biology of specific myeloma cancer cells that can survive chemotherapy, working to find a potential cure to eradicate these cells.

These drug-resistant cells often cause relapses of myeloma and other types of cancers. Zhan believes the protein, CD24, may serve as a reliable indicator of the presence of these drug-resistant cells. and the therapeutic antibody, SWA11, may be used to target them.

“We are working to develop a specific CAR-T cell therapy for this population of patients,” Zhan said, adding that the research is still in early stages.

The NIH-funded study focuses on the NEK2 and PD-L1 genes, striving to uncover how they work and how they may fuel myeloma. The disease of patients who have these genes is difficult to cure, and the patients are at high risk for relapse.

Therapies targeting PD-L1 have been successful in treating many cancers, but attempts to demonstrate their effectiveness for myeloma have not met with the same success. Zhan believes this is probably because this gene is most common in patients who have a subtype of myeloma called hyperdiploid, and PD-L1 studies have not targeted these patients.

As for other subtypes of myeloma where PD-L1 levels are low, such as in high-risk and relapsed myelomas, Zhan believes that a combination of a NEK2 treatment and PD-1/PD-L1 treatment could be effective.

Zhan’s lab of a dozen members, including five faculty members, five post-doctorates and two senior scientists, are working to test these theories at the molecular level using a couple of different methods.

“We have made a lot of progress in this study,” Zhan said of the study that focuses on patients with high-risk myeloma with cancer cells that are drug resistant. “We have made some major advancements and increased immune response.”

“Chemotherapies, stem cell transplants and immunotherapies don’t work with them so we need to reduce the number of NEK2 genes and increase the PD-L1 levels.”
The Myeloma Center’s patient database containing over 24,000 samples with attendant microarray and clinical data from healthy donors, and patients with Plasma Cell Dyscrasia greatly assists in the Myeloma Center researchers work.

“Our database is unique, and no one has this huge of a database,” Zhan said. “Within it, we find these markers and are able to move forward to develop this therapy.”

He believes the results of the studies could reach far beyond myeloma to assist in treating many other solid tumor and blood-related cancers.

“Dr. Zhan’s ability to identify and target myeloma stem cells and the genomic classification of the disease is an immense asset to UAMS,” said Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of the Myeloma Center. “He is greatly helping us to further the innovative treatment we have offered for more than 30 years now.” 

Filed Under: Research Highlights

The Liquid Biopsy Detecting Cancer Through Blood Tests

Donald L. Johann Jr., M.D.

Donald L. Johann Jr., M.D., an associate professor in the UAMS departments of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine and principal investigator of an FDA clinical trial to develop an advanced method for diagnosing and monitoring lung cancer with a simple blood test, reported Nov. 30 in Oncology Live that investigators at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute have made big strides in so-called liquid biopsies over the last five years. Johann and other researchers around the world earlier reported their validation of the processes for using the technique to detect cancer. They noted that the less invasive approach, compared to tissue biopsies, can detect large tumors and metastatic cancers with about 100% accuracy.

“We can find circulating DNA (ctDNA), which are nucleic acid biomolecules shed by a tumor into the blood and detected by next-generation sequencing,” he said in the November article. “Investigators at UAMS are now working to translate foundational work into cutting-edge care for patients with cancer at all stages of disease and across tumor types and eventually for screening assays.”

Filed Under: Research Highlights

On a Mission to Understand DNA Repair in Cancer Cells

Members of the Leung Lab at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute include scientists (l to r): Farhana Nasrin, Claire Greene, Kirk West Ph.D., Justin Leung Ph.D., Seong-ok Lee, Jessica Kelliher and Yu Chen.

Members of the Leung Lab at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute include scientists (l to r): Farhana Nasrin, Claire Greene, Kirk West Ph.D., Justin Leung Ph.D., Seong-ok Lee, Jessica Kelliher and Yu Chen.

When DNA is damaged, the human body has a built-in repair shop known as the DNA damage response pathway that maintains the integrity of our genetic material. 

“DNA is damaged millions of times a day, either from internal or external sources. The DNA damage response pathway is the body’s natural process of maintaining genome stability,” said Justin Leung, Ph.D., assistant professor and director for Translational Research in the UAMS Department of Radiation Oncology. 

A prominent member of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Leung leads one of the institute’s most promising research teams focused on learning more about the DNA repair process in cancer. 

In cancer patients, DNA mutates and becomes defective, essentially dysregulating the repair process. Leung believes the study of this defective DNA and its molecular environment can uncover new therapeutic targets that attack cancer cells in the DNA damage and response pathway. 

“In a normal cell, DNA will repair just fine, but if it mutates, it won’t
be able to do its job,” said Leung.

“The more DNA breaks, the more vulnerable it becomes and more sensitive to radiation. If we target the DNA damage response pathway in cancer cells, they are more likely to die and die quickly. With the right radiation dose, mutated cells should be highly responsive to treatment.” 

Funded by more than $5 million in research grants, Leung and his team are undertaking a comprehensive study of the molecular mechanisms of genome stability and the translational aspects of targeting the DNA damage response pathway as a therapeutic strategy. 

“My team’s expertise lies in an integrated workflow of molecular biology, gene editing, cell-based assays, biochemical assays, proteomics, live-cell microscopy and data analysis. They are the pillars of the science and the magic happens in the lab.” Leung said

Similar to the BRCA 1 gene discovery in breast cancer, Leung hopes to identify new DNA repair genes involved in cancer development. Both breast and ovarian cancers are well characterized for DNA repair pathway deficiency. 

“Translationally, if we identify new genes that are druggable, we can translate that to the clinic with good therapeutic interventions in the future,” Leung said.

By broadening his research to the entire molecular environment in which DNA repair takes place, Leung hopes to identify specific molecules that can target DNA repair genes and proteins and sensitize cancer cells to radiation. 

“We are just beginning to understand what molecules control damaged DNA in most cancers,” said Leung. “We hope our findings contribute to a better understanding of DNA repair in cancer and new approaches to treatment.” 

A native of Hong Kong, Leung came to cancer research by chance. He was studying diabetes and stroke for his Ph.D. at the University of Hong Kong when a Yale scientist, who later became his first postdoctoral mentor, inspired him to pursue cancer research. Leung received his comprehensive postdoctoral training at Yale, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas at Austin. 

Ready to focus on his own research interests, Leung joined UAMS in 2018 with the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Transition Career Development Award. In four years, his lab has received six extramural awards from NCI, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and the American Cancer Society (ACS). He is the first early stage investigator to receive NIGMS’s R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award and the only current ACS Research Scholar in Arkansas. 

Including a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to Kirk West, Ph.D., Leung and his team have three active ACS grants for different projects. Leung is a two-time recipient of the Arkansas Breast Cancer Research Program research grant. 

Recently, Leung received the highly competitive TheoryLab Collaborative (TLC) grant from ACS, eligible only to ACS research scholars. The TLC award exclusively funds innovative and high-impact ideas for cancer research and will go toward a new collaboration with Wenqi Wang, Ph.D., at the University of California, Irvine to study the role of the Hippo pathway in DNA repair. 


In all, Leung’s laboratory studies:

  • Chromatin biology
  • Histone functions 
  • Molecular genetics 
  • Epigenetics 
  • Cancer evolution 
  • Therapeutic resistance
  • Radiation response

Filed Under: Research Highlights

A National Resource for Cancer Discovery


Led by Deputy Director Alan Tackett, Ph.D., a team of researchers at the Cancer Institute are using highly sophisticated instruments and powerful computing tools to help cancer researchers around the country identify new strategies to better enable the treatment of cancer. 

These state-of-the-art technologies and tools are located in the Proteomics Shared Resource on the ninth floor of the Cancer Institute. With 15 uniquely trained scientists, the Proteomics Resource is helping researchers all over the United States push the boundaries of cancer discovery.

“Proteomics is a targeted approach used to measure and study proteins that can drive cancer development and progression. These abnormal proteins found in cancers can be targets for the development of new drugs to treat cancer,” said Tackett, who holds the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at UAMS. 

“These proteins can serve as signatures for the early detection of cancer, providing information that can inform personalized medicine strategies for oncologists to customize treatment for cancer patients. Proteomics is a highly specialized area of research, uniquely available to our researchers,” Tackett said.

In 2020, the Proteomics Shared Resource received a prestigious $11 million federal grant to become designated as the state’s first National Resource for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With this national designation, the group now provides proteomics to biomedical researchers across the nation, helping hundreds of cancer research groups funded by $50 million in federal research grants.

“The National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is one of a select few NIH-supported resources that serve the entire United States, which puts us
at the forefront of supporting studies on a variety of human diseases including cancer,” said Michael Birrer, UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Cancer Institute. 

UAMS’ Stephanie Byrum, Ph.D., Rick Edmondson, Ph.D., Samuel Mackintosh, Ph.D., and Aaron Storey, Ph.D. were key in establishing this national team.

 In addition to speeding the pace of biomedical discoveries, the Proteomics Shared Resource is a foundational component to help the Cancer Institute achieve National Cancer Institute Designation.

Members of the UAMS proteomics team are Alan Tackett, Ph.D. (center front) and (l-r) Stephanie Byrum, Ph.D., Rick Edmondson, Ph.D., Aaron Storey, Ph.D., and Samuel Mackintosh, Ph.D.
Members of the UAMS proteomics team are Alan Tackett, Ph.D. (center front) and (l-r) Stephanie Byrum, Ph.D., Rick Edmondson, Ph.D., Aaron Storey, Ph.D., and Samuel Mackintosh, Ph.D.

The NIH Proteomics National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

The NIH Proteomics National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute supports cancer research across the U.S., including at these institutions:

  • Arkansas Children’s Hospital
  • Arkansas State University 
  • Barrow Neurological Institute
  • Brown University
  • Clemson University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
  • Oklahoma State University
  • Tulane University
  • University of Arkansas 
  • University of California – Irvine
  • University of California – Los Angeles
  • University of Florida
  • University of Hawaii
  • University of Illinois – Chicago
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Kansas Medical Center
  • University of Louisville
  • University of Mississippi
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center
  • University of Montana
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • University of New England
  • University of New Hampshire
  • University of North Carolina
  • University of Oklahoma
  • University of Rhode Island
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Texas – Austin
  • Utah State University
  • West Virginia University
  • Yale University

Filed Under: Research Highlights

Director’s Message

Michael J. Birrer, M.D., Ph.D.

It is my great pleasure to introduce this inaugural issue of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Magazine. This is an exciting time for us. Since my arrival in 2019, the Cancer Institute has recruited a record number of cancer researchers, and more recently, clinical oncologists. This has brought in at least $5 million in cancer-related grants and puts the Cancer Institute well on the road to what is required for NCI designation. The clinical trials operation has been completely restructured, which we expect to result in a major expansion of the clinical trial portfolio and patient offered trials. This includes the creation of the first academic Phase 1 Cancer Clinical Trial Unit in Arkansas.

A Community Outreach and Engagement program has been established to provide cancer prevention, screening and navigation throughout the state. This is critical to our moral imperative to provide the very best cancer care for the citizens of Arkansas. More recently, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and Cancer Research Training and Education programs have been developed within the Cancer Institute. These are important elements both in our overall mission and for NCI designation.

The clinical operation continues to improve, and its reach throughout the state is rapidly expanding. Multiple new junior faculty members here at UAMS, along with junior faculty working in our evolving cancer network with Baptist Health are contributing to this effort. As part of the joint venture with Baptist, the Cancer Institute supplies all of the cancer services for Baptist Health patients. We anticipate this will allow the quality cancer services and specialty care we are known for to be present at all Baptist Health sites. This is exactly what Arkansans need and deserve.

I am excited about this magazine, as it highlights our extensive efforts to help all cancer patients in Arkansas and documents our progress towards NCI designation. This is a sacred mission, and I take it very seriously. The future of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is bright, and I am very honored to lead it.

Sincerely, 

Michael J. Birrer, M.D., Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 

Kent C. Westbrook, M.D., Director’s Chair, UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Director, Cancer Service Line

Filed Under: 2022-2023

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