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Five Grants Presented to UAMS Cancer Researchers

Jan. 29, 2018 | Five newly awarded grants will assist scientists at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute in their search for new and innovative cancer treatments.

The grants of $10,000 each were presented to young investigators by the Envoys, a volunteer advocacy group of the Cancer Institute Foundation, during their “Doctor is In” reception and research poster showcase Jan. 25.

The grants are made possible by the Envoys’ annual RockStar Lounge fundraiser. This year’s event is set for April 13 at Cajun’s Wharf in Little Rock and will feature a performance by Bon Jovi tribute band Slippery When Wet.

“In an era when research funding has become more and more scarce, we are grateful to the Envoys for providing this essential support for our scientists,” said Cancer Institute Director Peter Emanuel, M.D. “With these start-up funds, they are able to establish the preliminary data needed to secure additional larger grants in the future.”

Recipients of the grants were:

Burdine’s project focuses on a novel approach to regulating a protein known as ATAD2 that is highly expressed in several types of cancer, including breast, pancreas, colon and liver, as well as in metastatic disease. If successful, regulation of the protein could lead to new therapies for these types of cancer.

  • Brendan Frett, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UAMS College of Pharmacy

Precision lung cancer treatment is often effective only for the short term due to significant differences that appear in individual cases of the disease. Frett’s objective is to improve the long-term outcomes of precision lung cancer therapy by simultaneously targeting multiple facets of the disease. He will synthetically engineer single molecule drug candidates capable of impairing multiple tumor survival pathways.

  • Samantha Kendrick, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UAMS College of Medicine

Kendrick’s project focuses on understanding how and why certain genes repeatedly mutate and contribute to the aggressive nature of B-cell lymphoma. Her research examines the frequency of DNA structures in these specific gene targets and whether the structures contribute to an increased susceptibility to mutation. Uncovering this process can facilitate the design of new therapies to minimize the risk of chemotherapy resistant disease.

Although advances in immunotherapy have offered great promise for several types of cancer, outcomes for an aggressive form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma remain grim. Rodriguez’s project uses the surgical technique laser thermal ablation in combination with immunotherapy to alter the immune microenvironment, cause cancer cell death and open the area around the tumor in an effort to improve outcomes for patients with this disease.

Tian’s research addresses the role of two alias proteins produced by the gene MYC in the outcome of patients with multiple myeloma. He seeks to understand how one of these proteins affects the other in regard to cell proliferation and will use this knowledge to deliberately induce a different translation and modification of the gene that could ultimately lead to preventing uncontrollable cancer growth.

Study Shows Key Molecular Differences in Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia Could Lead to Better Treatment

LITTLE ROCK – A scientist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is among the lead authors of a study that could lead to more effective therapies for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

UAMS’ Jason Farrar, M.D., and collaborators at eleven other institutions published their study in the journal Nature Medicine and presented findings at the 2017 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) held Dec. 9-12 in Atlanta. Many of the published results were first released at the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting, held in San Diego.

“Although research has made great strides in improving survival rates for children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, progress in AML, a less common less form of childhood leukemia, has lagged behind. Our research is a step forward in understanding how to better treat children with this challenging disease,” said Farrar, assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.

The study’s findings identified key differences between the molecular structure of AML in young patients as opposed to those who are older. Due to these differences, the researchers concluded that traditional therapies used to treat adults with AML are not effective for children and young adults with the same disease.

“One of our key findings is that there is a clear age continuum in the biology of AML. Because the disease develops differently in the young, middle aged and old, we know that we can’t use the previously accepted therapies that were designed for older adults and expect them to have the same outcomes for children and young adults,” Farrar said.

The study involved an analysis of the genomes of more than 1,000 AML patients treated nationwide through the Children’s Oncology Group, with ages ranging from 8 days to 29 years. Of that number, 200 had their entire genome sequenced for the study, however the group’s continuing research includes whole-genome sequencing for hundreds more participants.

Data also was gathered from about 400 of these patients to determine how their cancer cells read and interpreted the DNA changes.

“We need high-depth data on every AML patient we treat to get the best possible understanding of how this disease works at a molecular level,” Farrar said.

Most commonly diagnosed in older adults, AML starts in the bone marrow and can move quickly to the blood. According to the American Cancer Society, about 21,000 Americans are diagnosed with AML each year and about 10,600 die of it. As stated in the researchers’ paper, four out of 10 young AML patients do not survive long term.

Based on their findings, Farrar and his collaborators have already developed an improved system for determining the severity of AML in young people at the time of their diagnosis. The individual patient’s treatment is then tailored to the severity of their disease, with those who have less severe disease receiving treatment with fewer possible side effects.

This system is implemented at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where collaborator Soheil Meshinchi, M.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, sees patients and will soon be integrated into national cooperative clinical trials for children and young adults with AML.

“Being able to identify whether a child has high-risk or low-risk disease is very important to their long-term outlook. For example, many of the drugs used to treat AML can cause young patients to have cardiac conditions as they age. If we can effectively treat their cancer with drugs that do not damage their heart, we definitely want to do that,” Farrar said.

Funded by the National Cancer Institute, this research effort is part of a program called the TARGET Initiative, which is focused on determining the genetic changes that drive the formation and progression of hard-to-treat childhood cancers. TARGET stands for Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments.

In addition to AML, the TARGET Initiative researchers also study acute lymphoblastic leukemia, kidney tumors, neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma.

Additional support for this study comes from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the Center for Translational Pediatric Research at Arkansas Children’s, Scientific Computing at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the University of Southern California’s Center for High-Performance Computing, St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the Jane Anne Nohl Hematology Research Fund.

In addition to Farrar and Meshinchi, the paper’s lead authors include Hamid Bolouri, Ph.D., and Rhonda E. Ries of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Timothy Triche Jr., M.D., Ph.D., of the Van Andel Research Institute and University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

UAMS Breast Surgeon Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., Named to Kohn Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology

Nov. 30, 2017 – Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., F.A.C.S., was invested Nov. 29 as recipient of the Muriel Balsam Kohn Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). She is chief of Breast Oncology in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Surgery.

The endowed chair is the result of a gift from the Tenenbaum Foundation. The foundation’s primary objectives include providing humanitarian assistance to residents of central Arkansas, promoting awareness of breast cancer, and funding research to reduce or eliminate deaths from the disease.

The chair is named in honor of Muriel Balsam Kohn, mother of Judy Tenenbaum, who died of breast cancer in 1993.

“I am thankful for the generosity and foresight of the Tenenbaum Foundation in establishing this endowed chair, which has enabled valuable breast cancer research to be conducted in Arkansas for the past 10 years. This legacy will continue for many years to come through the work and dedication of Dr. Henry-Tillman,” said UAMS Interim Chancellor Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., who also serves as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost.

An endowed chair is among the highest academic honors a university can bestow on a faculty member and is established with gifts of $1 million, which are invested and the proceeds used to support the educational, research and clinical activities of the chair holder. Those named to a chair are among the most highly regarded scientists, physicians and professors in their fields of expertise.

“Dr. Henry-Tillman has been a valuable member of the UAMS faculty since 1998, not only serving as a knowledgeable and caring physician for countless women, but also as a tireless advocate for underserved Arkansans who lack basic health care services. There is no doubt that her work to improve access to mammography services has extended the lives of women across our state,” said UAMS Cancer Institute Director Peter Emanuel, M.D., who also serves as professor of medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine.

NBA Hall of Famer and philanthropist Dikembe Mutombo addressed the attendees gathered to honor Henry-Tillman at a Nov. 29 ceremony, praising her work at educating health providers in Africa, including at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital he founded 10 years ago in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Henry-Tillman’s mentor, Groesbeck P. Parham, M.D., recruited her to travel to Africa where she has taught breast surgical techniques and medical procedures to health care providers who have limited access to equipment and advanced educational opportunities. Parham is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

After earning her medical degree at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Henry-Tillman completed her surgical residency in the UAMS Department of Surgery and fellowship training in the UAMS Fellowship in Diseases of the Breast program.

She holds the positions of professor in the Department of Surgery, co-director of Health Initiatives and Disparities Research in the UAMS College of Medicine, and co-leader of the Breast Tumor Disease Oriented Committee in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

She previously served as director of the UAMS Cancer Control program and was instrumental in the development of the university’s mobile mammography program.

Her research efforts have focused primarily on health initiatives that address access, community-based participatory research, health disparities and health policy in the areas of breast, prostate, colorectal, and cervical cancer prevention.

In 2016, Henry-Tillman was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission and was voted chairman in 2017. She also is a member of the Breast Cancer Control Advisory Board and is a Pulaski County health officer for the Arkansas State Board of Health.

Her memberships and professional activities include the American Surgical Association, Society of Surgical Oncology, Southern Surgical Association, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, National Medical Association, American Society of Breast Surgeons and multiple committees of the National Institutes of Health. She has served as a board member for the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and the national Health Disparities Committee for the American Cancer Society, as well as the Arkansas Cancer Coalition and other local organizations.

She has received numerous awards and honors including being named to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society, Best Doctors in America and Castle Connolly’s Exceptional Women in Medicine. She is recipient of the Shipley Award by the Southern Surgical Association; the Rosetta Wilkins Award by BreastCare; the President’s Award by the Arkansas Medical and Dental Pharmaceutical Association; the President’s Award by the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus. She also has received the Phenomenal Woman in Science and Excellence in STEM Mentoring awards.

The Tenenbaum Foundation was created in 1964 by Joe M. Tenenbaum. The foundation created the chair’s endowment in 2007 to recognize Kohn and the chair’s first holder V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., Ph.D., former director of the UAMS Division of Breast and Surgical Oncology. Klimberg now serves as medical director of the University of Texas Medical Branch Cancer Center in Galveston, Texas.

Speakers at the Nov. 29 ceremony included Gardner, Emanuel, Klimberg, Parham, Mutombo and the following:

  • Pope L. Moseley, M.D., UAMS executive vice chancellor and dean of the UAMS College of Medicine
  • Kent C. Westbrook, M.D., distinguished professor of surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine
  • Frederick R. Bentley, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine

Duo Named UAMS Cancer Institute Volunteers of the Year

Nov. 7, 2017 | Sometimes two is better than one. That was the case this year when the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary named a duo as Volunteers of the Year.

Henry Noor and Len Tanner can be found at the Cancer Institute every Tuesday morning greeting patients, offering directions and distributing snacks. They were honored at the auxiliary’s volunteer appreciation luncheon held Oct. 19 at the home of Miguel Newberg.

“Henry and Len are outgoing, friendly and wonderful at interacting with the patients. They are often described as the Dynamic Duo, or sometimes, in jest, Double Trouble,” said Janie Lowe, director of the Cancer Institute Department of Volunteer Services and Auxiliary, which presents the annual award.

Tanner developed a connection with the Cancer Institute during his career as a pharmaceutical representative. Following his retirement in 2007, he returned to the institute as a volunteer.

Noor began volunteering the following year, also after his retirement. Soon afterward, the pair joined forces. About a decade later, both men have individually logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours.

“We are fortunate to have Henry and Len at the Cancer Institute. Their dedication and willingness to serve others is an inspiration,” Lowe said.

The Cancer Institute Auxiliary has about 500 members, more than half of whom volunteer on a regular basis in the waiting areas and gift shop or help with special events throughout the year.

Funds raised by the auxiliary are distributed as grants benefiting cancer patients at the Cancer Institute and in northwest Arkansas. Tara Smith is auxiliary president.

UAMS Scientist Takes Lead in National Tobacco Control Publication

Nov. 6, 2017 | It’s hard to quit smoking. Ask anyone who has tried and failed and tried again, sometimes in a seemingly endless cycle.

This process of quitting is important for individuals and their personal health, but there are also bigger concerns at stake — specifically how smoking affects our society as a whole.

This complex issue is of vital interest to public health researchers who spend their time trying to understand why some population groups are more likely to smoke than others and what strategies will help them quit once and for all.

Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., M.P.H., is one of those researchers. Now entering her second year as director of the UAMS Center for the Study of Tobacco in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, Fagan has devoted her career to studying tobacco control and cancer prevention. Specifically, her interest lies in reducing tobacco-related health disparities among underserved populations.

That expertise has recently resulted in the publication of a six-year-long project she conceived of while serving as a health scientist in the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland.

“A Socioecological Approach to Addressing Tobacco-Related Health Disparities” is the 22nd volume in a series of monographs addressing issues related to tobacco control. Monographs are detailed studies written about specific topics.

The NCI established the Tobacco Control Monograph series in 1991 to provide information about emerging public health issues in smoking and tobacco use control.  Fagan served as scientific advisor, writer and editor for this monograph — the first to focus on tobacco-related health disparities.

After initiating the project, Fagan asked Linda Alexander, Ed.D., associate dean of academic affairs at the West Virginia University School of Public Health, to serve as editor. Together, they recruited more than 50 subject matter experts to write and contribute chapters on the impact, causes and trends in tobacco-related health disparities.

“What’s unique about this monograph, is that it’s the first comprehensive document to focus on tobacco-related health disparities since the publication of the 1998 surgeon general’s report on tobacco and minorities,” Fagan said, adding that while that report, titled “Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups,” focused only on racial and ethnic minorities, this monograph encompasses a broader spectrum.

“We include a focus on how issues such as poverty, educational attainment and gender affect tobacco use. We also highlight some of the issues with the LGBTQ population, as recent studies have shown this group to have a higher use of tobacco than other groups,” she said.

For Fagan, the most significant conclusion derived from the monograph centers on the varying speeds in which some groups benefit from declines in tobacco use versus others.

“Overall, tobacco use has declined, and we have evidence that shows which practices have effectively influenced this trend. This includes such things as a cigarette taxes that increase the cost of the product or receipt of advice to quit smoking from a health provider such as a doctor or dentist, , as well as statewide policies that prohibit smoking in the workplace, restaurants and bars,” she said.

What remains to be answered is why some groups benefit from these practices — and gain the resulting health benefits — more quickly than others. The answer, Fagan said, may lie in part in the applicability of different interventions for various cultural groups and the social context in which the interventions occur for different groups.

“While we know the practices that help people quit smoking, it remains to be seen if these practices work the same way for all groups or if they need to be adapted in order to be effective across cultures,” she said.

One of the groups significantly affected by smoking and tobacco-related disease is those who live in poverty. Research outlined in the monograph shows that social factors play a major role in this correlation and can run the gamut from cigarette ads at gas stations to the lack of primary care physicians in rural areas.

“In the rural Delta, for example, access to primary care providers is quite limited. People in the Delta don’t have doctors to advise them to quit or prescribe nicotine replacement therapies. This could influence why they are not benefiting from these practices at the same rate as other groups,” Fagan said.

Arkansas, and other states, also have a long way to go in implementing comprehensive clean air policies for public places, as well as encouraging families to restrict smoking in the home. These in-home practices are particularly important for African-American families, as they are twice as likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke in the home as other groups.

“We have a lot of progress to make in helping people understand that when they prohibit smoking in their home they are protecting their children from asthma, as well as protecting themselves and their children from lung cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases caused by tobacco,” Fagan said.

In addition to the dangers of smoking, the monograph also highlights the changing landscape of tobacco control, including the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes and other new products that heat, rather than burn, tobacco.

For Fagan, the main takeaway message from all of the combined research is that regardless of any of other factors, tobacco use is dangerous.

“There is no safe use of tobacco. That’s the most important message to communicate to all groups,” she said.

Cancer Imaging Archive Housed at UAMS Bolstered by $8.3 Million NCI Grant

LITTLE ROCK – The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded an $8.3 million grant to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) for expansion and enhancement of an archive containing freely accessible cancer medical images and data.

The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) is a free online service that hosts a large collection of cancer-related medical images available for public download. All patient identification has been removed from the images and supporting data, which include outcomes, treatment details, genetic information, pathology reports and expert analyses when available. Since its formation about seven years ago, TCIA data has been used to produce almost 500 academic papers.

In 2015, the archive moved from Washington University in St. Louis to UAMS when its lead principal investigator, Fred Prior, Ph.D., took the position as the first-ever chair of the UAMS Department of Biomedical Informatics. Prior assumed leadership of the TCIA project during his tenure at Washington University. Additional principal investigators on the project are Ashish Sharma, Ph.D., of Emory University in Atlanta and Joel Saltz, M.D., Ph.D., of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York.

The grant, titled “TCIA Sustainment and Scalability: Platforms for Quantitative Imaging Informatics in Precision Medicine,” supports the TCIA by expanding its capacity to provide data-driven information and images for use in research studies; adding new high-quality data collections; and encouraging the engagement, collaboration and dissemination of information among the research community.

“Since 2011, the Cancer Imaging Archive has encouraged and supported cancer-related research by acquiring, curating, hosting and managing collections of images and other data essential to the discovery process. This grant will allow us to undergo the continuous improvements and expansion necessary to provide the large collections of data required to test and validate cancer research studies for years to come,” said Prior, professor in the Department of Bioinformatics in the UAMS College of Medicine.

Biomedical informatics uses computers, rather than traditional laboratories, to extract knowledge from large sets of data. Under Prior’s leadership, the UAMS department has grown to include about 50 faculty and staff members responsible for developing computational tools to assess and manage medical and public health information for  research programs.

The ultimate goal of the archive is the advancement of precision medicine, which allows for therapies to be tailored to the individual needs of each patient based on the specific makeup of his or her cancer. Prior and his team are accomplishing this goal by using computers to read and understand medical images in new ways and by applying these tools across multiple formats, from microscope images of tumor biopsy samples to CT images of the lung.

Prior’s research team for this grant includes Lawrence Tarbox, Ph.D.; Mathias Brochhausen, Ph.D.; Tracy Nolan; Kirk E. Smith; William C. Bennett; Roosevelt D. Dobbins; Diana Stockton; and Sean M. Berryman.

Claudia Barone, D.N.P., Ed.D, Invested in Nicholas P. Lang, M.D., and Helen F. Lang, R.N., Endowed Chair

June 15, 2017 | Claudia Barone, D.N.P., Ed.D, a professor in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing, was invested June 13 in the Nicholas P. Lang, M.D., and Helen F. Lang, R.N., Endowed Chair.

Barone, a nationally known expert in tobacco cessation and a leader in academic nursing, was first invested in 2015 as the inaugural holder of the Lang Professorship. The professorship was elevated to an endowed chair through additional gifts from the Langs and others. The chair will support Barone’s continued work in tobacco cessation.

An endowed chair is established with gifts totaling at least $1 million, and it is one of the highest academic honors a university can bestow on a faculty member. The endowed chair provides funding in perpetuity to support the educational, research and clinical activities of the chair holder. Those named to a chair are among the most highly regarded scientists, physicians and professors in their fields of expertise.

“Endowed chairs are game changers in that they provide the chair holder with the time and financial resources needed to pursue educational excellence, world-class patient care and outstanding health care research,” said Patricia A. Cowan, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the UAMS College of Nursing. “Dr. Claudia Barone is a superb educator, clinician and researcher. We’re especially pleased to celebrate the vital advances in tobacco control that will unfold through her investiture in this endowed chair.”

The chair is named for Nicholas P. Lang, M.D., former chief medical officer for the UAMS Medical Center, and his wife, Helen F. Lang, R.N., a longtime nurse in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

Barone was presented with a commemorative medallion by Cowan.

“This chair will allow me to explore some of the challenges in smoking cessation that we’ve identified over the last seven years,” said Barone.

She is widely known for her work in tobacco cessation and has received several grants in the area, and she is working with an interprofessional group of health care providers on tobacco cessation and control. Barone is a certified tobacco treatment specialist through the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training.

Barone was an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee from 2014-2015 and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence from 2013-2016. Barone served on the Arkansas Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee from 2008 to 2015 and was vice chairperson from 2013-2015.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1983 at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, and her Master of Science in Nursing in 1988 at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. She completed her Doctor of Education in 1996 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her Doctor of Nursing Practice in May at UAMS.

Barone is a former dean of the College of Nursing, serving in the role from 2006-2011. Barone is now a tenured professor in the College of Nursing and an advanced practice partner in the UAMS Center for Nursing Excellence.

She came to UAMS in 1988 as a clinical nurse specialist in the UAMS Medical Center’s surgical division. In 1991, she became a clinical instructor in the College of Nursing. In 2002, she was named interim associate dean for the master’s program and served from 2003 to 2006 as associate dean for academic administration.

The Langs received the College of Nursing Dean’s Award during the investiture ceremony. The award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the growth of the College of Nursing.

“I’ve been humbled by the generosity and support provided to the College of Nursing by our friends and alumni who help us meet our mission in education, research, practice and service,” said Cowan. “The Langs are tremendous friends of the college and epitomize the type of the involvement we value. We’re delighted to honor them with this award.”

Nicholas and Helen Lang retired in 2014, but their health care careers crossed four decades before that. They met in 1977 in an operating room at the Veterans Administration hospital in Little Rock. They married two years later.

Nicholas Lang earned his medical degree at UAMS in 1973 and completed his residency at UAMS and the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock. He completed a fellowship at the Laboratory of Immunodiagnosis at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

He joined the UAMS College of Medicine in 1990 as a professor in the departments of Surgery, Radiology, and Physiology and Biophysics. He served as chief of staff at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System from 2001-2007. In 2007, he became chief medical officer for UAMS Medical Center and continued in that position until his retirement.

Helen Lang earned an associate degree in nursing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1975 and worked at various hospitals in the Little Rock area and at a VA hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1980, she returned to the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock and worked as a surgical nurse in general surgery, cardiovascular surgery, surgical endoscopy and urology until her retirement.

In 2009, Nicholas Lang honored his wife with a gift to establish the Helen F. Lang, R.N., Scholarship in the UAMS College of Nursing. In 2014, it reached full endowment.

All Slots for Prestigious Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Filled by UAMS Residents

June 13, 2017 | Two residents from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have been selected for a prestigious fellowship in neuro-oncology administered jointly by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Neuro-Oncology Branch.

A maximum of two fellows per year are selected for the program, and this year, both are from UAMS.

Carlos Romo, M.D., co-chief resident physician; and Orwa Aboud, M.D., Ph.D., will complete their residencies in the Department of Neurology in the UAMS College of Medicine in June and begin their fellowships in July.

The fellowship provides advanced training for neurosurgeons, radiation therapists, medical and pediatric oncologists and neurologists to prepare them for academic careers in neuro-oncology. The experience is tailored individually to the needs of the fellow. Both Romo and Aboud will spend three years expanding both their research and clinical experience through courses, research projects, mentoring and clinical rotations.

“It is extremely prestigious for us to have not just one of the two, but both,” said Robert L. “Lee” Archer, M.D., professor and interim chairman of the Department of Neurology. “Their selection says a lot about the level of residents we are producing. Dr. Romo and Dr. Aboud have done outstanding work during their time here, and I would also like to credit their adviser, Dr. Shirley Ong, and our residency director, Dr. Kinshuk Sahaya, for contributing to their success.”

Ong, M.D., said that both have unique skillsets to offer their patients and expand the future of neuro-oncology.

“There are very few good neuro-oncology fellowship training programs in the U.S., and they are extremely competitive,” Ong said. “Neuro-oncology is a small field and requires hard work and a strong fortitude, and I had zero hesitation in recommending Drs. Aboud and Romo to the Johns Hopkins/NIH fellowship program. I know they will represent UAMS well.”

Romo is from Aguascalientes, Mexico, and earned his medical degree at Tec de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. Sahaya, M.D., described him as a dynamic and multifaceted resident whose teaching ability is appreciated by students and faculty alike. For example, Romo helped Sahaya redesign part of the neurology residency curriculum. Ong described him as a leader who sets goals and accomplishes them.

Romo said his time at UAMS exposed him to a wide variety of patients, especially because of UAMS’ partnerships with Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. He is looking forward to expanding his experiences even further.

“This fellowship, unlike any other in the country, provides the fellows with access to two different institutions that are leaders in the field,” Romo said. “Faculty members at Johns Hopkins and NIH are recognized worldwide for their contributions in the area of neuro-oncology. NIH also offers opportunities for collaboration between basic and clinical scientists, and particularly among scientists across other disciplines. This collaboration creates a nurturing environment for the development of ideas that can improve outcomes for patients with cancer of the nervous system.”

Aboud is from Swaida, Syria. He attended medical school at the University of Damascus in Syria and graduate school at UAMS. Sahaya described him as an outstanding resident and researcher and a skilled physician. He is a great team leader who is loved by colleagues, faculty, students and patients alike. His research is already garnering him top honors. Ong said Aboud is extremely compassionate and goes above-and-beyond with his patients.

Aboud said that early in his neurology residency, he took part in a neuro-oncology rotation that exposed him to how big the impact of basic and clinical research can be on patients’ treatment options and quality of life. He values the fact that both the UAMS residency and the NIH/Johns Hopkins fellowship give him both research and clinical exposure.

“The field of neuro-oncology is about giving patients options for a better quality of life, longer survival, and, hopefully, a cure,” Aboud said. “In preparation for my career as a neuro-oncologist, this training is essential to gain a broad knowledge of the science of brain tumor development and the scientific strategies used in the development of the next generation of treatment. As a clinician scientist, my goal is to achieve a more immediate and positive impact on my patients’ lives.”

The UAMS Neurology Residency is a four-year program open to students who already have a medical degree and are looking for advanced training in neurology. Residents can then move on to become practicing neurologists or pursue additional specialized training through fellowships, like Romo and Aboud.

“Both are very different in their interests and approach, and they exemplify the diversity of our learning approach, both culturally and academically,” Sahaya said. “It’s our goal to provide a supportive environment for our residents where they can both learn the essentials and develop their own interests while we assist them in that process. We support our residents in all career choices, from general to specialized neurology. These two are just another example of the careers we hope to nurture with our residency.”

For more information, visit neurology.uams.edu.

Memphis Conference Brings Together Cancer Researchers

May 17, 2017 | UAMS joined with two other research entities to co-sponsor the spring 2017 Cancer Research Conference in Memphis, attracting more than 100 cancer researchers and provided networking opportunities for collaborative projects.

The May 2 event was hosted by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in partnership with UAMS and West Cancer Center in Germantown, Tennessee. The event showcased cancer research from the three institutions.

“The meeting displayed the wide range of innovative cancer research that is being conducted by UAMS, UTHSC and West Cancer Center investigators,” said Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research at UAMS. “I came away optimistic that we will see new collaborations that will accelerate the discovery of new cancer treatments and that will address health disparities that impact individuals who live in the areas served by the three institutions.”

Four faculty from UAMS gave presentations, including Peter D. Emanuel, M.D., director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and professor in the College of Medicine. In a talk titled “Overview of Cancer Research at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute,” Emanuel spoke about efforts to become an NCI-designated cancer center and pinpointed areas where further interaction and collaboration with scientific partners in the geographic area may be helpful.

“From a broad perspective, I think this initial conference was a wonderful opportunity to allow administrators and scientists from both universities some insights as to the priorities and strengths of the other side,” Emanuel said. “From a scientist’s perspective, the talks, the posters and the opportunity to interact were wonderful. I am certain that many interactive research projects will result from this conference and future meetings.”

Hong-yu Li, Ph.D., professor in the College of Pharmacy, spoke about “Translational Drug Development: Research that Takes you from Bench to Beside and Beyond.”

L. Joseph Su, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor in the College of Public Health, spoke about the “Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Program at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.”

Daohong Zhou, M.D., professor in the College of Pharmacy and director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, presented “Targeting Senescent Cells to Improve Cancer Therapy.”

Two UAMS Cancer Researchers Awarded American Cancer Society Grants Totaling $1.58 Million

May 9, 2017 | Two cancer researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have been awarded Research Scholar Grants from the American Cancer Society. Aime Franco, Ph.D., and Ling Gao, M.D., Ph.D., each received a four-year grant of $791,000 to support their ongoing cancer research.

The grants are among 109 national research and training grants totaling more than $45 million that will fund investigators at 75 institutions across the United States; 102 are new grants while seven are renewals of previous grants. The grants go into effect July 1.

“We at the American Cancer Society are proud to partner with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to award over $1.5 million to Drs. Aime Franco and Ling Gao. Based on our extremely rigorous peer review system, we think these two young scientists represent some of the finest cancer researchers in the country,” said Charles Saxe, Ph.D., scientific director American Cancer Society’s Program in Cancer Cell Biology and Metastasis, Extramural Research Department.

Franco’s project titled “Tumor-Stromal Crosstalk in Papillary Thyroid Cancer” seeks to determine how non-thyroid cells found in and around thyroid tumors promote cancer progression and metastasis, which is the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

“Our research has found that while thyroid tumors start out as primarily thyroid cells, they transition to tumors composed primarily of non-thyroid cells. It is critical to understand what these cells are doing, how they are driving progression of the tumor, and how we can target these cell types more effectively with our therapies,” said Franco, assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

According to the National Cancer Institute, thyroid cancer rates have risen significantly during the past several years, due in part to improvements in early detection. While it is now the eighth most common cancer in the United States, thyroid cancer is predicted to rise to the fourth most common cancer by 2030, surpassing colon cancer.

Gao’s project titled “Targeting the p110delta Isoform of PI3 Kinase in Merkel Cell Carcinoma” is focused on the development of a potential new therapy for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer whose rates have quadrupled during the past 20 years. The disease has a five-year survival rate of about 60 percent in those where the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body. Once Merkel cell carcinoma spreads, the five-year survival rate drops significantly to only 18 percent, which is a lower survival rate than melanoma

Gao’s project will investigate the potential of using drugs such as idelalisib that inhibit an intercellular signaling pathway called P13K to suppress the abnormal activity of the pathway and kill the tumors.

“There are no targeted therapies for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma. Successful completion of this study will pave the way for potential clinical trials using P13K inhibitors to treat advanced Merkel cell carcinoma patients,” said Gao, associate professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Dermatology.

In addition to her research interests, Gao also established and leads the clinical program at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, providing personalized treatment plans for patients with Merkel cell carcinoma.