September 2006
Luisa L. Villa Ph.D. - New São Paulo Branch Director
In July this year, Dr. Luisa L. Villa was appointed as the Branch Director, following founding Director, Dr. Ricardo R. Brentani’s retirement from LICR. A Member since 1998, Dr. Villa originally joined the Branch in 1983 as a senior investigator. Dr. Villa has forged strong collaborations with researchers around the world, particularly in the USA and Canada, and she is recognized internationally for her studies on human papillomavirus (HPV), its etiology in cancer and her contributions to translational and clinical sciences in the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against the virus. Her research was profiled in the June 2005 NewsLink.
José Baselga M.D. Joins LICR Scientific Advisory Committee
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Jose Baselga to the LICR Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Baselga is Professor of Medicine at the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona and the Scientific Chairman of the Spanish Breast Cancer cooperative group, SOLid Tumor Intensification (SOLTI). Read more about the research interests of Dr. Baselga and the other members of the Committee.
Introducing the LICR Clinical Genomics Program
The LICR Clinical Genomics Program is moving into its next phase, during which investigators will determine the scientific value of the 2000+ tumor samples collected during the initial stage of the project. The program will compare the genetic expression of malignant cells to that of normal tissue, and correlate these findings with clinical parameters such as survival rate, treatment response, and time to metastasis. Read about the Clinical Genomics Program here.
Update on Technology Licensing & LICR Research
Over the past several years, as part of its efforts to translate laboratory research into viable cancer therapies, LICR has accumulated an extensive portfolio of intellectual property (IP). Recent reevaluation and prioritization of this IP portfolio has led to the formation of several new spinoff companies and licensing arrangements that offer the opportunity to have LICR discoveries developed into cancer diagnostics and therapies that benefit patients. Read an interview with Dr. Jonathan Skipper, Ph.D., LICR Executive Director for Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing, describing two successful models of LICR commercialization.
LICR News
LICR News
Staff Appointments & Promotions:
To Assistant Investigator: Vincent Stroobant (Brussels Branch)
To Branch Director: Luisa L. Villa (Sao Paulo Branch)
To Acting Branch Director: H. Robson MacDonald (Lausanne Branch)
To Acting Branch Director: Thomas Perlmann (Stockholm Branch)
To Member: Andrew Scott (Director, Melbourne Centre)
To Member: Jonathan Cebon (Melbourne Centre)
Blood:
From the laboratory of Dr. Pierre Van der Bruggen (Brussels Branch)
Carrasco J, Godelaine D, Van Pel A, Boon T, van der Bruggen P. CD45RA on human CD8 T cells is sensitive to the time elapsed since the last antigenic stimulation. Blood. 2006 Jul 20.
Nature Genetics:
From the laboratory of Dr. Xin Lu (UCL Branch)
Bergamaschi D, Samuels Y, Sullivan A, Zvelebil M, Breyssens H, Bisso, A, Del Sal G, Syed N, Smith P, Gasco M, Crook T, Lu X. iASPP preferentially binds p53 proline-rich region and modulates apoptotic function of p53 polymorphic at codon 72. Nature Genetics. 2006
Science (and read the journal’s Perspective on the study too, pp1398-9):
From the laboratory of Dr. Benoit Van den Eynde (Brussels Branch)
Warren EH, Vigneron NJ, Gavin MA, Coulie PG, Stroobant P, Dalet A, Stykodi SS, Xuereb SM, Mito JK, Riddell SR, Van den Eynde B. An antigen produced by splicing of noncontiguous peptides in the reverse order. Science. 2006 Sep 08; Vol. 313. no. 5792, pp. 1444 - 1447
LICR in the News
Dr. Anne Ridley (UCL Branch) was profiled in the American Society for Cell Biology’s August newsletter [PDF].
The Science paper from the Dr. Benoit Van den Eynde and his team (Brussels Branch) was covered by various internet sites and also the news sections of several research journals, notably Nature and New Scientist.
The Cell Cycle paper from the laboratory of Dr. Johan Ericsson (Uppsala Branch) received attention on various internet sites devoted to medicine/health issues, and was the number one downloaded story at www.biologynews.net in the week of August 1-8. Cordis, the science news service of the European Union interviewed Dr. Ericsson and the article was featured on the Cordis site, as well as the EU’s Swedish research and development site.
In Brief
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Distinction
A paper from the San Diego Branch’s Drs. Frank Furnari and Web Cavenee (see ‘LICR News’) was selected as ‘Paper of the Week’ for The Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) September 8 issue. JBC, which is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), asks its Editorial Board members and Associate Editors to select papers that rank in the top 1% of reviewed papers for their significance and overall importance. This distinction is awarded to approximately 50-100 of the 6600 papers published each year in JBC.
Koichi Okumura, Michelle Mendoza, Robert M. Bachoo, Ronald A. DePinho, Webster K. Cavenee, and Frank B. Furnari. PCAF modulates PTEN activity. J Biol Chem. 2006 Sep 8;281(36):26562-8. Epub 2006 Jul 7.
Cell Cycle Cover
Congratulations to Drs. Maite Bengoechea Alonso and Johan Ericsson from the Uppsala Branch; their most recent study on the SREBP family was featured on the cover of Cell Cycle.
Bengoechea-Alonso MT, Ericsson J. Cdk1/cyclin B-mediated phosphorylation stabilizes SREBP1 during mitosis. Cell Cycle. 2006 Aug;5(15):1708-18. Epub 2006 Aug 1.
New York Branch - Models Par Excellence
A big thank you to the New York Branch staff for their patience and assistance while the LICR Office of Communications conducted a photographic shoot in their new laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The photographs - like those taken in the Melbourne Branch and Centre last year - will be used in the next Annual Research Highlights Report and on the LICR website.
Photographer Angus Oborn with (top to bottom) Dr. Achim Jungbluth (New York Branch) and Ms. Anne Murray (New York Branch) and Dr. Sarah White (Director, Office of Communications).