September 2007
Remembering Henri Isliker, Founding Scientific Committee Member
Professor Henri Isliker, a founding member of the LICR Scientific Committee who was instrumental in establishing LICR’s presence in Europe, passed away on August 1, 2007. Read a tribute to Professor Isliker here.
Melanoma & Ovarian Cancer Initiatives Meeting
The first meeting of LICR investigators, Affiliates and collaborators involved in the Melanoma and Ovarian Cancer Initiatives was held in New York on September 17th and 18th. The meeting had representatives from the Brussels, Lausanne, New York and Sao Paulo Branches, the Melbourne Center and Affiliates from Petropolis, New York and Xi’an. Read a report of the meeting here.
International Xylella Workshop: Lasting Impact of ONSA/LICR Partnership
An International Workshop on Xylella fastidiosa was held in São Paulo, Brazil, August 20th - 22nd, 2007. Only 17 articles were listed in the NCBI PubMed database on Xylella prior to the publication of the sequence of the phytopathogen by an LICR-led consortium in 2000. Since then, 163 papers have been published as international research has focused on approaches to prevent X. fastidiosa infection of citrus crops.Read more »
New Contact Details for London Branch
Please note that the London Branch has vacated the Courtauld Building. The new (temporary) address for Dr. Xin Lu (Branch Director) and Mr. Richard Anning (Branch Administrator) is:
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
NDM - Room 27
Badenoch Building
University of Oxford
Old Road Campus
Headington
Oxford OX3 7LG
LICR Implements New Internal Control System
Recent revisions in the Swiss Code of Obligations have necessitated the development of a new Internal Control System (ICS) for LICR and the LICR Fund, which oversees the Institute’s endowment. An internal control system can be described as the process effected by LICR to provide reasonable assurance regarding reliability of financial reporting, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and safeguarding of resources and assets. The ICS Guidelines, which define this important process, have been approved by LICR Management and went into effect on September 1st, 2007. Read more
LICR News
Staff Appointments & Promotions
To Associate Member: Dr. Bing Ren (San Diego Branch)
Selected Manuscripts
Cancer Immunity
From the laboratory of Dr. Lloyd Old (New York Branch):
Jungbluth AA, Silva WA Jr, Iversen K, Frosina D, Zaidi B, Coplan K, Eastlake-Wade SK, Castelli SB, Spagnoli GC, Old LJ, Vogel M. Expression of cancer-testis (CT) antigens in placenta. Cancer Immunity 2007 Aug 24;7:15. PMID: 17715884
Two from the groups of Drs. Ian Davis and Andrew Scott (Melbourne Center) and Lloyd Old (New York Branch):
Davis ID, Liu Z, Saunders W, Lee FT, Spirkoska V, Hopkins W, Smyth FE, Chong G, Papenfuss AT, Chappell B, Poon A, Saunder TH, Hoffman EW, Old LJ, Scott AM. A pilot study of monoclonal antibody cG250 and low dose subcutaneous IL-2 in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Immunity 2007 Aug 17;7:14. PMID: 17705350
Davis ID, Wiseman GA, Lee FT, Gansen DN, Hopkins W, Papenfuss AT, Liu Z, Moynihan TJ, Croghan GA, Adjei AA, Hoffman EW, Ingle JN, Old LJ, Scott AM. A phase I multiple dose, dose escalation study of cG250 monoclonal antibody in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.Cancer Immunity 2007 Aug 17;7:13. PMID: 17705349
Journal of Immunology
From the laboratory of Drs. Pedro Romero and Daniel Speiser (Lausanne Branch):
Derre L, Bruyninx M, Baumgaertner P, Devevre E, Corthesy P, Touvrey C, Mahnke YD, Pircher H, Voelter V, Romero P, Speiser DE, Rufer N. In Vivo Persistence of Codominant Human CD8+ T Cell Clonotypes Is Not Limited by Replicative Senescence or Functional Alteration. J Immunol. 2007 Aug 15;179(4):2368-79. PMID: 17675498
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
From the laboratory of Dr. Richard Kolodner (San Diego Branch):
Kolodner RD, Mendillo ML, Putnam CD. Coupling distant sites in DNA during DNA mismatch repair. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Aug 7;104(32):12953-4. Epub 2007 Jul 30. PMID: 17664420
Molecular Cell Biology
From the laboratory of Dr. Richard Kolodner (San Diego Branch):
Harrington JM, Kolodner RD. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Msh2-Msh3 Acts in Repair of Base-Base Mispairs. Mol Cell Biol. 2007 Sep;27(18):6546-54. Epub 2007 Jul 16. PMID: 17636021
Journal of Leukocyte Biology
From the laboratory of Dr. Tony Burgess (Melbourne Branch):
Zhang HH, Basu S, Wu F, Begley CG, Saris CJ, Dunn AR, Burgess AW, Walker F. Macrophage-colony stimulating factor is required for the production of neutrophil-promoting activity by mouse embryo fibroblasts deficient in G-CSF and GM-CSF. J Leukoc Biol. 2007 Jul 25; PMID: 17652450
Grants
The LICR Melbourne Branch and Center have received seven grants totalling more than $7.7 million from Australia's National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which included Practitioner Fellowships for Drs. Ian Davis and Jonathan Cebon (Center), a Project Grant for Dr. Margaret Hibbs, and $4.92 million over five years for Drs Steven Stacker and Marc Achen (Branch).
In Brief
LICR to Co-sponsor International CA-IX Symposium
Interest in the tumor antigen carboxyanhydrase IX (CA-IX) has accelerated in recent years. CA-IX — the target of the G250 antibody, which has been investigated in clinical trials by LICR — has been identified in numerous tumor types, including renal, breast and cervical cancers, and a putative role for CA-IX in non-oncology indications has also been proposed. The CA-IX Symposium will bring together leading researchers and clinicians to give a comprehensive review of the latest in CA-IX laboratory research and clinical development for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The Symposium — co-sponsored by LICR and Wilex AG — is accredited by the European Society of Molecular Oncology. See http://www.ca-ix.com/ for more details and to register.
Conference Sponsorship Funds Available
As part of its commitment to cancer research, LICR’s Executive Directorate has made limited funds available to sponsor cancer conferences or symposia at which senior LICR investigators will be honored or speaking. Interested individuals are invited to contact Dr. Sarah White, Director of the Office of Communications for more information.