From uncovering the role nerve cells play in metastasis to identifying new cancer-causing genes, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University made notable advances in the understanding and potential treatment of cancer during the past year.
Several Einstein faculty members and students will present their recent research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, taking place in San Diego April 5-9, 2014. Among the presentations are those during major and mini symposia:
•Gene Regulation and Transcription Factors – Ujunwa Cynthia Okoye-Okafor, M.D./Ph.D. student
Ms. Okoye-Okafor, who will be receiving the AACR’s 2014 AACR Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award during the Annual Meeting, will present “Characterization of novel protein-coding gene named TIHL (Translocated in Hodgkin’s Lymphoma).†Ms. Okoye-Okafor discovered this gene as a student in the lab of Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., who focuses on transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of hematopoiesis and leukemia. Dr. Steidl is associate professor of cell biology and of medicine at Einstein and associate chair, translational research in oncology at Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein.
Monday, April 7, 3:00-5:00 pm (3:20-3:35 pm), Room 33, San Diego Convention Center
•Neural Regulation of Prostate Cancer – Paul Frenette, M.D.
Dr. Frenette will present at the major symposium titled “Complexity in the Tumor Microenvironment.†He will discuss his research, including his recent Science paper that showed nerves play a key role in triggering prostate cancer and influencing its spread. Dr. Frenette is chair and director of Einstein’s Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine.
Tuesday, April 8, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, Ballroom 20D, San Diego Convention Center