Grant to further breast cancer research at IU

Breast cancer in females has a higher death rate than lung cancer, but researchers at IU are working to change that. \nWith the help of outside funding, a post-doctoral fellow at the IU School of Medicine is currently in the process of studying a novel set of cancer drugs that would target the area of primary growth of the breast cancer tumor within the human bone.\nAt the beginning of IU's school year in July, $55,000 in research grant money was awarded to IU by the Walther Cancer Research Center in Indianapolis to further cancer research at the IU School of Medicine for post-doctoral fellows.\nProfessors and researchers throughout the IU campuses were eligible to apply for the research grant, and only two were chosen. \nJohn Foley, associate professor of cell biology and dermatology, and David Daleke, associate professor for the medical sciences program, were selected from IU-Bloomington to split the grant's funding to help support and further their post-doctoral fellowships. Post-doctoral fellows are researchers who have already received a doctorate and are doing additional research training to gain more expertise in a certain area of interest, such as cancer research.\nWhile Foley's post-doctoral fellow, Jennifer Gilmore, is studying cancer drugs targeting breast cancer tumors, Daleke's post-doctoral researcher, Smriti, is currently working on a project to develop a way to destroy cancer cells. "Getting a post-doctoral fellowship is recognition of excellence for the scientist," Daleke said. "This is just one of the ways for this program to receive funding on campus."\nThis was the first year Foley was eligible for the grant because this was his first time working with a post-doctoral fellow, Foley said. \n"Basically, with the way funding is right now, without the support of a post-doctoral fellowship early in their research, they may not be able to stick with their projects," Foley said about research scientists within his field. "We are very grateful for these grants."\nKen Nephew, the program leader for Walther Cancer Institute at IUB, said these grants are somewhat unusual to the IUB campus.\n"Most cancer research is performed at cancer centers," Nephew said. "We are trying to grow in that area. It's important to the campus in general so students know there is active cancer research here on campus. There is a lot of interest for undergraduate students who want to be exposed to cancer research."\nFoley agrees the grants are unusual for this University.\n"Bloomington is known for fundamental research," Foley said. "We're basically lucky for the support we receive because Bloomington is not known for cancer research. We don't really know if what we do is going to lead to something better or a cure."\nWhile Daleke feels these grants are helpful for new doctors to make a transition into their research positions, he said the funding he received for his post-doctoral fellows was less than what he has received in the past from the Walther Cancer Institute. The Institute had to cut back on a lot of projects throughout the state because of a lack of money, he said.\n"We have some very strong cancer researchers on this campus," Daleke said. "As a Bloomington campus, we could do a lot better job in researching and raising money for cancer research."\nThe idea behind having more than one grant recipient within the IU School of Medicine is that researchers will ultimately be able to synergize with one another and produce a much larger project, Foley said. This is primarily important to IU because it brings science to a practical level on all of the campuses, he said.\n"By working together, new discoveries could be made quickly and more efficiently," Foley said. \nThe funding for the research grants began when Dr. Joseph Walther bought and sold a hospital and used the proceeds to begin basic cancer research. The Walther Cancer Institute has helped fund research at IU for at least 10 years. Today, donors across the state of Indiana help support the grants to further cancer research for IUB, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, Purdue and the Notre Dame.\nFred Haslam, executive vice president at the Walther Cancer Institute, said the center is trying to put together the strengths of each campus's research program to enhance collaboration between the institutions. \n"We are very interested in supporting and strengthening support on the Bloomington campus," Haslam said. "Anything we can do to help nurture that on the campus is something we are happy to do." \nThe importance of this preliminary research allows the post-doctoral fellows to select an area and make it their own, Foley said. \n"The people who are the post-docs are going to be the faculty as well as the leaders in pharmaceutical companies," Foley said. "They are trying to have an impact on people's lives. Essentially, they are the future"