Cancer Research Taking The Main Stage At Baylor University

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 06 Apr 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Two Baylor University faculty members are working to create and test dozens of new cancer fighting compounds that disrupt solid cancer tumors and target any remaining tumor cells that may grow after the tumor is treated. In another project, two Baylor adjunct faculty members and a Baylor graduate student are developing vaccines against melanoma. These are just two examples of some of the latest cancer research projects faculty and students are involved with at Baylor and at Baylor's Institute of Biomedical Studies.

With more than 30 students and more than 40 faculty and adjunct faculty members, Baylor's Institute of Biomedical Studies is an interdisciplinary program in biomedical-related areas of science leading to the doctoral degree. The program combines graduate students with an extremely diverse faculty who are actively involved in basic and translational research, both at Baylor University in Waco and at the Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) in Dallas.

Cancer research funding comes from numerous public and private outlets, including one project that is looking into two main kinds of tumor-starving compounds, which has resulted in several patents for several Baylor professors like Dr. Kevin Pinney, professor of chemistry at Baylor. In Pinney's research, he and his team are creating new bioreductive compounds that take advantage of the lack of oxygen in the tumor. These compounds damage the tumor's DNA, so the tumor can not divide effectively. In another project, Baylor researchers are working to create a new type of Vascular Disrupting Agent. VDAs target the flow of blood to solid cancer tumors and other abnormal blood vessels while leaving healthy cells intact.

Baylor University
One Bear Pl. #97024
Waco, TX 76798-7024
United States
http://www.baylor.edu