Bioinformatics, Zebrafish At Focus During Cancer Control Month

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 04 Apr 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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April marks National Cancer Control Awareness Month, which focuses on the importance of prevention, treatment, and research. Making significant contributions in all of these areas is The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), which is one of the nation's 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers as designated by the National Cancer Institute and the only such center in New Jersey. A center of excellence of UMNDJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, CINJ prides itself on the ability of its internationally recognized scientists to translate their research into new prevention, treatment and education initiatives.

For instance, beakers and microscopes are being integrated with computer labs in an area known as biomedical informatics. CINJ is one of a handful of facilities across the country sharing resources to build a massive database of tissue samples, corresponding test results and other data, which may one day lead to "personalized medicine" in the area of cancer care.

CINJ is also one of the few cancer centers in the nation to have its own zebrafish laboratory. A transparent breed of the fish is allowing scientists to go farther than ever in the areas of leukemia and lymphoma research by allowing them to see cancers as they develop inside the fish.

The study of circadian rhythms -- or one's body clock -- in shift workers to see if they're predisposed to certain types of cancer is another research project at CINJ. Investigators also are looking to see if a dietary supplement would have an effect on this population.

And exploring the unique needs of the ever-growing population of cancer survivors is another area of great focus at CINJ as part of its new Center for Cancer Survivorship.

CINJ experts available for comment include:

Guna Rajagopal, PhD, executive director of bioinformatics at CINJ. Dr. Rajagopal's team is leading an ambitious statewide data-integration effort called POPWEB, which is focused on linking genomic and clinical data to facilitate translational research. One of the aims of POPWEB is to facilitate collaboration between academia and industry throughout New Jersey and beyond.

Hatem E. Sabaawy, MD, PhD, medical oncologist at CINJ and assistant professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Sabaawy's laboratory is utilizing the new Casper zebrafish, which remains transparent throughout its life. A normal breed of zebrafish will only stay transparent through the first four to six weeks of life, but not through adulthood. The use of the Casper fish will enhance the ability to monitor and detect cancer development in aged fish. Together with researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute, a collaborative effort is underway to study the regulation of gene expression in early leukemia development using zebrafish.

Helmut Zarbl, PhD, ATS, associate director for Public Health Science at CINJ and professor of toxicology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Zarbl is researching the effects of circadian rhythms in shift workers to see if there is a predisposition to breast and prostate cancers and if a dietary supplement would help diminish that impact.

Shawna V. Hudson, PhD, medical sociologist, director of community research in the Office of Extramural Affairs at CINJ and assistant professor of family medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Hudson is conducting research on the particular and unique needs of prostate and breast cancer survivors and their follow-up care.

Additional information about the research enterprise at CINJ can be found at http://www.cinj.org

Cancer Institute of New Jersey
195 Little Albany St.
New Brunswick
NJ 08903-2681
United States
http://www.cinj.org