Cancer Research

Press Releases

Gold Nanoprobes May Allow Earlier Cancer Detection

December 28, 2007 — Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, scientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively. Studded with antibody fragments called ScFv peptides that bind cancer cells, the gold particles grab onto tumors after their injection. When illuminated with a laser beam, the tumor-bound particles send back a signal that is specific to the dye.

Gene Thought to Assist Chemo May Help Cancer Thrive

May 16, 2007 — A gene thought to be essential in helping chemotherapy kill cancer cells, may actually help them thrive. In a new study of chemo patients, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ovarian Cancer Institute found that 70 percent of subjects whose tumors had mutations in the gene p53 were still alive after five years. Patients with normal p53 displayed only a 30 percent survival rate. The findings raise the possibility of a new strategy for fighting cancer - namely, developing drugs to disable the functioning of this gene in the tumors of patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Tech Profs Recognized by Cancer Coalition

November 19, 2007 — Four Georgia Tech research scientists — Yuhong Fan, Ph.D., Melissa Kemp, Ph.D., Francesca Storici, Ph.D, and Ming Yuan, Ph.D. — are among the 29 across the state to be selected as Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholars for 2008. Each scientist is funded at $50,000 annually for five years; Coalition support for the Georgia Tech researchers' efforts totals $1 million. The Coalition selects scientists engaged in the most promising areas of cancer research.

Tech Research Wins Prestigious Competition

May 1, 2007 — Every year, the Franz Edelman competition recognizes outstanding operations research (O.R.) projects that have transformed companies, entire industries and people's lives. Eva K. Lee, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, worked with Dr. Marco Zaider, head of Brachytherapy Physics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), to devise sophisticated optimization modeling and computational techniques to implement an intra-operative 3D treatment planning system for brachytherapy that offers a safer and more reliable treatment.

Biotech Startup Wins $1.65 Million Grant

July 25, 2006 — A company co-founded by a Georgia Institute of Technology researcher has received a substantial federal grant to develop and commercialize a nano-scale sensor called a "molecular beacon" for detection and diagnosis of diseases including cancer. The funding--a Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase 2 grant from the National Cancer Institute--provides $1.65 million over two years to Vivonetics, a startup company founded by Gang Bao and Karim Godamunne. Bao, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering operated jointly by Georgia Tech and Emory University, will lead the Vivonetics/Georgia Tech research team.

Bellamkonda Named Georgia Cancer Coalition Scholar

February 27, 2007 — Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda, a professor in The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, is one of 13 scientists named as a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar for 2007. One of only two professor level awardees, he will receive $150,000 in funding annually for five years to support his research efforts. The coalition selects scientists engaged in the most promising areas of cancer research; Bellamkonda's area of interest is nanotechnology for cancer imaging and therapy.

Ovarian Cancer May Mimic Fallopian Tube Formation

March 6, 2007 — A new study suggests that ovarian cancer cells form by hijacking a developmental genetic process normally used to form fallopian tubes. Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ovarian Cancer Institute discovered that the protein, PAX8, is involved in the development of fallopian tubes and is present in ovarian cancer cells, but not in normal ovarian tissue. The discovery not only provides a new target for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, but also opens new avenues for basic research in ovarian cancer pathology. The research appears in Volume 104, Issue 2 of the journal Gynecologic Oncology.

Scientists Uncover Critical Step in DNA Mutation

August 23, 2006 — Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made an important step toward solving a critical puzzle relating to a chemical reaction that leads to DNA mutation, which underlies many forms of cancer. The research, which uncovers knowledge that could be critical to the development of strategies for cancer prevention and treatment, appears in the August 2006 edition (Volume 128, issue 33) of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Inverse Planning System Improves Cancer Therapy

November 27, 2006 — A California medical software company has launched the first "inverse planning" system for helping cancer treatment specialists optimize the placement of radioactive seeds used in the brachytherapy process. Optimization improves the treatment by helping meet physician-set constraints for consistent radiation doses to tumor cells — while minimizing effects on nearby structures.

Other Cancer Research Press Releases:

Emory-Georgia Tech Nanotechnology Center for Personalized and Predictive Oncology: Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE)

The ultimate mission of the Emory-Georgia Tech CCNE is to create a "discovery accelerator" embedded in a new cancer center - the Winship Cancer Institute (WCI) at Emory University. The energy for acceleration draws from basic, translational, engineering, and clinical cancer investigators from Georgia Tech and Emory who all share a common vision: to reduce timelines separating basic discovery to "proof of concept" nanotechnology investigations in earlier cancer detection, in profiling therapeutic target biomarkers on biopsies for personalized and predictive therapy, and in translating new nanoscale anticancer medicines to the clinic. Since promising advances in research are outnumbering the national training pool of young translational cancer scientists, the Emory-Georgia Tech CCNE also intends to be a new training center in both the WCI clinics and laboratories for the next generation of translational cancer scientists. Unique opportunities now exist at Emory University and Georgia Tech to develop an NCI CCNE in parallel with the full development of Emory's NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) - so that the new culture of nanotechnology and bioengineering in cancer research can shape how cancer center faculty attack research at the bench and bedside. Concurrently, we will educate engineering scientists and help them become "oncologists" with a deeper understanding of cancer genomics, cancer biology, and unmet clinical needs.

Ovarian Cancer Institute

One in 57 women in the United States will develop ovarian cancer. Approximately 27,000 are diagnosed every year, and roughly a third of them will survive more than 5 years. The Ovarian Cancer Institute was established to change these odds.

Founded in 1999 by Dr. Benedict Benigno, the Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) is dedicated to researching cancer of the ovaries. Dr. Benigno, a gynecologic oncologist, has practiced in Atlanta, Georgia for more than 30 years, and along with his partners, sees more cases of ovarian cancer than any other private practice in the country. The primary mission of the OCI is to develop innovative research leading to earlier detection and more effective treatment of ovarian cancer as well as to educate and heighten awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer and treatment options.

OCI and the OCI Research Laboratories are located at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and are directed by OCI Chief Research Scientist and Professor and Chair of the School of Biology at Georgia Tech, Dr. John McDonald. In addition to his own research staff, Dr. McDonald has established collaborative relationships with the other major universities around the state: Clark Atlanta, Emory, Georgia State and the Medical College of Georgia, all of which have scientists and bioinformaticists who are participating either in research or data analysis. Due to the pristine tumor samples and the availability of medical histories, the OCI Laboratories have established a highly comprehensive ovarian cancer research program that is unique to any other in the U.S. or the world. Currently, the OCI Laboratories have almost 600 tumor samples available for research.