Ercole Cavalieri, D.Sc., and Eleanor Rogan, Ph.D., are collaborating on the Breast Cancer Center of Excellence Award funded by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

Cure, treat, prevent
Potential of UNMC research discoveries is unlimited

By Vicky Cerino

Inspiration and perspiration are keys to research breakthroughs.
That’s how Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., UNMC vice chancellor for research, describes the process of research.

The vast number of research projects and funds supporting scientists at UNMC is staggering. UNMC faculty members are engaged in finding answers to questions that will ultimately help save lives and improve the quality of lives in Nebraska and around the world. But it’s not easy.

"Research is exceedingly difficult," said Rosenquist. "New cures, treatments, ways to prevent and diagnose don’t just happen. They happen over years. There’s no progress without research. Most of the basic research in biomedical science is at academic health science centers, like UNMC. It’s basic research that ultimately gets translated to patients."

Some of the breakthrough research UNMC researchers hope will someday benefit patients includes: testing cancer vaccines to prevent or stop cancer from spreading; predicting cancer’s aggressiveness to develop detailed treatment plans; finding an early test for cancer of the pancreas; finding a way to make liver cells regenerate to treat liver disease; and learning the role that environment and diet play in cancer.

The vision of Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., is for UNMC to become a world-renowned health sciences center that ranks among leading research centers in the nation. Through research, universities generate new knowledge from which health education and improvements in health care develop.

"Tremendous advances are being made as a result of major research breakthroughs. Improved and more effective treatments developed from our research have the potential to lessen the impact of rising health care costs,"  said Maurer. "Already, our scientists have made important discoveries in transplantation, Alzheimer’s disease, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and glaucoma, among other diseases. Research also contributes to the economic value of the state by attracting research funding to Nebraska."

Here are just some of the major research projects that are ongoing at UNMC:

• Julie Vose, M.D., is studying customized cancer vaccines for patients with incurable follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The vaccine may keep patients in remission longer by helping the immune system fight the tumor.
• Tony Hollingsworth, Ph.D., is studying a protein that causes tumors in the pancreas in the hope of developing an early detection test for cancer of the pancreas, as well as tumor vaccines to induce patients immune responses against the cancer.
• Dr. Pascale Lane studies how hormonal changes during puberty affect the kidneys of diabetic patients. Dr. Lane is an associate professor in the division of pediatric nephrology at UNMC, and she is associate chair for research in the department of pediatrics.
• Ira Fox, M.D., is studying genetically engineered liver cells that may someday regenerate damaged livers. He is funded by NIH grants that total more than $3 million.
• Wing (John) Chan, M.D., is using DNA microarray technology to create profiles of common cancers. The information ultimately may tell physicians how to tailor treatment based on aggressiveness of tumors.
• Dennis Weisenburger, M.D., is studying how diet and the environment may play a role in causing lymphoma. One large study found farmers who frequently use certain pesticides, women who use hair dyes (particularly permanent and dark colors), and those who drink nitrate-contaminated water have an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
• UNMC College of Nursing researchers are involved in a variety of research, including new ways to prevent and treat osteoporosis, and an activity and nutrition regimen that may ultimately reduce risk of disability and premature death in rural women.
• UNMC College of Dentistry researchers are investigating many research topics, including the study of new medications to reduce oral bone loss, and how cell changes occur in oral cancer, which may lead to effective early diagnosis and improve cure rates.
• UNMC College of Pharmacy researchers are working on a number of grants, including a compound that may ultimately provide a cheaper, more effective antimalarial drug and inventions such as a new nutritional supplement that boosts performance without side effects and provides more immediate muscle recovery from fatigue, and aches and pains.
• Peggy Wheelock, Ph.D., has received a nearly $9.9 million grant to lead the NIH-designated Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling at UNMC to further the understanding of the biochemical response of cells to their environment as it relates to a variety of cancers.
• Shelley Smith, Ph.D., received a $10.6 million grant and will lead the NIH-designated Nebraska Center for Molecular Biology of Neurosensory Systems that will study genes involved in disorders of vision, hearing, touch and balance.

Researchers at the Eppley Research Institute are approaching cancer from various directions. For example:

• Ercole Cavalieri, D.Sc., is studying the role estrogen plays in causing breast cancer and is looking for new approaches to detect and prevent the disease. Cavalieri and Eleanor Rogan, Ph.D., are collaborating on the Breast Cancer Center of Excellence Award funded by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
• James Talmadge, Ph.D., is investigating a vaccine to create immunity against breast cancer cells, preventing their spread.
• Rob Lewis, Ph.D., is investigating a gene that appears to control normal and abnormal cell growth.