Department of Internal Medicine Dr. Giangrande Receives Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Seed Grant  Paloma H. Giangrande, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Division of Cardiovascular Diseases
5/18/2007 Leaders of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa today announced the recipients of 2007 American Cancer Society (ACS) "seed" grant awards. These awards help junior faculty members and independent research scientists initiate their careers in cancer research and provide them with funds for the purpose of exploring new ideas related to the cause, prevention and therapy of cancer. Internal Medicine researcher Paloma H. Giangrande, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine, received $30,000 for her project entitled, "Targeting Her2/neu Expressing Cells in the Setting of Breast Cancers Using RNA Aptamers." RNA is usually thought of as the molecule that helps turn genes into proteins. The goal of this project is to use bi-functional RNA therapy in two new ways. First, the RNA treatment will be designed to stick specifically to Her2/neu, a target on the surface of breast cancer cells. Second, a different part of the RNA treatment will be designed to enter the breast cancer cell and block the function of the cell, thereby preventing it from growing or behaving like a cancer cell. The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UI is Iowa's only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers are recognized as the leaders in developing new approaches to cancer prevention and cancer care, conducting leading edge research and educating the public about cancer. |
