Medical School continues breast cancer research

Two research scientists at the SIU Cancer Institute at the School of Medicine have been awarded federal grants from the U.S. Army to study breast cancer.

A one-year grant was awarded to Yin Yuan Mo, assistant professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, to study a new mechanism to control gene expression in breast cancer. The total budget for the grant is $107,250. The study will look at the newly discovered small RNA molecules, which could regulate tumor-causing and suppressor genes in breast cancer. The research may lead to possible new applications for breast cancer treatment and prevention.

Mo's cancer research has been funded for four years by the National Cancer Institute and totals about $1 million.

Another one-year grant was awarded to Sophia Ran, assistant professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, to study ways to prevent breast cancer tumors from returning after chemotherapy. The total budget for the grant is $107,250. The study will look at combining the drug, paclitaxel, with an anti-vascular drug to kill a larger portion of the malignant cancer cells and stop the formation of tumor blood vessels.

The research could improve the success of chemotherapy by suppressing the tendency of malignant cells from growing back.

Ran's breast cancer research has been funded for two years and now totals $328,930.