Cancer Research Group
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Virginia Tech announces expansive cancer research initiative , article Date: Oct 16, 2019
About the Cancer Research Group
Cancer research is woven through the work of numerous laboratories at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Investigators strive to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic and environmental factors that encourage cancer growth, as well as how cancer multiplies and migrates throughout the body. From childhood cancers to breast cancer to brain cancers, including the deadliest of all, glioblastoma, researchers at the institute are developing methods to make cancer cells more vulnerable to existing treatments and innovating completely new treatments to halt cancer and thwart its return.
More than 30 research teams study cancer at Virginia Tech across its Blacksburg and Roanoke campuses, including at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the College of Science, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, and the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery. The researchers, supported by more than 30 major grants, form a strategic alliance to develop cross-disciplinary research throughout the university. They develop strategic relationships with federal agencies, private industry, and community partners — all aimed at the development of successful diagnostics and treatments for cancer.
The Animal Cancer Care and Research Center (ACCRC) capitalizes on a strikingly rare opportunity to integrate researchers investigating human and veterinary biomedical interests that seek to advance cancer treatment in pets and people alike. At the center’s new home at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, patients can visit one location for a range of services, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and advanced diagnostic imaging. The center treats all types of veterinary cancer; in addition, opportunities for dogs and cats to be enrolled in clinical research trials will be offered to pet owners.
- National Cancer Institute-funded research into a deadly form of primary brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme, which has a less than 5 percent five-year survival rate and virtually no effective and reliable treatment. It continues to take lives of young, middle-aged, and older adults. Multiple Virginia Tech teams have identified potential new therapeutic targets, combined pharmacological therapies, and therapeutic delivery systems to treat this cancer.
- The Animal Care and Cancer Research Center open in the summer of 2020 in the new biomedical research building of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke. The facility will bring together veterinary surgical, medical, and radiation oncologists to provide access to clinical trials to provide leading-edge treatment for dogs with cancers, while informing research in humans.
- A focused program on children’s brain cancer research. Children are a major segment of the population in need of the development of new cancer preventions, treatments, and cure. Children are not just little adults — their physiological functions, chemistry, and genetic/epigenetic programs have many differences from adults, requiring more targeted interventions and treatment strategies designed specifically for children.
- Collaborations with Children’s National Hospital at their Research & Innovation Campus, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Carilion Clinic.
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine faculty and Carilion Clinic physicians recognized in pediatric oncology and for innovative therapeutics for pediatric cancers.
Targeting Connexins in Breast Cancer
Dr. Samy Lamouille and his research team demonstrated that a molecule that can prevent brain cancer from spreading is also useful against breast cancer. The team developed a peptide that targets a set of proteins that help a cancer cell invade new tissue. It competes with the protein, connexin 43, which facilitates the cancer’s spread, and hamper’s tumor’s growth.
Interrupting Cancer's Communication
Dr. Zhi Sheng and his research team identified a gene and protein product critical to glioblastoma cell survival. They used a molecule to inhibit expression of the protein, stopping it from communicating necessary information, causing cancer cells to start to die off. With further development, researchers could theoretically design a precise treatment to use in conjuction with more traditional treatments and halt the return of one of the deadliest cancers.
A study by Dr. Stephanie Robel revealed that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes, which typically help protect the brain, are altered by glioma tumors. Astrocytes are hindered in their ability to maintain a balance in the brain between excitation and inhibition, creating conditions that cause seizures.
Dr. Carla Finkielstein’s team revealed that the molecules that protect people from cancer initiation and progression are directly involved in regulating daily circadian rhythm function. Understanding cancer in the context of multicellular systems, including circadian molecules, oncoproteins, and tumor suppressors, provides new insight into tailoring effective therapeutics.
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Finkielstein Lab , homeThe Finkielstein Lab studies how the molecules that dictate a cell's life cycle influence cancer initiation and progression.
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Gourdie Lab , homeThe Gourdie Lab studies subunit proteins called connexins, which are located in gap junctions that enable direct communication between cells.
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Lamouille Lab , homeThe Lamouille Lab studies ways to deregulate cancer cell communication and is developing new therapeutic strategies to stall cancer stem cell proliferation and metastases.
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Munson Lab , homeThe Munson Lab studies the tumor microenvironment in cancers, including glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. Our research focuses on the emerging research area of fluid flow.
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Robel Lab , homeThe Robel Lab's research interest is in the role of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells, in the development and progression of CNS diseases.
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Sheng Lab , homeResearchers in the Sheng Laboratory are particularly interested in glioblastoma multiforme.
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Smyth Lab , homeThe Smyth Laboratory studies cardiomyopathy at a subcellular level, searching for potential targets for therapeutic interventions to help restore normal cardiac function to diseased hearts.
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Sontheimer Lab , homeThe Sontheimer Lab researches the biology of glial cells, the brain's most abundant cell type. Harald Sontheimer is credited with making foundational discoveries on the functional properties of glial cells in the brain.
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Article ItemThe race against cancer’s clock: New study shows chronic jet lag impairs immune response, accelerates tumor growth , article
A new study led by Carla Finkielstein, an associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Diego Golombek, a professor at the National University of Quilmes, reveals that chronic jet lag impedes the body’s immune system and also changes the tumor microenvironment, favoring tumor growth.
Date: Oct 14, 2020 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute biotech spin-off seeks potential breast cancer treatment , article
Roanoke-based cancer research startup, Acomhal Research Inc., secured a $399,878 Small Business Technology Transfer grant to determine if a molecule that stalls the spread of invasive brain cancer stem cells can help treat aggressive forms of breast cancer.
Date: Jul 28, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech cancer researcher Carla Finkielstein to join Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC , article
Finkielstein, a molecular biologist and an associate professor in the College of Science, will join the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC on July 1. Her laboratory, which studies how circadian rhythms are involved in breast cancer progression, will move to the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke.
Date: Jun 23, 2020 -
Article ItemChildren’s National Hospital, Virginia Tech announce partnership for new Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus , article
The campus is an expansion of Children’s National that is located on a nearly 12-acre portion of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and is set to open its first phase in December 2020.
Date: Nov 14, 2019 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech announces expansive cancer research initiative , article
Virginia Tech has developed a university-wide cancer research strategy to create and expand synergies among more than 30 existing research teams at work finding new ways to diagnose and treat cancer.
Date: Oct 16, 2019 -
Article ItemVTCRI research team identifies a potential strategy in fight against brain cancer , article
Scientists with the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute say a gene involved in the body’s sleep cycle is a potential target for therapies to help patients with a deadly form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma.
Date: Sep 24, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientist earns third concurrent grant from the National Cancer Institute to study breast cancer , article
Deb Kelly, who is also an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, is working to better detect, prevent, and repair the mutations found in cancers related to the breast cancer susceptibility protein, BRCA1.
Date: Jul 10, 2018 -
Article ItemFirst students earn degrees through innovative translational biology, medicine, and health program , article
The program is based on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, and it positions students to conduct research in more than 50 departments and institutes across Virginia Tech.
Date: May 09, 2018 -
Article ItemCarmouche and Sheng receive 2018 VTCSOM Outstanding Research Mentor Awards , article
Students and alumni nominated individuals who provided clear expectations and high standards for students to conduct original hypothesis-driven research effectively and provide opportunities for professional growth.
Date: Apr 04, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientist awarded $2 million National Cancer Institute grant to study breast cancer , article
The National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Deborah Kelly, an associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, $2 million to study the mutated form of the breast cancer susceptibility protein that is implicated in hereditary breast cancer.
Date: Mar 29, 2018 -
Article ItemResearchers discover molecular mechanism of hereditary, tumor-causing disease , article
Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome is a rare disease, affecting about one in every 36,000 people, according to the National Institutes of Health. People with the disorder have an increased risk for developing cancer, but a main concern is on the syndrome’s characteristic benign growths.
Date: Mar 07, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientists identify new target for developing precision treatment in malignant brain tumors , article
Currently, no standard of care exists to prevent or treat recurrent malignant primary brain tumors in patients.
Date: Jan 30, 2018 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech biomedical spinoff cited for innovation by national university associations , article
Acomhal Research Inc., formed to fight a deadly type of brain cancer, is being recognized this week by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities.
Date: Nov 13, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists decode breast cancer protein , article
Their results, published this week in Science Advances, suggest a new paradigm for better managing the mutated BRCA1 protein found in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive, as its tumor cells typically lack target receptors that allow cancer-fighting drugs to be effective.
Date: Sep 20, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute teams converge on strategies to defeat McCain’s form of brain cancer , article
Research teams at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute from three colleges — Engineering, Science, and Veterinary Medicine — are developing new approaches to treat glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer recently diagnosed in U.S. Sen. John McCain.
Date: Jul 24, 2017 -
Article ItemMedical student earns 2 national fellowships to conduct brain cancer research , article
Pratik Kanabur said he will study new ways to potentially treat children’s malignant brain cancer with Assistant Professor Zhi Sheng at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Apr 27, 2016 -
Article ItemResearchers find way to make resistant brain cancer cells sensitive to treatment , article
Scientists from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and clinicians from Carilion Clinic have discovered how to sensitize drug-resistant human glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy.
Date: Nov 16, 2015 -
Article ItemScientist receives grant to study underpinnings of hard-to-treat, hereditary breast cancer , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist awarded $1.8 million grant to study structure of BRCA1 proteins and mutations.
Date: Sep 11, 2015 -
Article ItemScientists visualize potential brain cancer treatments in real time , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have developed new imaging techniques to watch dangerous brain tumor cells respond to treatment in real time.
Date: Apr 10, 2015 -
Article ItemGoing viral: Targeting brain cancer cells with a wound-healing drug , article
At the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, three scientists are planning to create a virus capable of destroying brain cancer. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it isn’t hypothetical – the researchers were recently awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund, part of the Center for Innovative Technology, to engineer a viral therapy.
Date: Jan 05, 2015 -
Article ItemResearchers to study mechanisms of hard-to-solve, hereditary breast cancer to find treatment option , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists to investigate BRCA1-related cancers.
Date: Jul 29, 2014
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Redirect ItemBioengineer: $100,000 to fund collaborative cancer research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021
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Redirect ItemScienmag: $100,000 To Fund Collaborative Cancer Research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021
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Redirect Item7th Space: $100,000 to fund collaborative cancer research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021
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Redirect ItemWVTF: Potential New Treatment for Deadliest Brain Diseases , redirect Date: Dec 05, 2018
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Redirect ItemWVTF: Glioblastoma canine clinical trials , redirect Date: Nov 16, 2015
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Virtual Seminar: Reprogramming the Brain Cancer Stem CellMarch 5, 2021, 11 a.m. | John Laterra, M.D., Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
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Virtual Seminar: Control of TGF-beta Signaling and Epithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionApril 30, 2021, 11 a.m. | Rik Derynck, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series