Ladies of Port Richmond Young Investigators Awardees: (from left) John Pascal, Ph.D., Chenguang Wang, Ph.D., Agnieszka Witkiewicz, M.D., Kongming Wu, Ph.D., Mathew Casimiro, Ph.D, Tatiyana Apanasovich, Ph.D. (not pictured)

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Ladies of Port Richmond, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson has awarded six junior investigators with funding for the prevention and improved treatment of breast cancer. The titles of the supported submissions were:

John Pascal, Ph.D.
Novel Mechanisms For Inhibiting The Cellular Functions Of Parp1 For Cancer Treatment

Chenguang Wang, Ph.D.
Investigation Of The Functional Significance Of Cyclin D1 In Erα Signaling

Agnieszka Witkiewicz, Ph.D.
Molecular Profiling Of Basal Breast Carcinomas

Kongming Wu, Ph.D.
Molecular Mechanism Of A Novel Breast Tumor Suppressor Dach1

Mathew Casimiro, Ph.D.
Characterize The Effect Of Cyclin D1 On The Mitochondrial Proteome Using Electrospray Mass Spectrometry

Tatiyana Apanasovich, Ph.D.
Quantification Of Protein Biomarker Heterogeneity Within Breast Cancer For Improved Personalized Care

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have found a mechanism by which a hormone responsible for milk production blocks an oncogene that makes breast cancer more aggressive.

Publishing in the journal Cancer Research, the researchers discovered that prolactin, a pituitary hormone that normally stimulates breast development and milk production, in fact reduces levels of an oncogene called BCL6. The BCL6 protein has previously been shown to play a role in poorly differentiated breast cancer, which carries a poorer prognosis.

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The levels of an inflammatory chemokine were significantly elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer who were extremely obese, according to research conducted by scientists at the Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers Center. They presented their data at the 5th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, held in San Antonio.

Studies have shown that obesity is correlated with inflammation. Similarly, studies have also shown that inflammation contributes to the tumor progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). This study looks at the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a marker of inflammation, in obese patients with pancreatic cancer.

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On Tuesday, November, 17th 2009, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson held the First Annual Men’s Event at the Prime Rib Restaurant in Philadelphia. The Men’s Event was emceed by Comedian Joe Conklin. Special guests included, Mayor Michael Nutter, Don Tollefson, Jon Runyan and Neiman Marcus Models. Guests enjoyed a dinner, silent and live auction, and casino. The Lead Sponsor was Bill Frankel of Frankel Enterprises. This event raised $150,000 for prostate cancer!

CKC United will host the inaugural "Rock the Ribbon" black tie event. The event will be held on March 27th, 2010 at The Regal Ballroom in Philadelphia, PA. This black tie ball features a delicious four course meal, complimentary beverages, guest speakers, and top notch live music. The formation of CKC United stems from the development of Rock the Ribbon. All of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA. We are very excited about Rock the Ribbon and many other future CKC United fundraisers.

CKC United is a non-profit organization that spreads awareness and raises funds to assist in worth while causes. CKC United was created by a group of friends brought together by music and community. We all share a desire to help the less fortunate, and to make the world a better place to live. Ultimately our goal as a non-profit organization is to donate as much as we can to worthwhile causes.

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Dr. Edith Mitchell

Edith Mitchell, M.D., clinical professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, was honored with the Cancer Control Award, an award created by the American Cancer Society.

This award recognizes an individual who has made a major and unique contribution to cancer control in a non-research based activity in the region, which includes Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties. Dr Mitchell was honored at the 2009 American Cancer Society, Southeast Region’s Awards Celebration, which took place October 15.

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Renato V. Iozzo, M.D., professor of Pathology and Cell Biology was awarded two plaques and honorary diplomas in recognition of his “Significant Contribution and Scientific Achievements in the fields of Pathobiology and Extracellular Matrices.” The awards were given by the Hellenic Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology together with the Hellenic Research Club for Connective Tissue and Matrix Biology, and from the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. He received the awards in July 2009 at the FEBS-MSPT Conference, held at the University of Patras, Greece. Dr. Iozzo delivered two keynote talks on the roles of proteoglycans in cancer and angiogenesis.

Edith Mitchell, M.D., clinical professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, was honored with the 2009 National Medical Association Council on Concerns of Women Physicians Pfizer Research Award.

The award is given to a woman who has made outstanding contributions to clinical or academic medicine. It was presented at the Muriel Petioni, M.D. Awards Luncheon, which took place at the National Medical Association Convention in Las Vegas in July. Female physicians who strive to eliminate health care disparities and provide quality health care to minorities are honored.

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On July 3rd, 2009, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson celebrated their 10th year Anniversary of their Annual Celebration of Life as well as the 10th year Anniversary of their Buddy Program which matches newly diagnosed cancer patients with a trained cancer survivor (Buddy). The Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson is proud to join communities across the United States in celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day. This Celebration of Life honors and celebrates the lives of all cancer survivors and the people that care about them. Our celebration was attended by 240 cancer survivors, their family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

The celebration included an interactive health fair, exhibit of art and poetry, musical entertainment, food and inspirational talks. Along with the art exhibit was a Tree of Life which offered cancer survivors and caregivers the opportunity to place a leaf on the tree with their name and an inspirational message.

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On Thursday, June 11, 2009, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson held an Inaugural Ball in Memorial Hall at the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park. The Ball was hosted by Caroline & Sidney Kimmel and the lead Sponsor was Ed Snider Foundation and the Comcast-Spectacor Foundation. Honoring Senator Arlen Specter and The American Cancer Society, the event raised money for cancer research. Guests enjoyed a reception, dinner, and live entertainment.