Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D.
S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology
Professor of Urology
Director, U-M Center for Translational Pathology
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Using Advanced Technology to Diagnose and Treat Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in American men. Currently, physicians have no way to tell which prostate cancers will metastasize or spread and which cancers will remain localized.
The shuffling and subsequent joining together of two separate genes in the genome causes “gene fusions” that can be an important mechanism in prostate and other cancers. Gene fusions had long been thought to be the driving agent exclusively of blood cancers (i.e., leukemias and lymphomas). In 2005, the research team in Arul Chinnaiyan’s laboratory discovered a gene fusion for the first time in a common solid tumor. “TMPRSS2-ETS” gene fusion was found in approximately 60-70 percent of the prostate cancer cases that were tested. Since then, multiple gene fusions have been identified in a variety of tumors such as breast and lung and melanoma.
The overarching theme of the Chinnaiyan laboratory at the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (MCTP) is to discover the genetic lesions that initiate cancer development, dissect the molecular mechanisms involved in cancer progression, and exploit those findings to impact clinical diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
Researchers at MCTP are studying a variety of cancers for recurrent gene fusions and other genetic and molecular lesions that drive cancer progression. Gene fusions (as well as other genetic aberrations) in cancer can potentially serve as “biomarkers” (or signatures), allowing a precise molecular characterization of the cancer that can be developed as diagnostic and/or prognostic tests. In addition, characterizations of gene fusion sub-types and other cancer-driving genetic abnormalities can lead to the identity of targets for drug intervention, often with readily available medications.
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Taubman Emerging Scholars Program
Request for applications
Applications are being accepted for the Taubman Institute Emerging Scholars Program.
The applicant must be a junior member of the faculty at the University of Michigan; generally, that means holding an assistant professor title. The applicant must have either an M.D. or an M.D./Ph.D. It is required that candidates both conduct basic research and treat patients.
Applicants should submit a two-to-three page research proposal, as well as a current CV. Priority will be given to proposals involving translational research. Please submit material to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The deadline is May 7, 2012.
Young Friends host festive NYC fundraiser
Reception introduced scholar candidate Dr. Parag Patil
About 125 supporters of cutting-edge medical research mixed socializing and science May 9 at a cocktail party in Manhattan hosted by the Young Friends of the Taubman Institute's New York City chapter.
The event introduced Dr. Parag Patil, a University of Michigan physician-researcher and a prospective Young Friends Emerging Scholar. Here's a clip from Dr. Patil's appearance on the TV program "The Doctors," where he demonstrates how deep-brain stimulation has helped a patient with Parkinson's disease.
Emerging Scholars are early-career clinician-scientists who show great promise in research aimed at new cures or treatments; through the Taubman Institute, donors support them with three-year grants while their labs earn the credentials to win broader funding support.
The Young Friends event, which raised a significant contribution toward the Emerging Scholars program, was held at the ABC Carpet & Home showrooms at 888 Broadway, Attendees enjoyed cocktails, appetizers, a silent auction and a presentation by Dr. Patil. The silent auction included jewelry, fashion items, a Botox consultation and treatment, Morgan Hotel Group rooms and the opportunity to bid on a meeting and photo with former President William Jefferson Clinton.
Taubman Research
Dr. Max Wicha: Some treatments actually increase cancer stem cells
Avastin and Sutent have been found to increase the growth of breast cancer stem cells in mice, according to Taubman Scholar Dr. Max Wicha, director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
