Kenneth J. Pienta, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and of Urology
Director of Experimental Therapeutics, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology
Principal Investigator, Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer Metastasis and Therapeutic Strategies
Work in Kenneth Pienta’s laboratory focuses on understanding the biology of prostate cancer metastasis — how cancer cells interact with normal cells of the body as they develop a primary tumor and then spread to other sites in the body. He studies this interaction between the normal cells and the cancer cells using principles borrowed from the science of ecology, and believes that by thinking of tumors as ecosystems we can better understand how to treat cancer. His laboratory has especially focused on studying how cancer cells metastasize to bone and to target the resulting metastatic tumors for therapy.
A central question in cancer biology, diagnosis and treatment remains how cancers have the ability to invade and survive in the bone marrow. Pienta and his colleagues believe that metastatic prostate cancers behave like an invasive species attacking a new environment and target and compete with hematopoietic stem cells — cells that reside in bone marrow that make a person’s red and white blood cells — for space in the bone marrow where the hematopoietic cells normally reside. Disseminated tumor cells can hide in marrow for years — where they slowly proliferate — and where humans are slowly and secretly losing the cancer battle.
This is a powerful new observation that opens up entire new biologic questions in understanding cancer metastasis, suggests new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and points to new targets for therapy - all actively being worked on in the laboratory.
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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.
