Three Tulane Cancer Center researchers – Hua Lu, MD, PhD; Matthew Burow, PhD; and Zhen Lin MD, PhD – were each recently awarded $35,000 Ladies Leukemia League (LLL) grants to help support their leukemia and lymphoma research projects.

Tulane's current grant recipients were recognized and awarded with the first half of their grants at the organization's annual grant recipient luncheon, which took place in April. The balance of their awards will be distributed at the halfway point in the grant period, during the organization's annual Fête de Noël Luncheon in December.

LLL's Fête de Noël Luncheon and Fashion Show is their major annual fundraiser and a premiere benefit of the Holiday Season in New Orleans. It is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 13, this year. For more information, please visit: https://ladiesleukemialeague.org/index.htm

Below is a synopsis of Tulane's currently funded projects:

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a median survival time of 3-4 years and a 10-year survival rate of 5-10%. Despite initial positive responses to existing therapeutic strategies (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy), MCL inevitably relapses as a treatment-resistant disease. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify novel, druggable targets for MCL. Human cells contain many different kinases – enzymes that help control important functions, such as cell signaling, metabolism, division, and survival. Kinase inhibitors block the action of kinases. The Burow lab previously utilized the Kinase Chemogenomic Set (KCGS) – a collection of 187 understudied kinase inhibitors assembled by the Structural Genomics Consortium at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill -- to identify NEK5 as a novel kinase of importance in triple-negative breast cancer, a treatment-resistant and malignant disease with outcomes similar to MCL. The current project proposes to use the KCGS to screen for novel kinase targets in MCL.

Professor & Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Previous studies by the Lu Lab identified Inauhzin-C (INZ-C) as a non-genotoxic small molecule that suppresses cancer cell growth by promoting the functions of a well-recognized tumor suppressor protein called p53. Through projects previously funded by LLL, the Lu lab also demonstrated that INZ-C suppresses the function of an oncoprotein called c-Myc in lymphoma cells, repressing the growth of these cells. In order to improve its anti-cancer potency and bioavailability in animals, the Lu Lab has also generated nanoparticles for encapsulating INZ-C. The nanoparticles-encapsulated INZ-C – called “n-INZ-C” – is more metabolically stable and more potent in activating p53. Also, the lab demonstrated that n-INZ-C can more effectively suppress the growth of mouse xenograft tumors derived from colorectal cancer cells. This LLL-funded project will support the Lu Lab’s study of n-INZ-C and its development into a novel cancer cell-specific molecule-targeted therapy for leukemia and lymphoma.

After a two-year COVID hiatus, NOLA Bluedoo is back, and we're so ready to celebrate! The Seventh Annual NOLA Bluedoo rocks Tulane’s Uptown Campus once again on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at 4 PM!

Bluedoo Fest combines funky New Orleans‐style music, food and drinks, as well as costuming, a kids' tent, a two‐mile walk/run and other entertainment in celebration of prostate cancer survivorship and in support of the research efforts of Dr. Oliver Sartor, head of Tulane's Prostate Cancer Research Program.

Dr. Sartor leads an internationally renowned research and treatment program here in New Orleans. His is one of the larger programs in the U.S. – 1,300 patients from 26 states and 7 foreign countries. Dr. Sartor and his team have helped to drive great progress over the past few years in the development and approval of new drugs for prostate cancer. In fact, a unique new cancer treatment that uses engineered radioactive molecules to target prostate cancer cells recently received FDA approval. This practice-changing therapy inhibits tumor growth and in clinical trials extended survival for patients with advanced prostate cancer and very few alternative treatment options. Dr. Sartor was co-principal investigator on this international trial.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the research funding necessary to blaze new trails in the search for cures. That's why this event and the support it generates are so very important. You can help! Please click here to learn more about making a donation, sponsoring the event, or helping to raise awareness of prostate cancer, a disease that impacts one in eight of our men. ALL NOLA Bluedoo donations are put to immediate use — right here in our New Orleans laboratories — in the search for cures.

Although this year's event will be similar to Bluedoos past, there are a couple of changes planned:

The Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, is spreading the word about clinical trials in a new animated short co-produced by a Tulane University community engaged research initiative.

The Louisiana Community Engagement Alliance against COVID-19 Disparities (LA-CEAL), a statewide consortium led by Tulane and Xavier University, teamed up with NoiseFilter, a health education podcast and animated series, on the project.

This short video, titled Clinical Trials: The Heart and Soul of Science, explains how clinical trials work, illustrates the pervasiveness of clinical trials in our daily lives and addresses the history of structural racism in medicine. The animation also addresses the underrepresentation of minority communities in clinical trials, an imbalance which can lead to negative health outcomes.

The video features Thomas and Drs. MarkAlain Dery and Eric Griggs explaining how clinical trials move medicine forward.

“This creative video explaining clinical research at a local, relevant level illustrates the value of community-academic partners working together to address challenging public health and clinical issues,” said Dr. M.A. “Tonette" Krousel-Wood, LA-CEAL’s lead investigator and associate provost for the health sciences at Tulane.

LA-CEAL is a National Institutes of Health-funded initiative awarded to Tulane University School of Medicine that aims to address health disparities related to the pandemic. For more information about LA-CEAL and the NIH Community Engagement Alliance initiative, visit haltcovidla.com and covid19community.nih.gov.

Krewe de Pink's Annual Pink Bra Run – which benefits Tulane Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Program – made a live comeback on Saturday, May 7, just in time for Mother's Day.

A festival-style party – including music, food, drinks, face painting, and the highly anticipated and entertaining "Best Decorated Bra" contest – followed the walk/run. Entrants cheekily strutted their stuff for the judges, showing off their fantastic and whimsical creations. First-, second-, and third-place prizes were awarded, but more importantly, fun was had by all.

Funds raised through Krewe de Pink's annual events – the Pink Bra Run; Death by Chocolate, NOT Breast Cancer; and the Pink Prom – support the work of Drs. Matthew Burow and Bridgette Collins-Burow and their team, whose joint laboratories investigate novel therapeutic targets for triple negative breast cancer, the mechanisms of LKB1 kinase signaling in breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis, and the effects of activated foods and extracts on human health using in vitro cancer cell models, among other projects.

"Krewe de Pink is a perfect example of how our community partnerships both impact and direct our research initiatives," said Prescott Deininger, PhD, Tulane Cancer Center director (and honorary judge of the 2022 Best Decorated Bra contest!). "Their passion for this cause is what generates the unrestricted funds that allow our researchers to pursue theories and projects they might not have been able to otherwise. We can only capitalize on these unique opportunities because of the support of community advocates like Krewe de Pink, and we are extremely grateful. Simply put, we can't do all that we want to without them."

Krewe de Pink's next event – Death by Chocolate, NOT Breast Cancer – takes place on Saturday, July 9, at Schoen Mansion on Canal St. For more information, visit www.KrewedePink.org.

At the May Board Meeting of the Cancer Crusaders, Mary Jean Gabler (far left) and Debbie Buchler (third from left), immediate past co-presidents, presented Drs. Augusto Ochoa (second from left), director of LSUHSC's Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, and Prescott Deininger (far right), director of the Tulane Cancer Center, with a check for $141,336.46 – funds raised by the organization through their various fundraising events in 2020 and 2021.

Cancer Crusaders – a non-profit, all volunteer organization with no administrative overhead – was founded in 1976 to raise funds for cancer research in the New Orleans area. The group has raised approximately $4.1 million since its incorporation in 1978, and these funds have been split equally between the cancer research programs at Tulane and LSU.

"Fundraising was particularly challenging during the past couple of years," said Deininger. "Jeanie and Debbie began their terms as co-presidents right when the COVID pandemic started, so it is especially touching and humbling to see what they and the other members of the organization were able to accomplish despite the many unprecedented obstacles we've all had to face. To all of us here at the Tulane Cancer Center, this realization deepens our responsibility to make sure these funds are utilized in the most productive way possible, supporting projects and initiatives with the highest probability of yielding progress in our shared fight. With our deepest thanks, that is our pledge."

For more information on Cancer Crusaders events – including their upcoming Seersucker & Sass Summer Gala – please visit https://cancercrusadersla.com/.