Issue No. 25, June 2019
VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) NEWS & VIEWS
The VIMM, established in 2008 by Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI, the Founding Director, is comprised of outstanding scientists/clinicians from VCU School of Medicine and external affiliate members focusing on important medical-related research in cancer, neurodegeneration and infectious diseases. The purpose of this NEWS & VIEWS is to highlight the exciting research being performed by VIMM members.      
VIMM Member update:

VIMM researchers received several prestigious grants from NIH/NCI, DOD and other sources in recent months. Some grants involve co-investigators from VIMM/HMG with Biochemistry/Pharm-Tox/Dentistry, showcasing strong cross-disciplinary collaborative efforts.
Dr. Joseph Landry awarded with following grants :

“Enhancement of Breast Tumor Cell Immunogenicity as a Strategy for Chemosensitization” 
The goal of this grant is to study how the epigenetic regulator NURF sensitizes tumor cells to chemotherapies.

Funding Source: DoD Level 2 BC181360, multi-PIs: Joseph Landry and David Gewirtz (Pharm Tox): Role: Contact PI
Award Period: 09/01/2019 – 08/30/2022

“Use of Senolytics to Enhance Chemotherapeutic Efficacy in Lung Cancer” 
The goal of this project is to improve effectiveness of chemotherapies to lung cancer cells by combining them with senolytic agents.

Funding Source: NIH/NCI 1R01CA239706-01, multi-PIs: Joseph Landry, David Gewirtz (Pharm Tox), and Hisashi Harada (Dentistry), 
Award Period: 04/01/2019 – 03/30/2024
 
“Targeting Chromatin Remodeling as a Novel Cancer Therapy”
The goals of this project are to combine NURF inhibition with immunotherapies to improve the antitumor response.

Funding Source: Massey Cancer Center, Role: PI
Award Period: 05/01/2019 – 04/30/2020
Dr. Devanand Sarkar awarded with following grants :

“Targeting oncogenes for hepatocellular carcinoma” 
The aims of this project are to analyze the molecular mechanism by which AEG-1 and SND1 cooperate to promote HCC and evaluate targeted inhibition of these genes as a treatment for HCC.

Funding Source: NIH/NCI 1R01CA230561-01A1, Role: PI
Award Period: 04/01/2019-03/31/2024

“A novel role of IGFBP7 in the microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma”
The aims of this project are to analyze the mechanism by which IGFBP7 regulates anti-tumor immune response and evaluate IGFBP7 as a potential therapy for HCC.

Funding Source: NIH/NCI 1R01CA240004-01, multi-PIs: Sarkar, Wang; Role: Contact PI
Award Period: 06/01/2019-05/31/2024
Dr. Xiang-Yang Wang awarded with following grants :

“Metabolic reprogramming of fatty acid beta-oxidation to improve cancer immunotherapy”
This project seeks to determine a role of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) for modulating immune functionality of dendritic cells (DCs) in the tumor microenvironment. Pharmacological inhibition of FAO will also be evaluated as a novel strategy to improve DC-targeted cancer vaccination and to revitalize antitumor immune responses.

Funding Source: NIH/NCI R01 CA229812, multi-PIs: Xiang-Yang Wang and Frank Fang (Biochemistry)
Award Period: 04/01/2019 – 03/31/2024

“Innate pattern recognition receptor and acetaminophen-induced liver injury”
This project aims to define a non-autonomous mechanism involving immune cell interplays that contributes to the pathogenesis of acetaminophen-induced liver injury. This research will reveals critical roles of class A scavenger receptor and liver-resident macrophages or kupffer cells in maintaining liver homeostasis and shaping sterile inflammation.

Funding Source: VA Merit Award BX003275, Role: PI 
Award period: 03/01/2019 – 02/28/2023