Category: Research

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Elizabeth Brown, Ph.D., has received a $3.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to support her investigation of the epigenetic contribution to the risk of a condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, known as MGUS, in African Americans. MGUS is a condition in which an abnormal protein formed within the bone marrow is found in the blood. MGUS is a precursor to multiple myeloma, the most common blood cancer affecting African Americans. Multiple myeloma is characterized by the prolonged accumulation and survival of antibody-producing tumor cells. The disease has a median survival rate of about five years.

A team of department faculty and trainees recently published their research “Prognostic Impact of Tumor Size on Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Recurrence May Have Racial Variance” in Pancreas.

A modified herpes virus, alone and in combination with radiation, has been shown to be well tolerated with early signs of clinical effectiveness in pediatric patients with high-grade brain tumors, or gliomas, according to findings from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s of Alabama. The findings were presented at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021, held April 10-15 and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 10.  

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified a potential new pathway to treating radiation-resistant glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. The research, performed in animal models and human and mouse cells in culture, was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The findings indicate that an adhesive cell surface protein known as N-cadherin — or N-cad — may be key in overcoming glioblastoma’s resistance to radiation therapy. 

Every day, scientists across the world learn more about how to treat COVID-19, how it spreads and how it affects those who contract it, but what does that mean for cancer research?

Clinical trials serve as the bridge between research and patient care. They allow scientists to test a new drug, therapy or procedure before it becomes the standard, but how exactly do clinical trials work, why are they important and how is the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center working to make them more accessible for everyone?

Three years after leaving her home country of Nigeria, UAB doctoral candidate Zainab M. Shonibare is now studying gynecologic cancers in the lab of O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center scientist Mythreye Karthikeyan, Ph.D., in the hopes of bringing the results of her research to cancer patients and survivors across the world.

Shannon E. Meier, a doctoral candidate at UAB, gravitated toward cancer after testing out three different areas of research during her student rotations. In 2016, she decided to join the O’Neal Cancer Center in its mission to become a national leader in cancer research.

Cancer research has traditionally focused on killing the disease, but Bhatia is a pioneer in proposing the next question entirely: What happens to her patients once cancer is gone?

Noah Sharafeldin used UAB's supercomputer to identify biomarkers linked with "the fog," a cognitive impairment in patients who received a blood or marrow transplant. She's also testing a way to repair the damage: brain games.

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia can be treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. While these effective drugs lead to deep remission and prolonged survival, primitive leukemia stem cells resist elimination during the remission and persist as a major barrier to cure.