OU Health Sciences receives major cancer research grant

A $5.3 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences will support advanced cancer research in Oklahoma. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant is designed to build research capacity and help early-career researchers establish independently funded laboratories.

This is the third and final phase of the COBRE grant, which was first awarded in 2012, followed by phase two in 2017. The grant has supported and paralleled the growth of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma's National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.

Danny Dhanasekaran, Ph.D., a professor of cell biology at the OU College of Medicine and deputy director for basic research at Stephenson Cancer Center, has led the grant's work since its beginning.

As part of the COBRE grant, established researchers mentor early-career researchers on important steps and pitfalls to avoid as they launch their careers. Early-career researchers conduct research and publish studies that they leverage to apply for larger grants to sustain their labs. They also become immersed in the collaborative world of team science.

"Research has become so multifaceted that one group won't have all the expertise," Dhanasekaran said. "For example, one researcher may be very good at teasing out how a cancer cell 'talks' to another cancer cell to promote growth, but they may not be as good at drug delivery, so they partner with a lab that is good at that. If we want to alleviate the burden of cancer in our society, we need this collaborative approach."

Another central aim of the COBRE grant is building technology infrastructure that is specific to cancer investigations. Stephenson Cancer Center has supported this effort to acquire advanced equipment, often sophisticated imaging technology that monitors cell growth over time and shows the internal structure of cancer cells. New research technicians have been hired to operate the equipment, a workforce-building effort that benefits Oklahoma.

Since the first COBRE grant was awarded, seven of the 10 participating early-career researchers have earned a combined $22 million in grants, allowing them to fully operate their labs at OU Health Sciences with funds resulting from the strength of their studies. Their research has also resulted in 250 journal publications that focus on the grant's theme of drug resistance and mitigating strategies.

"Drug resistance is a major issue in cancer treatment," Dhanasekaran said. "A patient can have surgery or receive chemotherapy to kill the primary cancer, but if it comes back, it is often drug-resistant. Our researchers are looking at several types of cancers to understand more about how they become resistant to drugs. In doing so, they hope to find a vulnerable point in the cancers where we could deliver more effective therapy."

Advances in cancer treatment remain a great need in Oklahoma, where cancer is the second-leading cause of death. In 2023, an estimated 23,420 residents were diagnosed with cancer and 8,620 lost their lives to the disease. Oklahoma has the fourth-highest rate of death from cancer in the United States.

Approximately one of every six Oklahomans diagnosed with cancer receive treatment at Stephenson Cancer Center, which offers a high level of care driven by research discoveries. The success of the COBRE grant has contributed to the milestones of the cancer center, including National Cancer Institution designation in 2018 and its renewal in 2023. That support will continue as Stephenson Cancer Center works toward NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center status, the highest institutional honor in oncology.

"The work of the COBRE grant under Dr. Dhanasekaran has been essential to our mission at Stephenson Cancer Center," said director Robert Mannel, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the OU College of Medicine. "Promising new researchers have established their carers on our campus, and we have built a solid research infrastructure to advance their studies. Ultimately, their discoveries will advance our ability to prevent and cure cancer for the people we serve."

The University of Oklahoma is home to four other COBRE centers: On the Norman campus, the Oklahoma Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Structural Biology and the Oklahoma Center of Medical Imaging for Translational Cancer Research; and on the OU Health Sciences campus, the Oklahoma Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunity and the Oklahoma Center for Geroscience and Healthy Brain Aging

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University of Oklahoma