Alabama State University News January 15, 2016 ASU-UAB Scientists Receive $50,000 Grant for Breast Cancer Research by Hazel Scott Researchers at ASU and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have received a $50,000 grant for a collaborative breast cancer research project. *** A breast cancer research proposal by scientists at Alabama State University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been funded with a $50,000 Faculty Development grant from the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. The grant period for the research, titled "Molecular and Epigenetic Characterization of Aggressive Breast Cancer," is good through 2017. Dr. Sabita Saldanha, assistant professor with ASU's Department of Biological Sciences, serves as co-principal investigator (Co-PI) and will work collaboratively with UAB scientists Dr. Tomi F. Akinyemiju, principal investigator and assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and Dr. Trygve Tollefsbol, a cancer epigenetics expert in the Department of Biology, who also serves as a co-principal investigator. The research will be conducted at both sites. Saldanha said African-American and African women are more likely to die from breast cancer due to the aggressive subtypes of the disease prevalent in the population. "Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collective term given to a group of risk factors that increase the risk of a disease," Saldanha said. "The risk factors include obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high fasting blood sugar. "MetS also induces epigenetic changes, a mechanism that alters the expression of genes without changes in the sequence of DNA, and can exacerbate changes in key breast cancer genes. Our study aims at identifying race-specific epigenetic patterns which could potentially be used as an intermediary marker of the association between exposures, such as MetS and breast cancer incidence, or as prognostic markers for clinical management and therapeutic interventions." Saldanha said a funded grant in this competitive world of research is a boost of encouragement to junior faculty like herself. "As my very first collaborative grant as Co-PI, I am very happy with the outcome and success that the grant received. It is wonderful that Dr. Akinyemiju and I were able to collaborate on our research ideas to bring it to fruition," Saldanha said. "The findings of this study will provide an opportunity for a much bigger collaborative grant between the two universities." She credits ASU's world-class Cancer Biology Research and Training Program (CBRT) and the Health Disparities Research and Training Program (HDRTP), a part of the ASU-UAB partnership, for her success in obtaining the grant. "The CBRT program, which is set up by Drs. Manoj Mishra and Karyn Scissum Gunn, has provided support and research opportunities for faculty members like me to extend my research ideas and collaborations with faculty from other universities as well." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.