A University of Nebraska Medical Center genetic researcher, Julia Bridge,
M.D., has received the Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughn Award for 1999 from
the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The award is the highest
recognition given for original research by the academy, which is comprised
of 14,000 members. Only two researchers a year receive the award.
Dr. Bridge, a pathologist and geneticist, received the award for her
pioneering genetic research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The award recognizes the work she published in, “A Genetic Approach to
Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors,” a culmination of research on more than 3,500
benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. The award honors excellence
and significant contributions in orthopaedic research and provides a $20,000
stipend.
This is a very special honor for Dr. Bridge and the medical center,
said Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. Not only does it speak highly
of her research in this area, but she is the only one from Nebraska who
has ever received this award and shes a pathologist, not an orthopaedic
surgeon, to whom the honor is usually bestowed.
Dr. Bridge, an associate professor in the departments of pathology/microbiology,
pediatrics and orthopaedic surgery, and a team of eight laboratory researchers,
were the first to identify and categorize genetic defects and what happens
in the cells of certain cancers — some 20 different types of rare bone
and soft tissue cancer. Soft tissue cancers are those of the muscle, fat,
nerves or blood vessels and includes Ewing’s sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.
“A normal cell has 46 chromosomes, Dr. Bridge said. We look at the
number and structure of the chromosomes that change in the cells of tumors.
By identifying the chromosome change, we can determine which genes are
altered or disrupted.”
Dr. Bridges research in this area began in 1985, when she was in her
second year of residency training.
“This research has resulted in the development of new diagnostic tests
for these cancers, as well as better defining how aggressive we need to
treat the patient. She said identifying chromosomal abnormalities which
are specific or unique for different types of bone and soft tissue tumors
is one of the best tools she and her colleagues have ever had to determine
the exact type of bone or soft tissue tumor a patient has.
“Now we can make an accurate diagnosis of what kind of cancer a patient
has. Prior to this research, bone and soft tissue tumors were often misclassified
histologically. It was because we had no better way of determining what
kind of tumors they were. It is great to be able to start identifying defective
genes. If a certain gene is responsible for cancer, if we can arrest or
repair it, perhaps we can stop tumor growth. We can use this information
for research but it also has clinical applications.”
Biopsied tumors from all over the United States are evaluated at UNMC’s
Department of Pathology and Microbiology and the labs of the Munroe-Meyer
Institute for Rehabilitation and Genetics.
“It’s a team effort,” Dr. Bridge said. “We’ve been fortunate to have
really good people in the lab. This award acknowledged that UNMC researchers
have developed an expertise in this area over the last 10 years. The result
is we attract patients regionally and nationally and institutions seek
our expertise.”
Dr. Bridge earned her bachelors and medical degrees from UNMC in 1984.
From 1984 to 1988, she completed her pathology residency training at the
University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City followed by a two-year
fellowship in cytogenetics at UNMC. She completed a one-year fellowship
in molecular genetics at the Southwest Biomedical Research Institute in
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Before joining UNMC in 1990 as a consulting physician she was a clinical
assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Oncology at the
University of Kansas Medical Center.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has
established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research
and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than $34 million in
research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually.
In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.