UNMC Grants — Dr. Mirvish receives National Cancer Institute grant

Sidney Mirvish, Ph.D., a professor emeritus in the Eppley Institute, who recently celebrated a 40-year anniversary at UNMC, has received a $647,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The money will be used to further the 80-year-old’s research into nitrite-preserved meat. The preservative leads to the formation of N-nitroso compounds (NOCs), which Dr. Mirvish believes could potentially lead to colon cancer.

Dr. Mirvish hopes to test the effects of using different preservative mixtures in meat with the same efficacy.

Sidney Mirvish, Ph.D.

“One of the aims of the grant is to see if we can change the way processed meats are manufactured so that they have less nitrosamines in them,” he said.

Dr. Mirvish also hopes to find out more about NOCs and determine to what extent they are absorbed into the mucosal lining of the colon.

“Dr. Mirvish has been at the forefront of nitrosamine carcinogenesis research for four decades, with an emphasis on human exposure to these chemicals in foods,” said Samuel Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the department of pathology and microbiology and collaborator on the project.

His previous research resulted in very practical applications that have been adopted by the food industry and government regulatory agencies, Dr. Cohen said.

“The proposed research to be supported by this NCI grant will continue this important, translational research,” he said.