Greg Oakley, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at the UNMC College of Dentistry recently received a four-year $720,000 grant from the American Cancer Society.
The focus of his research, DNA damage and how cells repair themselves is one way Dr. Oakley hopes to find ways to make chemotherapy more effective.
He is looking at the process by which cells, good or bad, are damaged by chemotherapy and find a way to protect the healthy cells.
Dr. Oakley hopes to do this by targeting a protein called Replication Protein A (RPA).
"Once a cell is damaged RPA jumps into action to begin the repair process by recruiting other proteins," Dr. Oakley said. "If we can find a way to inhibit the activation of this protein in cancer cells then it could be a useful target for cancer therapy."
Dr. Oakley, who has degrees in toxicology and pharmacy, came to the College of Dentistry in 2006 from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he first began studying RPA in 1996.
His research crystallized last year when his research associate, Dr. Jason Glanzer’s young daughter, five-year-old Abby Glanzer, developed a brain tumor. Abby was featured in the "Burger King Help Beat Cancer for Kids" campaign this year. She is now in remission.
"It brought the research home and gave it special meaning," Dr. Oakley said.
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery.
In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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