Prostate Cancer Foundation Funds $1 Million in new Creativity Awards for Advanced Research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has funded 10 Creativity Awards for advanced prostate cancer research. These one-year awards are designed to support ideas that have the potential to achieve breakthroughs for the detection and treatment of prostate cancer.

PCF Creativity Awards aid the advancement of the world’s most imaginative, new research ideas that are not currently funded by any existing government or private sources.

The funded projects represent a range of research areas including biomarkers for earlier and more precise detection and treatment, to the development of new, nano-enabled therapeutics for metastases, to mapping areas of DNA where transcription factors initiate up to 60% of prostate cancers.

“We were impressed with the unique ideas represented by the applications we received. A rigorous peer review process vetted the ten selected projects from a field of more than 300 applications representing 105 institutions in 11 countries,” outlined Howard Soule PhD, Exec VP and Chief Science Officer for the PCF. “These awards feed our pipeline of compelling ideas to cultivate new solutions for the prostate cancer problem. Promising results will translate into better therapies for patients with advanced prostate cancer.”

Historically, 70% of such PCF awards have gone on to attract additional multi-year funding from the PCF and other sources.

“The PCF is very excited to have identified these programs for funding,” added Dr. Soule. “They have solid potential to deliver breakthrough discoveries.”

2009 Creativity Award Recipients:

The Gordon Becker Creativity Award

* Cory Abate-Shen, PhD - Columbia University Medical Center

A Novel Human-to-Mouse-to-Human Approach for the Elucidation of Prostate Cancer Pathways and Druggable Targets
-- Identifying In-Common Human and Mouse Molecules May Eliminate Traditional Limitations of Animal Models and Speed New Drug Intervention

The Charlie Wilson Creativity Award

* Adam Dicker, MD, PhD; Karen Knudsen, PhD - Thomas Jefferson University

Self-Seeding and Radiation Therapy: A New Strategy Against Metastatic Prostate Cancer
-- Preventing Circulating Prostate Cancer Cells from “Re-Seeding” in the Prostate May Change Behavior of Metastatic Cells

The Michael Vinecki Creativity Award

* Shelton Earp, MD - University of North Carolina

Application of Nanotechnology to Novel Models of Prostate Cancer
-- Nanoscale Fabrication Technology May Provide New Modeling Capabilities and Therapies to Arrest Lethal PCa Progression

* Barbara Graves, PhD - University of Utah

ETS Protein Targets in Prostate Cancer
-- Understanding Gene Activity that Likely Causes Up to 60% of Prostate Cancer Can Open Door to New Drug Development

* David Heber, MD, PhD - UCLA

Development of an Ex Vivo Bioassay to Examine Modulation of PSA-Positive Macrophage Invasiveness and Inflammatory Activities in Prostate Cancer Patients with Abdominal Obesity
-- The Identification of New Biomarkers May Be Able to Assess the Effectiveness of Diet and Lifestyle Changes

* Towia Libermann, PhD; Alan Rigby, PhD - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Development and Validation of Selective Small Molecule Ets Factor Inhibitors for Prostate Cancer
-- Understanding Gene Activity that Likely Causes Up to 60% of Prostate Cancer Can Open Door to New Drug Development -- Another Approach

The Dan Fogelberg Creativity Award

* David Nanus, MD - Weill Cornell Medical College

PSMA-based Microfluidics-Capture of Circulating Prostate Cancer Cells: Study of Microtubule-driven Androgen Receptor Signaling, Gene Fusion, and Gene Expression Profiles with Correlation to Clinical Response to Taxane Therapy
-- New Capture Technology for Circulating Tumor Cells Supported by PCF-Funding May Prove Useful in Identifying Patients Most Likely to Benefit from Taxotere.

* Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, PhD - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Pro-Senescence Therapy for Cancer: A Novel Approach Towards Prostate Cancer Prevention and Cure
-- Identifying New Druggable Targets May Enable Scientists to Lull Prostate Cancer Cells to Sleep

The Arnie's Army Creativity Award

* Muneesh Tewari, MD, PhD - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Exosomal RNAs as Serum Prostate Cancer Biomarkers
-- Personalized Treatment and Better Prognostic Indicators May Become Reality Through MicroRNA Tumor Profiling

* John F. Ward, MD - University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Noninvasive Radiofrequency Field for the Targeted Destruction of Prostate Cancer Using Directed Gold Nanoparticles
-- Activated Gold Particles Could Provide Novel Means of Destroying Tumors.