NEWS

UNC cancer center selects 2002 Lineberger Fellows

By AMY PHILBECK

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center recently honored three graduate students for their demonstrated excellence in research.

Randy Kimple, Nicole Noren and Carol Thompson received Lineberger Fellow Awards for their cancer-related research that could lead to new developments in the study of the disease.

The center’s board of visitors honors graduate students annually with the award, consisting of a $3,000 supplementary stipend. The board began the Lineberger Fellows program in 1987 to promote and encourage graduate students to pursue cancer research.

Following is more information on this year’s recipients:

• Kimple’s research focuses on a family of proteins in the body involved in regulating the flow of messages between cells. Many commonly prescribed drugs target this protein family and are used to treat depression, allergies, cancer and other medical conditions. By learning to regulate these proteins on an even smaller scale, scientists may be able to fine-tune treatments for diseases, find ways to treat patients with new drugs or minimize side effects of current medications. Kimple studies under the direction of Dr. David Siderovski in UNC’s department of pharmacology.

• Noren’s current research focuses on cadherins, the binders that hold multiple cells together. In cancer patients, however, these cadherins often seem to be altered. This may cause cells to break away from the original tumor and spread to other cells, causing cancer to spread to other areas of the body. Under the direction of Dr. Keith Burridge in UNC’s department of cell and developmental biology, Noren is focusing first on how cadherins normally work in the body and will follow this research to find out how they work when altered.

• Thompson is researching how light affects the human body’s internal time clock or circadian rhythm. Humans work on a 24-hour rhythm that is reset by light, and individual cells work on a 24-hour loop controlled by the brain. By studying the effect of light on the body’s daily rhythm, Thompson said scientists might be able to find better treatments, particularly for cancer. Hormone levels, blood pressure and the rate at which the body metabolizes are all influenced by the body’s daily rhythm. Thompson studies under the direction of Dr. Aziz Sancar in UNC’s department of biochemistry and biophysics.

The Lineberger center, part of the UNC School of Medicine, is one of 39 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute.

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Lineberger center contact: Dianne Shaw, (919) 966-5905