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Computer Program To Detect, Measure Brain Tumors
The same techniques used to detect suspicious activity in airports, stadiums and other public places are now being used by the UCF researcher who invented them to find and measure potentially life-threatening brain tumors.

New Mexico Department Of Health Prepares For Influenza Mass Vaccination Clinics Department Continues To Monitor H1N1 Cases
The New Mexico Department of Health is planning for influenza mass vaccination clinics that will take place this fall to protect people against the novel H1N1 strain of influenza (earlier referred to as swine flu) and against seasonal influenza. The Department of Health is also ensuring that the State and its local partners are prepared to deal with the possibility of an increase in severity of H1N1 influenza cases, including a potential pandemic in New Mexico.
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Obama Administration's Filings On Asylum For Abused Foreign Women Brings 'Overdue Dose Of Clarity,' Editorial Says
The Obama administration recently laid out "a clear but narrow pathway" toward asylum for foreign women who have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse, a New York Times editorial states, noting that the U.S. government has debated the issue for 15 years. According to the editorial, the "question is not the fact of persecution, but whether the women would qualify for protection under the law, which limits asylum to those who suffer due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or "membership in a particular social group."" It adds that attorneys general under former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush "have gone both ways and in circles" in their decisions.Although "[n]ot all victims will qualify," the Obama administration "made it clear that some could," the editorial states. "A petitioner would have to demonstrate to a judge that domestic violence was widely tolerated by society and government in her country, that women were viewed as subordinate to men and that she had no place within its borders to find a safe haven," the editorial adds.Department of Homeland Security lawyers say the new definition could apply to a severely abused Mexican woman, identified only by her initials, whose asylum petition is before a San Francisco immigration court. The editorial notes that DHS "did not immediately recommend asylum" for the woman, but "it did urge that she be allowed to continue to gather evidence and to refine her case according to the standards it proposed." The editorial concludes, "Advocates who have fought for years to advance women"s rights are celebrating the department"s action, which brings reasoned compassion, and an overdue dose of clarity, to an issue of anguish and difficulty" (New York Times, 7/19).
Oncology

The Melanoma Research Alliance Awards Nearly Two Million Dollars In Research Grants That Address The Gap In Translational Science

The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) announced the recipients of nearly two million dollars in grants to fund 13 individual scientists pursuing innovative melanoma research proposals. This second round of MRA grants is focused on research that addresses the gap in translational science. The MRA is focused on finding and funding the most promising melanoma research worldwide that will accelerate progress toward a cure. For its second grant cycle, the MRA received 80 proposals from seven countries. Since MRA was founded in November 2007, it has awarded eight million dollars to 30 research programs that hold the promise of turning scientific discoveries into tools and/or treatments for high risk individuals or melanoma patients. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in men and women ages 20-29, the sixth most common cancer in the United States, and its incidence has continued to rise over the past three decades. If caught in its earliest stages, melanoma is curable with surgery; however, patients diagnosed with later stage, or metastatic melanoma, have less than a 15 percent chance of surviving five years after diagnosis. "We measure the value of research based on how it translates into the best options for melanoma patients," said Debra Black, Co-Founder of MRA. "The global melanoma research community is poised with innovative and novel ideas that promise to find a cure for melanoma. We are pleased to be able to support these incredible efforts and spur the development of even more effective approaches." The 2008-2009 MRA grant funding cycle supports the following individual research programs: Young Investigator Award The MRA has awarded $100,000 over two years to three young investigators whose work has the potential to transform melanoma treatment. - Dr. Zhen Cheng, Stanford University Proposal Title: 18F-Labeled benzamides for pre-clinical PET imaging of melanoma metastases - Dr. Sanjev Kumar, University of Michigan Proposal Title: Combining an MDM2 inhibitor with chemotherapy for the treatment of melanoma - Dr. Patrick Ott, New York University Proposal Title: The role of oncogenic signaling pathways in human melanoma immune evasion Established Investigator Award Six investigators who have committed their research careers to oncology and are pursuing novel ideas in melanoma research have each received $225,000 in MRA grants over the course of two years. - Dr. Martin McMahon, University of California, San Francisco Proposal Title: Targeting signaling pathways for therapy in a new mouse model of melanoma - Dr. Lynda Chin, New York University Proposal Title: Development of intra-tumoral prognostic biomarkers for primary melanoma - Dr. TC Wu, Johns Hopkins University Proposal Title: Treatment of melanoma combining cancer gene therapy and immunotherapy - Dr. F. Stephen Hodi, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Proposal Title: A phase I trial of bevacizumab plus ipilimumab in melanoma patients - Dr. Alexander Levitzki, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Proposal Title: Targeting the IGF1R pathway in melanoma - Dr. Roya Khosravi-Far, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Proposal Title: Targeted strategy for treatment of melanoma Pilot Award MRA granted three researchers with pilot awards, $100,000 over two years, for pursuing first-of-its-kind melanoma treatment approaches. - Dr. Sancy Leachman, University of Utah Proposal Title: Sulforaphane, a melanoma prevention agent for high-risk MC1R genotypes - Dr. Maria Wei, North California Institute for Research and Education, University of California San Francisco Proposal Title: Mechanisms of melanoma treatment resistance - Dr. Xue-Zhong Yue, Moffitt Cancer Center Proposal Title: Treatment of established melanoma by tumor-specific Th17 cells Development Award The MRA provided a development award, $50,000 for one year, to a researcher whose work shows great promise for advancing the understanding and treatment of melanoma. - Nallasivam Palanisamy, University of Michigan Proposal Title: Transcriptome sequencing to detect gene fusions in melanoma "MRA"s sharp focus on supporting outcomes-driven research has energized melanoma scientists globally to pursue novel ideas," said Suzanne Topalian, M.D., Director of the Melanoma Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University and Co-Chair of the MRA"s Grant Review Committee. "Melanoma patients and those who are at-risk will benefit from this long-overdue aggressive approach." Melanoma Research Alliance


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