CONTACT: Nancy Kinnally
(850) 644-7824
By Nancy Kinnally
February 25, 2008
FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE RESEARCHER SEEKS TO UNCOVER NEW THERAPIES
WITH AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY GRANT
With a four-year, $707,000 grant from the American Cancer Society,
Yanchang Wang, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the
Florida State University College of Medicine, hopes to learn how a
particular enzyme could possibly help put the brakes on the runaway
cell division process that occurs in many forms of cancer.
 Wang's research involves the role of an enzyme known as
Cdc14 in deactivating the cell division process set in motion by
another enzyme, Cdk1.
"From this proposed experiment, we expect to find a new way to
regulate cell division," Wang said. "Cdk1 is the key driving force
for cell division, so it's quite important."
The enzymes Wang is studying are part of the cellular signaling
processes that protect genes and chromosomes when cells divide,
ensuring that the number of chromosomes in each new cell is
precisely correct. This process is critical in that an abnormal
number of chromosomes can lead ultimately to cancer.
Wang conducts his experiments on yeast because it abides by the same
regulatory processes during cell division as human cells.
"Yeast is a single cell, but it is really powerful and it will
answer different kinds of biological questions, especially for the
regulation of cell division," Wang said.
With the addition of this new grant, Wang has now attracted more
than $1.3 million in external research funding since arriving at the
Florida State University College of Medicine in 2003 as one of the
first faculty recruited to the college's department of biomedical
sciences.
The American Cancer Society grant follows a $441,000 grant from the
James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program and a $240,000
grant from the American Heart Association, with which Wang laid the
groundwork for his newest hypothesis.
Myra Hurt, associate dean for research and graduate programs, said
Wang is one of only about two dozen Florida researchers to receive
funding from the American Cancer Society this year.
"At the beginning of the 21st century, in spite of more than 30
years of the most intense biomedical research the world has ever
known, cancer remains a major cause of death in our country," Hurt
said. "The hope is that Dr. Wang's research will uncover new
therapeutic targets and diagnostic tools for cancer treatment and
prevention."
###
|