The Long Island League to Abolish Cancer (LILAC) presented three Stony Brook University Cancer Center researchers with grants to purchase instrumentation for their work. Pictured during a June 21 meeting at the Plainview-Bethpage Public Library are, from left: Lena Gaynes, President, LILAC; Galina Botchkina, Ph.D., grant recipient; Edward Chan, M.D., grant recipient; Evelyn Rose, Vice President, LILAC, and Michael Hayman, Ph.D., grant recipient.

STONY BROOK, N.Y., June 27, 2007 – Three Stony Brook University Cancer Center researchers received grants from the Long Island League to Abolish Cancer (LILAC) to purchase sophisticated equipment essential to finding better diagnostic and treatment techniques for many forms of cancer. Representatives from LILAC presented the awards, which totaled more than $12,000, during a meeting at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, in Plainview, N.Y., on June 21.

The recipients included Edward Chan, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology; Michael Hayman, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, and Associate Director for Research, Stony Brook University Cancer Center; and Galina Botchkina, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery/Surgical Oncology. Several other cancer researchers from area institutions, such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University, and Albert Einstein Cancer Center, also received LILAC grants.

Drs. Chan and Hayman are investigating a certain group of proteins, called tyrosine kinase receptors, which are active in breast, bladder, and other forms of cancer. Increased amounts of these proteins are often associated with poor patient outcomes. The current methods to identify and measure these proteins in tumor tissue have many limitations. They will use the LILAC funds to purchase a powerful tissue homogenizer, which grinds up tumor tissue samples, and a microcentrifuge to spin down the samples for sophisticated protein analysis. The equipment, they emphasize, is crucial to the success of their project to find the best molecular technique to identify and measure the levels of these proteins in human cancers.

Dr. Botchkina studies molecular markers for early cancer detection. The LILAC grant supports Dr. Botchkina’s research of cancer stem cells (CSC), which are implicated in the development, progression, and response to therapy for the majority of human cancers. The research focuses on isolating, purifying, and characterizing CSCs to develop CSC-targeted agents.

To find the most effective CSC-targeted drug molecules with therapeutic potential, Dr. Botchkina collaborates with researchers at the National Institutes of Health and at Stony Brook University, particularly within the Institute for Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery and Center for Cancer Prevention. The funds for her project will be used to purchase an immunomagnetic sorting device for CSCs and for microarray analysis. These tools help researchers distinguish the difference between CSCs and bulk tumor cells. The instrumentation will also help identify possible molecular targets to affect CSCs that are resistant to current chemotherapy.

Established in 1967, and based in Plainview, LILAC raises funds for direct contributions to cancer research projects. Their charter requires funds be used to purchase specific research equipment. The organization also participates in educational community events on cancer and health topics.

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