2008 Grantees
Pedro Medina, PhD, Yale University in the laboratory of Frank Slack, PhD. MicroRNAs are small molecules that regulate the expression of genes, i.e., when or where our genes should be read and translated into proteins. As their name indicates, they are very small, made from RNA and not from protein, in contrast to previously discovered expression regulators. Due to their small size and unusual nature, microRNA had not been discovered until only a few years ago. “Recently, these regulators have been seen to play an important role in cancer development, and they have opened a new field to help us to understand cancer biology and improve cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. However many questions about the microRNAs remain to be unveiled. In our project we will try to shed light on the involvement of microRNAs in cancer,” said Dr. Medina.
Dr. Medina has been a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Frank Slack, in the department of Molecular, Cellular & Development Biology at Yale University since May 2007. Prior to joining Dr. Slack’s lab, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Montserrat Sánchez-Céspedes, in the Lung Cancer Group at Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO), Madrid. During 2004, Dr. Medina was a Visiting Researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Hans Clevers at the Netherlands Institute for Development Biology. Dr. Medina received his doctorate and masters degrees from Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO) and his undergraduate degree in Microbiology from Universidad de Granada, Spain.
Nathan Robison, MD, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles at the University of Southern California in the laboratory of Shahab Asgharzadeh, MD. The standard treatment for medulloblastoma includes radiation to the brain, which can cause severe brain damage in younger children. The goal in this project is to use measurements of gene activity to identify children who can be successfully treated without radiation. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. “Our overall goal is to identify a clinically feasible biologic assay that can identify low risk medulloblastoma patients who may safely avoid radiation therapy, thus potentially sparing a large number of children the devastating effects of neuraxis irradiation,” stated Dr. Robison.
Dr. Robison has been a Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles. He received his medical degree from University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and his undergraduate degree from Williams College. Dr. Robinson is Board Certified in Pediatrics. In addition to his work at Childrens Hospital, Dr. Robison has done two volunteer tours in Rwanda. Dr. Robinson is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, Association of Pathology, Christian Medical Association, American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, American Association of Cancer Research, and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplant.