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The Cancer Center at Illinois brings together cancer biologists, clinicians, engineers, and other specialists to accelerate advances in disease detection, prevention, therapy, and improve quality of life for patients.
New approach eradicates breast cancer in mice
A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels.
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Cancer Center at Illinois awards two MCB PhD students scholarships for research projects
Congratulations to two School of Molecular & Cellular Biology PhD students who have been awarded Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Graduate Cancer Scholarships to pursue cancer research projects under the mentorship of Illinois scientists.
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MCB faculty among recipients of Cancer Center at Illinois seed grants
Nine interdisciplinary projects designed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty, including several from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, were selected for the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) annual seed grant awards.
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Cholesterol metabolite induces production of cancer-promoting vesicles
Scientists working to understand the cellular processes linking high cholesterol to breast cancer recurrence and metastasis report that a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism causes some cells to send out cancer-promoting signals to other cells. These signals are packaged in membrane-bound...
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Division of labor within regenerating liver maintains metabolism, mouse study finds
The liver has a rare superpower among body organs – the ability to regenerate, even if 70% of its mass is removed. It also keeps up its metabolic and toxin-removing work during the process of regeneration, thanks to a subset of cells that expand their workload while the rest focus on multiplication...
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Welcome to Professor Nicholas Wu
Professor Wu was one of ten new faculty hires made in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the last three years. Wu is an assistant professor of and is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.
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Meet MCB: Professor Erik Nelson
Dr. Nelson’s lab focuses on determining how different hormones and metabolite factors impact breast and ovarian cancer progression.
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Following Drg: Curiosity Drives Scientist’s Protein Synthesis Research
Current cancer treatments include drugs that target standard protein synthesis in cells, which can kill cancer cells, but also targets healthy cells. To address this issue, associate professor of biochemistry and Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) member, Hong Jin, is focusing on a non-canonical...
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Erik Nelson receives $4.5M grant to study prevention and treatment of metastatic breast cancer
Erik Nelson, professor of molecular and integrative physiology, has won a $4.5 million Era of Hope Scholar Award from the United States Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.This prestigious award supports individuals early in their careers who have demonstrated significant potential...
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Cancer compound originating from U of I scientists leads to major licensing deal
University of Illinois researchers are leading the science behind a new global licensing agreement between the pharmaceutics company Bayer AG and the cancer drug development company Systems Oncology for a new breast cancer drug called ERSO.