Ann Nardulli Meets with Lawmakers in Washington D.C.

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Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology Ann Nardulli visited Capitol Hill, along with other members of the Endocrine Society, as part of an envoy to present the 2009 Endocrine Society Congressional Leadership Award, and to advocate for increased funding for biomedical research.

Benita Katzenellenbogen Receives 2009 Komen Brinker Award

In a black and white photo, Benita S. Katzenellenbogen smiles for camera while sitting in lab.
Swanlund Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Molecular and Integrative Physiology Benita Katzenellenbogen has received the 2009 Susan G. Komen for the Cure Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction for her work investigating breast cancer treatments.

Synthetic molecular causes cancer cells to self-destruct

On white board is diagram of the synthetic molecule that signals cell death in cancer cells, identified by Illinois researchers: seated from left, Bill Helferich, professor of nutritional sciences; Paul Hergenrother, professor of chemistry, and Karson Putt, graduate research assistant in chemistry; and standing from left, Joe Sandhorst, graduate research assistant in chemistry, and Martin Hoagland, postdoctoral student in veterinary biosciences.
"'We have identified a small, synthetic compound that directly activates procaspase-3 and induces apoptosis,' said Paul J. Hergenrother, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and corresponding author of a paper published by the journal Nature Chemical Biology. 'By bypassing the broken pathway,...

Estrogen interferes with immune surveillance in breast cancer

David Shapiro, professor of biochemistry, right, and doctoral student Xinguo Jiang
In a study published online in Oncogene, Dave Shapiro and collaborators from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, report "that estrogen induces the expression of an inhibitor that blocks immune cells' ability to kill tumor cells."