ORANGE : UCI Gets Grant to Study Brain Tumors
The Clinical Cancer Center at UCI Medical Center announced recently that it has received a $225,000 grant to establish a brain tumor research center.
The grant, awarded by the National Cancer Institute, will finance researchers for a three-year period.
The brain tumor research center will focus on the molecular structure and growth patterns of cancerous brain cells as well as on methods to regulate their growth.
Doctors believe the research could help explain why patients respond differently to radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
The principal investigator for the grant is Dr. John H. Neal, assistant professor and acting chair of neurosurgery at UCI Medical Center.
“UCI is currently the only institution in Orange County with the expertise and resources to seriously compete for such critical federal support,” Neal said.
“UCI is now in a unique position to expand its leadership role in brain tumor research and treatment, with the ultimate goal of helping all the patients in the region who are affected by brain tumors.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that 2,000 new cases of brain and nervous system cancer will occur in California during 1993.
Other UCI faculty playing a key role in development of the Brain Tumor Research Center include Eric J. Stanbridge, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; J. Leslie Redpath, Department of Radiological Sciences; Helen J. Ross and Joshua Atiba from the Division of Hematology/Oncology; Nilam Ramsinghani, Department of Radiation Oncology; and Frank L. Meyskens Jr., director of the UCI Clinical Cancer Center.
