Dr. Mike Emanuele has received a V Scholar Award from the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The title of Mike’s research proposal is “Identification of ubiquitin signaling networks as novel avenues for therapeutic intervention.” Mike’s award is for $200,000 over 2 years. Our congratulations to Mike!
Short description of Mike’s research proposal:
The abundance of cellular enzymes is controlled by how much is being made, and subsequently, how much is degraded. Intuitively, the abundance of a specific enzyme can be significantly modulated by manipulating its rate of degradation. In cells, protein degradation is controlled primarily through the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). An innovative therapeutic strategy to treat cancer is to modulate the abundance of specific enzymes that control the unbridled proliferation observed in cancer cells. Specifically, he envisions increasing the abundance of enzymes that repress proliferation and decreasing the abundance of proliferative drivers. A significant challenge to this approach is determining which nodes that contribute to cancer proliferation are dynamically regulated by the UPS, thereby providing a possible strategy for regulating their abundance. This proposal addresses the vital, unmet need by globally interrogating ubiquitin signaling networks using a combination of cutting edge, genetic and proteomic discovery platforms. The experiments outlined in the proposal will identify dynamically regulated nodes that serve as high priority targets for therapeutic intervention.
The V Foundation for Cancer Research was formed in 1993 by ESPN and Jim Valvano, the basketball coach that took NC State to Final Four victory. Jim Valvano was also a cancer patient. Before losing his battle with cancer, the V Foundation for Cancer Research was formed with a goal to address “the need to help early-career cancer investigators develop into promising future research talents. The V Scholar concept was developed in 1994 to address that need.” (from the V Foundation website)