The UMBTC participates in clinical trials and conducts basic science research. The UMBTC research lab is located on the campus of NMU and is under the direction of Robert Winn, PhD, Professor of Biology. The research lab is staffed by undergraduate students and graduate students pursuing their Master’s degree. To date, all research funding has come from community support. Visit the UMBTC page at we-search.org to learn how you can directly fund a research project.
We are fortunate to also work with John Lawrence, PhD, our post doctoral fellow.
Our lab is currently pursuing the following areas of research:
- Silencing of MGMT and PARP using RNA interference to render GBM cells more sensitive to temozolomide chemotherapy
- The role of human cytomegalovirus in the response of GBM cells to chemotherapy
- Mechanisms controlling migration of normal and tumor stem cells towards and away from a tumor mass
- Can tumor cells transform normal neural stem cells into tumor stem cells?
Since the early days, research from our lab has been presented at national and international meetings, and has received several awards. Here is a sample of our research presentations:
ZBTB7 Expression in Malignant Glioma. ePoster at the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Meeting, April 13-14, 2007, Washington, DC.
MGMT Expression and Temozolomide Response in a Patient with a Malignant Spinal Cord Astrocytoma—Case Report. ePoster at the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Meeting, April 13-14, 2007, Washington, DC.
ZBTB7 Expression in Malignant Glioma. Presented at the 75th American Association of Neurological Surgeons Meeting, April 15-19, 2007, Washington, DC. (The BrainLab Community Neurosurgery Research Award Presentation).
Temozolomide in Addition to Gliadel Wafer and Radiotherapy in Adults with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme. The Impact of MGMT Expression. Accepted at the Annual Meeting of the Neurosurgical Society of America, June 3-6, 2007, Kohler, WI.
MGMT Expression and Temozolomide Response in a Patient with a Malignant Spinal Cord Astrocytoma. Accepted at the Annual Meeting of the Neurosurgical Society of America, June 3-6, 2007, Kohler, WI.
Temozolomide in Addition to Gliadel Wafer and Radiotherapy in Adults with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme. The Impact of MGMT Expression. Poster at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, November 15-18, 2007, Dallas, TX.
MGMT Silencing using RNA Interference Renders Human Malignant Glioma Cell Lines More Sensitive to Temozolomide. ePoster at the 76th American Association of Neurological Surgeons Meeting, April 26-May 1, 2008, Chicago, IL. (Received first place honors in the Tumor Section poster competition.)
Development of a Rapid RT-PCR Assay for MGMT Expression. Poster at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, September 20-25, 2008, Orlando, FL.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Protein IE1 Confers Resistance to Temozolomide in the U87MG Cell Line. Accepted at the 9th International Meeting, Updates in Neuro Oncology, Brain Tumor Symposium, July 2-4, 2010, Cortona, Italy.
Increasing Resistant Glioblastoma Multiforme Sensitivity to Temozolomide: Silencing and Inhibition of MGMT and PARP-1. Poster at the 18th International Conference on ADP-ribose Metabolism, August 18-21, 2010, Zurich, Switzerland.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Protein IE1 Confers Resistance to Temozolomide in the U87MG Cell Line. Poster at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, October 17-21, 2010, San Francisco, CA.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Protein IE1 Confers Resistance to Temozolomide in the U87MG Cell Line. Poster at the Society of Neuro Oncology Annual Meeting, November 18-21, 2010, Montreal, Canada.
In 2008, 2009, and 2010, graduate students from our lab received First Place honors at NMU’s annual celebration of student research.