Members of UPMC Cancer Centers Chapter of US Too! Prostate Cancer Support Group Named to State and National Positions within the Organization

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JOHNSTOWN, Feb 19, 2004 – At a press conference this afternoon at Windber Research Institute, Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) announced funding for a major initiative to foster new understanding of cancer and other diseases through proteomics – the study of the shape, function and expression of proteins. The initiative, a collaboration among the Windber Research Institute (WRI), the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, has been awarded $3.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to create a program solely dedicated to the study of proteomics.

A promising new field of study, proteomics may allow researchers to diagnose major diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease early by identifying specific proteins in blood, other fluids and tissues that indicate the presence of these diseases at their earliest stages, leading to better prevention, screening and treatment options.

"This project is another exciting step in our effort to make significant advances in medicine – in this case, the prevention and treatment of cancer and other debilitating diseases – while positioning the region as a hub for medical technology," Murtha said. Congressman Murtha, with support from Congressman Mike Doyle (PA-14), obtained the funding.

"This collaboration with Windber Research Institute, the Department of Defense, the University of Pittsburgh and UPCI is representative of the power of the collective scientists and equipment now centered in western Pennsylvania," added F. Nicholas Jacobs, president, WRI. "We are looking forward to providing the high-throughput proteomic and genomic capabilities available at Windber Research Institute to guarantee that this partnership will contribute to advances in this new and exciting scientific field." High-throughput technologies are used to analyze gene and protein expression, predict protein structures and define protein-protein interactions at a high rate of speed.

The initiative will allow researchers to develop new diagnostic tests for diseases using innovative, high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques to analyze blood and tissue samples for proteins that may be linked to particular diseases. Mass spectrometry is a technique used to sort proteins and other molecules based on their size and electrical charge. The initiative also includes a training component to create new jobs in the use of these technologies.

"The key to cures or at least long-term survival from cancer lies in our ability to detect cancer early, before symptoms have appeared and before the cancer has had a chance to spread," said Ronald B. Herberman, MD, director of UPCI and the UPMC Cancer Centers. "By using innovative technologies such as mass spectrometry, researchers can analyze samples of a single drop of blood to identify a proteomic pattern, or disease Ôfingerprint' that can distinguish cancer from non-cancer."

"In biomedical science, there is a pathway that takes knowledge learned at the most basic level about disease to the eventual treatment of that disease," said Michelle S. Broido, PhD, associate vice chancellor for basic biomedical research, University of Pittsburgh. "The partnership takes important steps along that pathway, translating the fundamental discoveries about disease processes that are being made by university scientists into techniques for clinical diagnoses that can have an enormous impact on public health."

The Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) of the U.S. Army Reserve and Material Command will provide administrative and technical support for the initiative. Co-investigators of the initiative include Michael Becich, MD, PhD, director, UPCI Benedum Oncology Informatics Center; William Bigbee, PhD, director, UPCI clinical proteomics core facility; Billy Day, PhD, associate professor, department of pharmaceutical sciences and chemistry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Michael Liebman, PhD, chief scientific officer, Windber Research Institute.