Mira Krendel, PhD, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, and Juntao Luo, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology, each received $360,000 grants from New York state to further their research into breast cancer treatments.

Krendel is exploring how a particular protein contributes to tumor progression and metastasis in breast cancer. Luo is developing a targeted drug delivery system that relies on nanocarriers.

Luo also was the recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Upstate Foundation‘s Cancer Center annual fund and its Michael Connolly Endowment for Lung Cancer Research.

He and Walter Hall, MD, professor of neurosurgery, are working on a nanocarrier that would be used in the treatment of melanoma and its brain metastasis.

Two additional studies underway at Upstate received $50,000 grants.

Hong Lu, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology, is working with Savio John, MD, assistant professor of medicine, on tumor suppressors in liver and/or pancreatic cancer and pre-cancerous liver tissues.

Saeed Sheikh, MD, PhD, professor of pharmacology, is paired with Steve Landas, MD, professor of pathology, to identify tumor markers and a target for cancer therapy.

This article appears in the spring 2017 issue of Cancer Care magazine.