September 2, 2008

Contact:
Judy Stanton, 404-584-0527

Georgia Cancer Coalition names two distinguished scholars at Georgia State University

Two scientists in Georgia State University’s Department of Chemistry have been selected to be among the 23 Scholars named by the Georgia Cancer Coalition for its Distinguished Cancer Clinician and Scientist program for 2008-09. Associate professor Zhen Huang and assistant professor Donald Hamelberg will receive $100,000 and $50,000 respectively each year for five years to support their research efforts. The Coalition selects scientists engaged in the most promising areas of cancer research.

Huang is an internationally recognized nucleic acid chemist. It is hoped that his research will advance technologies for cancer detection and diagnosis, provide insights into cancer mechanisms, and lead to the design or potential cancer-fighting pharmaceuticals. Huang was recruited in 2004 from Brooklyn College, New York, where he was an associate professor. He did a Research Fellowship at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry in China and a Post-doctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He earned his Ph.D. in bio-organic chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.

Hamelberg is a Georgia State University alumnus. After earning both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry at Georgia State, he moved to Chicago for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Illinois. Subsequently, he did postgraduate research as a Fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of the University of California. The goal of Hamelberg’s research is to gain a basic understanding of aberrant cellular processes in cancer and to develop therapeutics that can suppress tumor formation.

“Both of these Scholars are crucial members of the Center for Biotechnology and Drug Design,” says Lauren Adamson, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. “Their interdisciplinary research will involve not only Georgia State’s departments of Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science, but will also facilitate greater collaboration with oncologists at Grady Hospital and Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.”

The Coalition cooperates with Georgia’s research universities, medical schools, hospitals and nursing programs in the process of selecting scholars, with the goal of strengthening the state’s research talent, capacity and infrastructure.

Since its inception in 2001, the Georgia Cancer Coalition has named 118 Distinguished Scholars; 10 are at Georgia State University. The Scholar funding is an investment not only in Georgia’s future as a national leader in cancer control, but also is valuable in attracting increased funding to Georgia for cancer research. For starters, the Coalition contracts with the sponsoring institution to provide at least a dollar-for-dollar match. The review committee examines the scholars’ history of grants, publications and patents, and considers the researcher’s potential for attracting future funding. In fiscal year 2007, Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholars were responsible for securing $47 million in privately and federally funded research grants to the state of Georgia.

Selection is based on how the applicant’s research relates to the goals of the Coalition, the research priorities of the National Cancer Institute, and the strategic plan of the sponsoring institution. Each application is reviewed by both an external scientific review committee and an advisory review committee, appointed by the Coalition in cooperation with Georgia’s research universities. Members rank scholars according to predetermined scientific and technical criteria.

“The National Cancer Institute has identified areas of discovery that hold promise for making significant progress against all cancers. The Distinguished Cancer Clinicians and Scientists program is the cornerstone of the Georgia Cancer Coalition’s efforts to advance scientific discovery into the prevention, treatment, causes, and cures of cancer. These scientists play an important role in positioning Georgia as a national leader in cancer research,” says Bill Todd, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Georgia Cancer Coalition.

The Georgia Cancer Coalition is an independent, not-for-profit organization that unites government agencies, academic institutions, civic groups, corporations and health care organizations in a concerted effort to strengthen cancer prevention, research and treatment in Georgia, with the ultimate goal of making Georgia one of the nation’s premier states for cancer care. The mission is to reduce the number of cancer-related deaths in Georgia. The Coalition is the first of its kind in the nation and is fast becoming a national model. For further information, the official website is www.georgiacancer.org.