Two University of Mississippi researchers working to find new drugs to stop the spread of breast cancer to other organs have received a major award from the National Institutes of Health to continue their studies for three years.

Mika Jekabsons (left) and Yu-Dong Zhou (right) discuss their breast cancer research in one of the laboratories.

Yu-Dong Zhou, of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; and Mika Jekabsons, associate professor of biology; are co-principal investigators for “Antimetastatic Drug Discovery that Targets Metabolic Plasticity.” The new National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant for $426,720 began July 15 and runs through June 30, 2019.

“Over 90 percent of cancer mortality is directly associated with invasion of cancer cells into vital organs,” Zhou said. “No treatment option effectively prevents metastatic progression.”

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for the 162,000 American women with metastatic breast cancer is only 23 percent. The long-term objective of the duo’s research is to discover and develop new drugs – or find new uses of existing drugs – that curb the metastatic spread of breast cancer.

“Surgical removal of tumors within vital organs is often not possible, which leaves molecular-based therapeutics as the only alternative treatment,” Jekabsons said.

To tie in with this project, this research will continue to provide valuable opportunities for training in the biomedical sciences. Zhou and Dale Nagle, professor of biomolecular sciences, have taken on almost a dozen Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College students, all majoring in biology, biochemistry or pre-pharmacy, with the aim of training them in laboratory-based anticancer research and natural product drug discovery.

“I am only an enthusiastic collaborator,” Nagle said. “Under the leadership of Drs. Zhou and Jekabsons, these brilliant and inquisitive minds are making vital contributions to research that looks to eradicate the spread of breast cancer.

“This is certainly an experience that will advance their future careers and that they will be proud of years from now.”

Breast cancers can spread to multiple vital organs such as the lungs, bones, brain and liver. Genetic studies of breast cancer cells that have invaded other organs led to the identification of candidate genes that may predict their potential to invade other tissues.

“We have treated invasive breast cancer cells growing in culture dishes with diverse chemical compounds obtained from natural products as a means of searching for potential drug leads that could stop their growth,” Zhou said. “Our preliminary data support this hypothesis by demonstrating that compounds which disrupt tumor metabolism specifically suppress the growth of breast cancer cells that had previously invaded select vital organs.”

A picture of fluorescent-labeled breast cancer cells.

Jekabsons added, “This research validates and expands our initial efforts using FDA-approved oncology drugs by demonstrating that diverse novel chemicals from plants and other natural products may prevent the growth of selective subtypes of breast cancer cells that have invaded specific organs.”

The study was prompted by the finding that some chemicals, which disrupt cellular energy production, prevent the growth of selective subtypes of breast cancers that previously invaded other organs. The Ole Miss researchers are working to evaluate the metabolic profiles of the different subtypes and determine how different natural product chemicals may interfere with specific metabolic pathways.

“Based on our observations, we propose a potentially targetable ‘metabolic plasticity’ model for organ-selective metastasis,” Zhou said. “Specifically, cancers that invade other organs are metabolically adaptable and assume metabolic characteristics that are most suitable for growth in the target organs they invade.”

This project brings together Zhou’s expertise in cancer research and Jekabsons’ in a tumor cell’s energy production to identify promising leads that target the spread of malignant breast cancer cells, especially those that suppress tumor cell “food intake” in those vital organs invaded by them.

“Our ultimate goal is to find an effective approach that can improve the prognosis of patients affected by metastatic disease,” Zhou said. “Such an interdisciplinary research is only possible when people in different fields of science work together towards a common goal in a highly supportive environment.”

Zhou and Jekabsons have been collaborating for a decade. Nagle and Ikhlas Khan, new director of UM National Center for Natural Products Research in the School of Pharmacy, plan to continue their collaboration with Zhou and Jekabsons on this project.

“We are all extremely grateful to both Drs. Charles Hussey and Alice M. Clark for actively making Dr. Zhou’s transition from the School of Pharmacy to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry possible,” Nagle said.

In line with Academic Research Enhancement Award program objectives, this project will strengthen the UM natural products and metabolism research environment and give students hands-on experience in antitumor drug discovery and tumor bioenergetics research.

The project is funded through NIH grant No. 1R15CA199016-01A1.  Original post: https://news.olemiss.edu/um-professors-receive-nih-grant-breast-cancer-research

OXFORD, Miss. – A dead body, blood spatter, guns, bullets and DNA samples – all fake – offered gifted middle and high school students opportunities to test their forensic skills recently at the University of Mississippi.

Participants in a CSI Summer camp practice lifting fingerprints from objects. The camp, for middle and high school students around the country, is hosted by the University of Mississippi Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s Forensic Chemistry program and the Division of Outreach. Students worked a staged crime scene at the beginning of the camp, and are spending the week learning different techniques used in real forensics labs. They will present their evidence at a mock trial Friday. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Communications

Thirty-eight seventh- through 12th-graders visited Ole Miss as part of a weeklong camp on forensic science. Sponsored by the American Academy of Forensic Science, and the UM Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Division of Outreach, the event drew students from Mississippi, Alabama, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and Tennessee.

Led by UM forensic chemistry program director Murrell Godfrey and his students, the group spent Monday honing detective skills while examining the “evidence” throughout select classrooms and labs in Coulter Hall.

“The CSI Camp gives hands-on experiences to students who love puzzles, science and watching forensic science television shows,” Godfrey said. “During the week, students learned the importance of the correct chain of custody procedures when handling evidence that they collect at the crime scene. Students must analyze the evidence using presumptive and confirmatory tests.”

Graduate student Caroline Spencer of Decatur, Alabama, assisted with instruction. Kelly Nolan, another graduate student from Oxford, coordinated housing and meals through the Division of Outreach. Undergraduate students Zachara Catchings of Jackson and Ebone McCowan of Acworth, Georgia, served as camp counselors.

Participants observed as Godfrey and others demonstrated the proper procedures for analysis of the staged evidence recovered from the mock crime scene.

Some of the hands-on activities include DNA, fingerprint, gunshot residue, bullet and drug analyses using the same high-tech analytical and physical techniques used in crime laboratories. Todd Davis from the Drug Enforcement Agency and Captain Elijah Wilson of the Holly Springs Police Department presented talks on problems with controlling drugs and crime scene investigations, respectively.

A mock trial in the School of Law‘s moot court room on the last day of the camp tests the students’ knowledge on the various topics and labs.

“The students must serve as expert witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys, suspect and so forth,” Godfrey said. “The expert witnesses must defend their analysis of the different pieces of evidence found at the crime scene. A jury will then render a final decision in the case.”

Divided into smaller groups, the students rotated daily between labs in the Thad Cochran Research Center and stations for DNA collection, presumptive tests, ballistics and gunshot residue, fingerprints, and analytical chemistry and forensics. At each specific station, students analyzed their samples and collected data.

A tour of campus and the UM medicinal plant gardens was scheduled on Wednesday by Don Stanford, assistant director of UM’s Research Institute of  Pharmaceutical Sciences.

This forensics summer camp was the second held at the university.

“Our first CSI Camp was held last summer, and we had 30 campers representing 15 states,” Godfrey said. “Our goal is always to encourage these gifted young minds to become STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors once they enter college.”

Several students said they’ve learned a great deal through their experience.

“I really like looking at the crime scene, collecting evidence and figuring out how the crime happened,” said Kira Brown, a rising ninth-grader from Falkville, Alabama.

Seventh-grader Kailynn Aragon agreed.

“It was remarkable,” said Aragon, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The camp helped me learn everything about CSI and the importance of taking good notes.”

“It’s definitely more than using goggles and gloves,” said another eighth-grade student. “I learned that while shows like ‘CSI’ show only one barrier around a crime scene, there are actually two barriers. I also discovered it actually takes much longer to process evidence and solve a case in real life than it does on television.”

By allowing the students to visit the department and experiment with the equipment, UM faculty said they hope to pique their interests in forensic chemistry and possibly recruit them one day to the university.

CLICK HERE for the original story.

Matt Dukes, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi, was recently awarded a Graduate Achievement Award. This award is only given to 6 graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts each year.

Greg Tschumper, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Mississippi, is the 2015 recipient of the university’s Faculty Achievement Award.

Since receiving his doctorate 16 years ago from the University of Georgia, Tschumper has been a significant contributor to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the entire university. As a teacher, he has the reputation of being extremely challenging and highly effective.

Dr. Gregory Tschumper. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

Tschumper said one of the things that motivates him is the respect he has for his colleagues.

“It is very humbling when you look at previous recipients of this award, and I certainly do not feel like my name belongs on that list,” Tschumper said. “This award says more about the amazing environment in which I have the privilege of working than it does about me.”

Tschumper said he is passionate about research and teaching, and considers himself fortunate to be at a university that places a high value on both.

“Every day I get to interact with outstanding students, not only in the classroom but also in the research lab,” he said. “All of my research at Ole Miss has been accomplished with the help of the bright minds and hard work of our graduate and undergraduate students. Any success I’ve had as a teacher or a scholar stems from the talented people around me and being in an atmosphere that fosters the growth of that talent.”

The Burlington Northern Award was established in 1985 to honor superior teaching faculty who were also active researchers. This award evolved into the Faculty Achievement Award, which is given annually to recognize unusual effort in the classroom, involvement with students, active scholarship and service to the university.

One student wrote of Tschumper’s courses: “His teaching style relies on self-study quite a bit. You’ll have to work for this class, for he is determined to make his students the best chem students on this campus.”

Another evaluation letter stated that he is “probably one of the most challenging professors on this campus, but he is always willing to work with you to get better.”

Tschumper joined the chemistry and biochemistry department in 2001 after working as a postdoctoral fellow at ETH Zürich in Switzerland and at Emory University. He has also provided service to the university, including his contributions on the University Research Board and the Faculty Senate.

In the area of scholarship, Tschumper’s achievements are remarkable, and he has established himself as an expert in physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, non-covalent interactions, hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. He has published an average of four-plus peer-reviewed journal articles per year since joining the UM faculty. Tschumper has also received more than $3 million in federal grants for research and student support.

Tschumper’s other professional honors and awards include the 2009 Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen. He has served as the Computational Chemistry Research Focus Group Leader on an EPSCoR award from the National Science Foundation that has brought in more than $20 million to the state of Mississippi for research and STEM education.

Tschumper is also the principal investigator on a major research instrumentation award from the NSF for a GPU supercomputer housed at the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research on campus.

He is the father of two daughters, Kate and Anne Paige.

Click here for the official Ole Miss news story by Edwin Smith