UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology APRIL 2023 - Flipbook - Page 29
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
UCLA SCIENTISTS RECEIVE $6.9 MILLION IN CIRM GRANTS
TO DEVELOP NOVEL STEM-CELL BASED THERAPIES
Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and
Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received more than $6.9 million in grants from
the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency, to
help develop new stem cell-based technologies to improve patient care.
The Quest Awards, given to Dr. Gerald Lipshutz, professor-in-residence of surgery
and molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA; Song Li, chancellor’s professor and chair of bioengineering at the UCLA
Samueli School of Engineering; and Dr. Frank Pajonk, Professor of Radiation
Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, were announced at a
CIRM meeting today.
Drug Candidate for Brain Cancer Glioblastoma:
Dr. Frank Pajonk’s $2.3 million award will fund his work to develop, test and
optimize novel compounds that can be combined with radiation therapy to
increase its efficacy against glioblastoma, the deadliest brain cancer in adults.
The median life expectancy of patients after a diagnosis is between 15 and 18
months. Since glioblastoma cells make their way into healthy brain tissue widely
and erratically, the cancer can be challenging to remove through surgery. By
developing and analyzing novel small molecules designed to not only target
existing cancer initiating cells but also prevent cancer cells from changing to
evade the effects of radiation therapy, Pajonk and his collaborators, Dr. Harley
Kornblum and Michael Jung, aim to improve radiation treatment outcome for this
aggressive brain tumor and reduce cancer recurrence.
The technologies and compounds developed by Pajonk are in the early stages of development and have not been
tested in humans or approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for use in humans.
29