2
Fall 2012
OUTREACH
Dr. Der received the
Tempur-Pedic® Retailers –
Pancreatic Cancer Action
Network – AACR Innovative
Grant in 2012. He currently
serves
as
the
Sarah
Graham Kenan Professor
of Pharmacology at the
Lineberger Comprehensive
Cancer Center, University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Dr. Der received his PhD
from the University of California at Irvine and completed his
postdoctoral studies at Harvard University Medical School and
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He has published more than
280
research papers, served on numerous editorial boards,
is a consultant for several pharmaceutical companies, and
has been a member of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network –
AACR Scientific Review Committees to select previous years’
grant recipients.
Dr. Der describes himself as a “late arriver” to the field
of pancreatic cancer, having studied the disease for the
past 4 to 5 years. Prior to focusing on pancreatic cancer,
he dedicated the previous 30 years of his career to studying
a protein family called Ras and its general role in cancer. In
fact, Dr. Der was part of the original scientific team in the early
1980
s to discover that human cancers can contain the Ras
oncogene, a protein that directly accelerates tumor growth.
Recently, Dr. Der reached a crossroads in his career
where he felt it would be best to refocus his laboratory efforts
on studying one particular type of cancer while continuing
to pursue studies of Ras. Pancreatic cancer was the natural
choice, since a type of Ras known as K-Ras is mutated
and critical to the formation and progression of more than
90
percent of pancreatic tumors.
For his 2012 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Innovative Grant, generously funded by Tempur-Pedic® and
its valued retailers, Dr. Der proposes to therapeutically target
proteins “downstream” of K-Ras signaling. Rather than try
to directly block K-Ras, which has proven to be an elusive
target, Dr. Der will attempt to turn off protein signaling that
is activated by K-Ras. He is also planning on staying a step
ahead of the cancer cells, trying to predict and circumvent
any potential resistance mechanisms that could threaten the
effectiveness of this proposed treatment strategy.
While Dr. Der’s decision to study pancreatic cancer
turned out to fit him scientifically, he later realized this area
is a philosophical fit for him as well. Primarily through his
interaction with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network,
Dr. Der has had the opportunity to spend time with survivors,
caregivers and individuals who have lost loved ones to the
disease, reinforcing his decision to join the fight against
pancreatic cancer. This choice became especially clear
to him when he attended the Pancreatic Cancer Action
Network’s annual Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Day in
Washington, D.C. in June 2012.
Dr. Der still wears his purple wristband from the event
and remains dedicated to supporting legislation proposed
by our organization. “I found it extremely motivating when
many volunteers approached me there and thanked me for
the work I am doing in my laboratory,” he said.
MEET A GRANTEE
CHANNING DER, PHD:
STAYING A STEP AHEAD OF PANCREATIC CANCER CELLS
“
We were pleased to recently fund another Pancreatic Cancer Action
Network research grant to move us closer to improving the survival rate and
ultimately finding a cure. We fully support the organization’s comprehensive
approach to combating this insidious disease. To that end, we are thrilled
that with this award we have now funded a Pathway to Leadership, Career
Development, and Innovative Grant, representing the entire range of multi-
year research grants the organization offered through 2012.”
—
Rick Anderson, President of Tempur-Pedic
®
North America, LLC
Channing Der, PhD
Rick Anderson