March 2007 dispatch@sloankettering.edu

Application for the summer 2007 undergraduate research program closed on February 1 with 606 applications received for 20 available positions. Students will be notified of the status of their applications by March 31. The ten-week program, designed to provide students with a hands-on scientific research experience, will begin the first Monday in June. If the 2006 summer program is an indicator of future success, 2007 students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of challenging and original research projects.

Joan Massague, faculty member and Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program in the Sloan-Kettering Institute, has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Alexandra Leigh Joyner has been appointed a Member in the Developmental Biology Program in the Sloan-Kettering Institute.

Alan Hall, faculty member and Chair of the Sloan-Kettering Institute's Cell Biology Program, discusses his far-ranging professional journey and explains his research objectives and program goals at Sloan-Kettering Institute.

Many of the advances in research are made by young faculty members who are just beginning their careers. Three vignettes -- featuring chemist David Y. Gin, physician-scientist David B. Solit, and molecular biologist Xiaolan Zhao -- highlight the contributions of the Graduate School's younger faculty.

A team of scientists led by Gerstner Sloan-Kettering cancer biologist Robert Benezra has revealed new insights into the mechanism of tumor formation by boosting levels of the Mad2 gene in mice.

PTEN is one of the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor genes. It is an antagonist for many cellular growth, proliferation, and survival processes. When mutated or deleted, it causes cancers of the prostate, breast, colon, and brain. Researchers led by Gerstner Sloan-Kettering faculty have now identified fundamentally novel regulatory mechanisms of PTEN function.

A study led by immunologist and Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service Chief Marcel R. van den Brink has demonstrated a novel strategy for boosting numbers of infection-fighting T cells in mice after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.