CCR Grand Rounds October 26: Dr. Michael B. Sporn, Professor of Pharmacology, Dartmouth Medical School, "Chemoprevention of Cancer: New Approaches, New Agents, New Mechanisms" November 2: Dr. Andrei Kozlov, Director, St. Petersburg Biomedical Center, St. Petersburg, Russia, "Tumor Markers and Evolution" CCR Grand Rounds are held 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., in the Clinical Center's Lipsett Auditorium.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Minnesota's Evidence-Based Practice Center, looked at studies published between 1996 and 2003 - specifically, studies that tested the effect of physical activity interventions, alone or combined with diet modification or smoking cessation, on cancer survivors. The results of this analysis did not favor any one type of exercise program or setting and showed no difference between shorter, less intensive programs and longer programs that were more intensive.

"Regular physical activity is important for both lowering the risk for and managing multiple diseases, including some cancers," commented NCI Director Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach. "The more we understand about how to help people start and maintain exercise programs, the more we can help cancer survivors combat some of the early and late effects of cancer and its treatment." The entire report is available at http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/d4d/evidence_report.html.

Dr. Anita Roberts Wins 2005 FASEB Excellence in Science Award
Dr. Anita Roberts, principal investigator and former chief of the Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis, has won the Excellence in Science Award from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) for 2005. Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, this award recognizes outstanding achievement by women in biological sciences whose research has contributed significantly to further understanding of a particular discipline. In addition to presenting the award lecture at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego in April, 2005, Dr. Roberts will receive a $10,000 unrestricted research grant, funded by Eli Lilly and Company.

EGRP Holds Leadership Conference for Epidemiologists
NCI's extramural research program in epidemiology, the Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP) recently held its first annual Epidemiology Leadership Workshop to identify barriers and gaps in cancer epidemiology and advance solutions to the study of tobacco, diet/energy balance, and genes. EGRP is part of NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) and manages a portfolio of 500 cancer epidemiology research grants totaling $200 million per year.

Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, gave the keynote address on the importance of epidemiologic studies to public health. Other presentations were given by Dr. Laurence Kolonel, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, on diet, genes, and cancer; Dr. Neil Caporaso, NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), on tobacco, genes, and cancer; Dr. Stephen Chanock, DCEG and CCR, on genetics in epidemiology; Dr. Michael Thun, American Cancer Society, on cohort consortia; and Dr. Patricia Hartge, DCEG, on case-control consortia. Also speaking were Dr. Graham Colditz, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University; Dr. Margaret Spitz, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Drs. Robert Croyle, Jon Kerner, and Edward Trapido, DCCPS.

As a result of the workshop, four research working groups based on the breakout sessions' work will be formed: Diet/Energy Balance Epidemiology Research, Haplotypes versus Genotypes, Epidemiology of Rare Cancers, and Susceptibility to Tobacco Carcinogenesis. Extramural and intramural scientists will collaborate in the groups to generate new scientific ideas and hypotheses.

Participant presentations and more information about the workshop will be made available on the EGRP Web site at epi.grants.cancer.gov.