Overview

The Program includes 27 members from 8 basic and clinical departments within Duke University. From 2004-2008, program members published 795 papers in peer-reviewed journals cited in PubMed. Of these publications, 5.3% are the result of intra-programmatic collaborations and 28.8% due to inter-programmatic collaborations.The scientific goals of the Program are to 1) conduct basic, translational and clinical research to elucidate mechanisms of action and of resistance of cancer therapies that target cellular and molecular abnormalities and cell signaling pathways; 2) identify biomarkers, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic endpoints, and molecular and functional imaging parameters that correlate with the anti-tumor activity of cancer therapies and 3) develop innovative methods and strategies for optimized delivery of cancer therapeutics, specifically, small molecules, gene therapy and biologics, 4) design and conduct innovative clinical trials of novel and current therapies that incorporate knowledge of of drug action and resistance, biomarkers, endpoints of response, and advances in pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics, and 5) conduct early phase discovery, evaluation and optimization of small molecule therapeutics directed against novel therapeutic targets and pathways deregulated in cancer. The organizational goals of the Program are to provide an infrastructure to facilitate the discovery and evaluation of new cancer therapies, enhance pursuit of individual research programs of program members, and facilitate intra- and inter-programmatic collaborative research activities in the area of cancer therapeutics. This will include the organization of retreats, seminar series and related program activities to facilitate interaction and exchange of ideas and information between programs and program members. A major programmatic goal is to promote and enhance training of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and physician-scientists in basic, translational and clinical sciences relevant to cancer therapeutics. The structure of the program represents a continuum of research activities from the bench to the clinic that provides an ideal environment and opportunity to conduct translational research in an iterative process involving testing findings from the laboratory into hypothesis-driven mechanistic clinical trials, that can generate new questions to be addressed in the laboratory, thereby constantly refining and honing hypotheses that can lead to more effective therapies for cancer. 

Medicinal Chemistry Program

High-Impact Journal Publications

Below are recent publications in high-impact journals from Cancer Center members in this program. To see journal articles for a particular member, click on the researcher's name in the Membership section.

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O'Brien S,Moore JO,Boyd TE,Larratt LM,Skotnicki AB,Koziner B,Chanan-Khan AA,Seymour JF,Gribben J,Itri LM,Rai KR. 5-Year Survival in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in a Randomized, Phase III Trial of Fludarabine Plus Cyclophosphamide With or Without Oblimersen., . Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Friedman HS,Prados MD,Wen PY,Mikkelsen T,Schiff D,Abrey LE,Yung WK,Paleologos N,Nicholas MK,Jensen R,Vredenburgh J,Huang J,Zheng M,Cloughesy T. Bevacizumab Alone and in Combination With Irinotecan in Recurrent Glioblastoma., . Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Lima B,Lam GK,Xie L,Diesen DL,Villamizar N,Nienaber J,Messina E,Bowles D,Kontos CD,Hare JM,Stamler JS,Rockman HA. Endogenous S-nitrosothiols protect against myocardial injury., . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abstract [More ...]

Quinn JA,Jiang SX,Reardon DA,Desjardins A,Vredenburgh JJ,Rich JN,Gururangan S,Friedman AH,Bigner DD,Sampson JH,McLendon RE,Herndon JE 2nd,Walker A,Friedman HS. Phase II trial of temozolomide plus o6-benzylguanine in adults with recurrent, temozolomide-resistant malignant glioma., , (1262-7) - Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Yan H,Parsons DW,Jin G,McLendon R,Rasheed BA,Yuan W,Kos I,Batinic-Haberle I,Jones S,Riggins GJ,Friedman H,Friedman A,Reardon D,Herndon J,Kinzler KW,Velculescu VE,Vogelstein B,Bigner DD. IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in gliomas., , (765-73) - The New England journal of medicine Abstract [More ...]

Zhao C,Chen A,Jamieson CH,Fereshteh M,Abrahamsson A,Blum J,Kwon HY,Kim J,Chute JP,Rizzieri D,Munchhof M,VanArsdale T,Beachy PA,Reya T. Hedgehog signalling is essential for maintenance of cancer stem cells in myeloid leukaemia., . Nature Abstract [More ...]

Kabbinavar FF,Hurwitz HI,Yi J,Sarkar S,Rosen O. Addition of Bevacizumab to Fluorouracil-Based First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Cohorts of Older Patients From Two Randomized Clinical Trials., . Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Rini BI,Michaelson MD,Rosenberg JE,Bukowski RM,Sosman JA,Stadler WM,Hutson TE,Margolin K,Harmon CS,DePrimo SE,Kim ST,Chen I,George DJ. Antitumor activity and biomarker analysis of sunitinib in patients with bevacizumab-refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma., , (3743-8) - Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Baer MR,George SL,Caligiuri MA,Sanford BL,Bothun SM,Mrózek K,Kolitz JE,Powell BL,Moore JO,Stone RM,Anastasi J,Bloomfield CD,Larson RA. Low-Dose Interleukin-2 Immunotherapy Does Not Improve Outcome of Patients Age 60 Years and Older With Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Complete Remission: Cancer and Leukemia Group B Study 9720., . Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Abstract [More ...]

Puria R,Zurita-Martinez SA,Cardenas ME. Nuclear translocation of Gln3 in response to nutrient signals requires Golgi-to-endosome trafficking in Saccharomyces cerevisiae., , (7194-9) - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abstract [More ...]

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Click here for these and other high-impact publications in this research program.