FROM THE HILL
UNC to Help Decode Cancer With Genome Atlas Grant
UNC is one of 12 centers chosen to be part of a large-scale effort by the National Cancer Institute
and the National Human Genome
“The [Cancer Genome Atlas Grant]
project takes a comprehensive approach to
the study of human cancers and applies
multiple cutting-edge technologies to the
same large set of tumors,” he added. “The
real power of this project is in the integra-
tion of these different genetic data types
into a common framework that should
provide a much more complete picture of
why a tumor is a tumor.”
UNC’s specific focus is to characterize
what genes are being expressed, and not
expressed, in each
tumor type studied.
Project co-direc-
tor Dr. Neil Hayes
’ 96 (MD) noted that
the laboratory sci-
ence is designed to
benefit patients as
quickly as possible.
“Our participation is
recognition that
UNC has a commu-
nity of cutting-edge
researchers, particu-
larly in our ‘bench to
bedside’ approach
and as one of only a
few NCI-designated
Comprehensive
Cancer Centers
included in the
funding. Just as we
balance our days
between patient care
and science, the
leadership at NCI
and NHGRI is ask-
ing us to keep this project grounded in
benefits to patients. I can’t imagine a more
important leadership role, and we take this
charge very seriously,” he said.
Lineberger’s director, Dr. H. Shelton
Earp ’ 70, said, “Cancer genetics has been a
key area for University Cancer Research
investment, allowing us to diversify the
technologic base needed for this project.
This phase of the Cancer Genome Atlas
will yield many new cancer discoveries
that may change the face of clinical cancer
care in the near future.”
Research Institute to systematically characterize the genomic changes that occur in
cancer.
The national effort, described as
unprecedented, aims to shape the future of
cancer research and treatment.
The Cancer Genome Atlas Grant is a
five-year award,
expected to bring
$13 million to $20
million to Carolina,
and puts scientists
from UNC’s
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer
Center and others
across campus at the
center of a major
push to provide a
deeper understanding of the mechanisms responsible for
the uncontrolled
growth of cancer
cells and their spread
throughout the
body.
NEIL BOYD WILL OWENS
According to the
genome research
institute, the
genomic information generated by
the project could
fuel advances in cancer research, including new ways to categorize tumors, new therapeutic targets and
methods that allow clinical trials to focus
on patients who are most likely to respond
to specific treatments.
Charles Perou and Neil Hayes ’ 96
“This project represents one of the
most ambitious and challenging human
genetics efforts to date, only rivaled by its
predecessor, the Human Genome Project,”
said Charles Perou, associate professor of
genetics, and pathology and laboratory
medicine.
’ 91 Grad Takes Over
As Campus Y Director
Richard Harrill ’ 91, who has Peace Corps experience and co- founded the Washington- and
Budapest-based Youth Services International, is the new director of the Campus Y.
Harrill, who also has a 1998 law degree
from Carolina, succeeds Virginia Carson
’ 71, who retired last summer. He began
work in August.
Most recently, Harrill was director for
Europe of the Public
Interest Law Institute
in Budapest, an
organization committed to building
the advocacy capacity
of nongovernmental
organizations, promoting clinical legal
education, legal aid
reform and pro bono
practice in Central
and Eastern Europe,
Russia and Asia.
Before that he
was a youth policy
coordinator at
Columbia University’s School of
Social Work, where
he researched
international civic
engagement and
school-to-work
transitions studies.
He also worked in the Bard College
Program on Globalization and International Affairs and at the Bonner Foundation, where he developed an analytic
framework for evaluating the Bonner
Scholars Program.
As a student at Carolina, majoring
in political science, Harrill served as
co-president of the Y, where he worked as
a volunteer at the local homeless shelter
and served on the board of the Campus
Outreach Opportunity League.
DAN SEARS ’ 74
