September 14, 2012
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 31, No. 5
Rock Stars of Research
By Dawn Brazell Public Relations Talk about a protein shake. Researcher Philip H. Howe, Ph.D., points to a blender full of a protein-rich shrimp mix that he feeds his zebrafish. These rock stars of research are upstaging more traditional animal models that have been used. He keeps them healthy and well, given how they can advance cancer treatment, particularly in discovering how metastatic cancer progresses in humans. Howe, who holds the Hans and Helen Koebig Chair for Clinical Oncology, said they are
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ideal for researchers studying the process of metastasis, especially since zebrafish embryos are completely transparent, making them ideally suited for studying developmental processes as they occur. The highly fertile fish, which even have their own website called the Zebrafish Information Network or ZFIN for short (http://zfin. org/), live about two years, with a pair of fish producing about 300 embryos in one week. The fish become full-grown in two days. A mouse, in comparison, would take 21 days. Certain cancer cells are more aggressive in proliferating, similar to what happens in the embryonic development process when cells differentiate to form the tissue and organs of the body, he said. “Ninety percent of all cancer deaths are caused by the metastatic phase of the disease, where cells escape from the primary tumor and establish secondary
Therapeutic Weekend Shannon’s Hope, a camp for children who have lost a loved one, is accepting applications.
Dr. Philip H. Howe conducts zebrafish research in his
See Zebrafish on page 9 laboratory in the Hollings Cancer Center.
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Day of Caring
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University F & A Awards
Employees demonstrated their generosity for the community Sept. 7.
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Meet Marta
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Applause
READ THE CATALYST ONLINE - http://www.musc.edu/catalyst