Kaptur Praises Two-Year $151,100 Federal Award for Cancer Research at UT
WASHINGTON, DC– Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) joined the National Institute of Health’s National Cancer Institute to announce the two-year award of $151,100 in federal cancer research funds to The University of Toledo’s Department of Biological Sciences research laboratory for the purpose of new cancer research entitled, “A Novel RhoG Protein Interaction Network in Invadopodia.” The research project is managed by Rafael Garcia-Mata, PhD, UT assistant professor of biological sciences.
“There is exciting medical research ongoing at The University of Toledo,” said Kaptur. “This new two-year award is a credit to UT’s high-quality basic research, which is typically unheralded work requiring several years of diligence and persistence. But this research often results in powerful breakthroughs that benefit untold millions. It is important that federal funds continue to support such basic medical research.”
In breast cancer patients, the migration of cancer cells away from the primary tumor and their subsequent metastasis to distant organs is the leading cause of mortality. Cancer cells invade other tissues and enter the bloodstream by forming actin-rich membrane protrusions called invadopodia that degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM).
“This study is one of three our lab is currently conducting to learn more about how triple negative breast cancer metastasizes in the body,” Garcia-Mata said. “It is our goal to learn more about how these protrusions form and to identify the upstream regulators and downstream effectors of the formations. Once we understand how these ivadopodia form, we can begin to research treatments to prevent or slow their progress.”
Kaptur is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has oversight over the National Cancer Institute.
Background:
For background on Dr. Garcia-Mata: https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/bio/research/GarciaMata.html
For Dr. Garcia-Mata’s lab website: https://garciamatalab.wix.com/garcia-mata-lab
For background on the NIAID grant announcement: https://hhsgrants.econsys.com/apex/f?p=103:210:0::NO:210:P210_GRANT_ID:164295
For background on University of Toledo: https://utoledo.edu