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How
Seed Money from the Ohio Zalfa A. Abdel-Malek, Ph.D. |
Zalfa's Sun Safety Tips |
In 1993, I was among the first researchers at the University of Cincinnati to receive funding from the Ohio Cancer Research Associates. At that time, I was an Assistant Professor in Dermatology, trying to establish my independent path in research. This seed money enabled me to set the foundations for research that started as an idea that was both promising and controversial. This funding allowed me to determine the role of the melanocortins a-melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) and ACTH in human pigmentation. My laboratory provided evidence that a-MSH and ACTH stimulate the synthesis of the pigment melanin in cultured human pigment cells, the melanocytes, by activating a specific receptor termed the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R). Given the importance of skin pigmentation in the response of the skin to sun exposure and the risk for skin cancer, I investigated the role of melanocrotins in the response of human melanocytes to ultraviolet radiation (UV), the damaging radiation from the sun that causes skin cancer. The seed money from the Ohio Cancer Research Associates allowed me to generate sufficient data that won me my first four-year grant from NIH.
In 1997, I was awarded for the second time seed money from OCRA. This time, I began investigating the effects of different forms or alleles of the MC1R gene on the susceptibility of different individuals to melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Expression of some forms of the MC1R gene results in red hair, fair skin, poor tanning ability, and increased risk for melanoma. Using cultured melanocytes from different donors, we started to correlate the donor’s MC1R alleles with his/her response to melanocortins and UV. We found that the same forms of the MC1R gene that cause red hair, result in loss of function of the receptor, and render melanocytes very sensitive to the damaging effects of UV, which explains the increased susceptibility to melanoma. This funding from OCRA made it possible for me to obtain a second NIH-funded grant for five years.
I was also funded by OCRA in 2001 for a third time. The seed money that I received from them over the years promoted my career and allowed me to train a considerable number of students and postdoctoral trainees. Interestingly, a colleague in my department whom I trained as a postdoctoral fellow is currently funded by OCRA. The basic research in my laboratory that was first supported by OCRA is entering the translational phase. The knowledge gained about the melanocortins and the MC1R and their effects on human melanocytes led us to design and synthesize peptides based on the chemical structure of a-MSH that not only increase pigment synthesis by the melanocytes, but also repair sun-induced DNA damage that causes skin cancer. Our goal is to develop these peptides for topical application that would prevent sun-induced skin cancer. This project has just been funded for four years by a grant from the National Cancer Institute. The outcome of this project is expected to have a tremendous impact on the prevention of skin cancer, the most prevalent type of all human cancers.
The journey that began thirteen years ago would not have reached its current destination has it not been fueled by seed money from OCRA. This is a testimony for how giving a new idea a chance have led to discoveries that ultimately will prevent skin cancer, mainly melanoma, one of the most challenging types of human cancers