��Vlog��ý Little Rock employees ride Tour de Rock in honor of vice chancellor’s brother

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 15:32:11 +0000

Nine employees from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock rode nearly 550 miles in honor of a vice chancellor’s brother who is battling cancer. Steve McClellan, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock vice chancellor for finance and administration, sponsored the employees to ride the on June 1 in honor of his brother, Bruce McClellan, who is battling lung cancer. CARTI’s 16th annual Tour de Rock supports CARTI’s continued fight against cancer by providing the most advanced forms of treatment available while also meeting the needs of patients and their families. Nearly 1,000 cyclists rode one of four routes of 25, 50, 62, or 100 miles. This is the second year that McClellan has sponsored a team of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock cyclists to ride the Tour de Rock and raise money for cancer. Last year, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock team rode nearly 500 miles in honor of Bruce McClellan. “One of the most touching things about the event is that you get to write the name of a person who is fighting cancer on your shirt,” said Martial Trigeaud, business consultant with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center and faculty advisor of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Cycling Club. “This year, we wrote the name of Steve’s brother, Bruce. Many people also wrote the name of another friend or relative, someone they love, who has faced cancer.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock employees and students who rode in the Tour de Rock include Alex Biris, director of the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences; Thomas Bunton, associate vice chancellor and chief information officer; Molly Castner, deputy athletic director and senior woman administrator; Emilie Darrigues, a Ph.D. student of applied science; John Evans, senior associate athletic director for facilities and events; Ian Hadden, director of energy management services; Ashton Hale, a criminal justice graduate student; Sean Orme, a Ph.D. student in computer science; and Trigeaud. One of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s riders, Hadden, even took on the special challenge of riding in the pace group, where cyclists complete 100 miles in under 5 hours. Hadden finished 100 miles in 4:54:03 and burned 8,680 calories in that time.

Faculty, staff, and students from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock rode the Tour de Rock in honor of Steve McClellan’s brother, Bruce.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor researches enhanced cancer therapy

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 13:45:11 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor is making strides toward developing an effective cancer treatment without the severe side effects of traditional therapies. Dr. Darin Jones, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock associate professor of chemistry, envisions a day when patients can battle cancer without chemotherapy side effects such as hair loss, muscle atrophy, and compromised immune systems. “We are developing a therapy that targets and kills tumor cells, which is unique compared to today’s therapies that are based on nonselective, toxic chemotherapy options,” Jones said. In partnership with Dr. John Tainer from the University of Texas, Jones received a five-year grant of $795,683 from the National Institutes of Health in 2016. They are also collaborating with Dr. Zamal Ahmed at MD Anderson Cancer Institute. “Most chemotherapeutic agents as well as radiation therapy kill cancer cells by inducing DNA damage,” Jones said. “They do so in an indiscriminate manner. If the cancer cell is able to repair the damage, the cancer cell survives and perpetuates the disease.” Within the human body, there are a variety of proteins that cause cells to repair damage to DNA. They are known as DNA repair proteins. Jones and his colleagues are designing and preparing small molecules that prevent these proteins from “turning on the DNA repair process.” “By blocking the DNA repair process, the damaged DNA is not repaired, which results in the death of cancer cells,” Jones said.

Dr. Darin Jones stands in front of a projected image of the crystal structure of the enzyme he is studying to develop an effective cancer treatment without the severe side effects of traditional therapies. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

In currently available hormonal cancer therapy, doctors rely on proteins present in the patient’s body. If the patient does not have the necessary protein receptors, the cancer treatment will not work, and its effectiveness could fade over time if a patient were to go into remission and then later develop cancer, Jones said. Research by Jones and Tainer could provide more options. What makes their research unique is that patients would not need to have a protein receptor in order to receive the treatment. “If we are successful, it would represent a brand new paradigm in cancer therapy research,” Jones said. Tainer, who is testing the medicine in this form of therapy, is excited to work with Jones on the project. “Without a doubt, the creative chemistry from Dr. Jones is the heart of the project and what is driving its success,” Tainer said. Jones has an extensive background in cancer therapy research. Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, he was a senior scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine and the senior principal scientist and research scientist at Pfizer, a prominent pharmaceutical company. In 2014, Jones received national attention for his research into dehydroleucodine, a molecule found in Ecuadorian plants. Jones thinks the molecule, often used as an anti-inflammatory and treatment for skin infections, could one day form the basis of a treatment for leukemia.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock employees ride Tour de Rock in honor of vice chancellor’s brother

����Vlog��ý Little Rock professor researches enhanced cancer therapy

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock employees ride Tour de Rock in honor of vice chancellor’s brother

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professor researches enhanced cancer therapy