New Measures for Sun Screen
FDA Sheds Light on Sun Screens

Gene mutation signals higher risk of cancer. View Article

Two Research Scientists Awarded Grants
Two research scientists at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield have been awarded three grants by the Department of Defense U.S. Army Medical Research to study breast and prostate cancer. Read More


SCI Receives $10,000 for Research

The Montgomery County Cancer Association presented Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU with $10,000 for cancer research. The presentation was made November 18 as part of MCCA’s annual ceremony to distribute local fundraising dollars for research and patient care.

Senator Dick Durbin: New Spending Bill Is All "Wrong"

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin denounced a federal spending bill approved by the House of Representatives on Saturday that would cut $1.6 billion in funding to the National Institute of Health. Durbin, who spoke Sunday at the Simmons Cancer Institute, said cuts to the NIH, which is the nation’s leading medical research agency and biomedical research institute, could drastically affect funding for grant-based research at the SIU School of Medicine.
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SCI Welcomes Dr Desai

Dr Meghna Desai has joined the faculty at SIU School of Medicine as an assistant professor of internal medicine and a member of Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU.
Previously, Desai was on the hematology and oncology staff at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston (2008-10) and on the medical staff of Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent (2004-08).

Desai is board certified in hematology and medical oncology and in internal medicine. She is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Physicians.

Dr Robbins Elected to State Cancer Board

K Thomas Robbins, MD, has been elected first vice president of the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society. Robbins is the Director of Simmons Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.

“Dr Robbins is a dedicated leader in the fight against cancer in Illinois who now has the opportunity to leverage his rich history as a clinical expert to guide us in establishing the right mission framework to create a world with less cancer more birthdays,” said Mary E Pierce, SPHR, chair of the board of ACS’s Illinois Division.

Robbins will provide leadership on ACS’s core mission strategies of research, education, advocacy and patient services. He will also guide ACS in establishing strategies and priorities in Illinois that help save lives through the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

Dr. Elble Awarded Grants

Randolph C Elble, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology, has been awarded a three-year grant totaling $327,375 to explore how a specific breast cell protein suppresses cancer cell growth in triple-negative breast cancer. One grant will investigate whether the toxins from a tropical ant venom are effective when used as a drug against metastatic breast cancer. A second grant will test a secreted form of a protein as a possible way to suppress metastatic breast cancer. A third grant will study whether a specific breast cell protein delivered by a harmless virus, can destroy metastatic melanoma cells. The grants were awarded by the Department of Defense/US Army.