SIU Med School Receives ACS Cancer Research Grant

A research scientist at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield has been awarded a one-year research grant from the American Cancer Society for the study of tumors and how they metastasize. Total budget for the grant is $87,478.

Sophia Ran, Ph.D., is the principal investigator for the project. An assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology who was recruited last year, Ran also is a member of the new research team at the SIU Cancer Institute. Over the last eight years, Ran has created a unique antibody that could be used to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels, which allows tumors to grow and spread throughout the body. Ran holds two patents in cancer treatment and has four others pending.

"This is the first grant for one of the new basic science researchers we've recruited to our growing institute and we're delighted that it is coming from the American Cancer Society," said Dr. Thomas Robbins, interim director of the SIU Cancer Institute. "Her work is an excellent example of the kind of cutting-edge research we are working to develop here."

Ran completed postdoctoral fellowships in cellular physiology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (1992) and in protein purification and transport at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (1991). She earned her doctoral degree at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel (1989), her master's at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel (1983), and her bachelor's at Tel Aviv University in Israel (1981).

The SIU Cancer Institute began nearly three years ago with funding from the State of Illinois with both operational funds and $14.5 million toward a permanent facility. The Institute is focusing the medical school's efforts in cancer research, physician and public education, and treatment for patients from across central and southern Illinois. More than 50 SIU physician and basic science faculty are involved with the Institute.

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