Cholangiocarcinoma Research
Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD
Gallagher Endowed Chair in Gastrointestinal Cancer Research,
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
In January 2013, TargetCancer awarded a grant of $60,000 to support Nabeel Bardeesy's cholangiocarcinoma research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. This grant marks the third year of an ongoing commitment to Dr. Bardeesy’s laboratory to create the most comprehensive existing research program for the disease.
TargetCancer’s approach to finding treatments for cholangiocarcinoma focuses on the key areas of supporting research, fostering collaborations, and facilitating the creation and preservation of cell lines and other tissue samples.
RESEARCH:
Cholangiocarcinoma, like many rare cancers, has traditionally been largely ignored by the research community despite its rising incidence worldwide. This disease lacks the basic research necessary to begin understanding the underlying biology and genetics of the cancer.
Since 2011, TargetCancer has provided $182,000 in grants to support cholangiocarcinoma research at the Bardeesy Laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. With TargetCancer’s support, Dr. Bardeesy has built a comprehensive research program that simultaneously focuses on several key areas and approaches:
|
• Cell line collection
|
• Generation of mouse models
|
|
• Genomic studies
|
• Establishment of xenografts
|
|
• Screening of cell lines against existing compounds
|
|
These systems provide a comprehensive tool kit for studies of this complex disease. TargetCancer is fully committed to this partnership with Dr. Bardeesy’s lab because we understand the necessity of both consistency in supporting his research, as well as the importance of approaching the disease from so many perspectives.
COLLABORATIONS:
Collaboration is essential to the success of any research program, and TargetCancer chooses its grant recipients carefully to ensure that they will be willing to share information, samples, and expertise with others in the field. After several years in the cholangiocarcinoma and general rare cancer research community, TargetCancer has developed an extensive network and uses these contacts to build working relationships between researchers, institutions, and industry. These collaborations come at no cost to TargetCancer but often have a very significant impact.
The TargetCancer Think Tank on Cholangiocarcinoma was a half day workshop held in Boston in November 2012 that was designed to facilitate information sharing and collaboration on the topic of cholangiocarcinoma research and treatment. This workshop brought together an outstanding and diverse roster of participants who are currently researching and treating cholangiocarcinoma, as well as those who have worked to bring other cancers out of "orphan" status.
The conversations at this meeting have led to experiments and projects that would not have happened otherwise, several of which are being funded through TargetCancer’s 2013 grant to the Bardeesy Lab.
CELL LINES:
In 2012 TargetCancer provided a $32,000 grant to create The TargetCancer Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line Bank at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by $30,000 of additional funding in 2013 for ongoing operations of the program. This innovative program unites laboratory researchers, surgeons, pathologists, and medical oncologists to generate new cholangiocarcinoma cell lines and patient-derived xenografts.
