Newswise — A world-renowned leader in the field of biomedical informatics will be among several distinguished basic and clinical investigators from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), to showcase advances in laboratory, clinical and translational research at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference in San Diego, California, April 12 " 16. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Why do some people at risk for cancer get it at an earlier age than others? Why is there a difference between men and women when it comes to survivorship and response to treatment in cancer? It is these types of questions that will be explored at the annual meeting during a methods workshop entitled "Translational Bioinformatics: Bytes to Bedside and Back." The session will be led by Gunaretnam (Guna) Rajagopal, Ph.D., who is the head of CINJ's recently established biomedical informatics program. Prior to his recent arrival at CINJ, Dr. Rajagopal served as the founding executive director of the Bioinformatics Institute at the BIOPOLIS in Singapore, where he oversaw 140 research scientists and IT professionals.
Biomedical informatics is the intellectual marriage of math, science and computers, used in concert to understand what regulates the normal behavior of cells and how its breakdown gives rise to uncontrolled cell growth, i.e. cancer. At CINJ, the aim of researchers is to use this knowledge and cutting-edge genomics technology to develop an individual genetic profile of a patient, with the goal of being able to identify specific treatment options and improve diagnosis for patients with cancer and other diseases.
Often times, information collected from clinical, genetic and laboratory tests reside in different locations and cannot be easily accessed via the "information superhighway." This often slows the sharing of information and keeps barriers between researchers. By utilizing the latest technology to collect, correlate, analyze and assimilate a full range of biomedical data, Rajagopal notes researchers will be able to better understand the causes of cancer, "At CINJ our team of world-class scientists will be facilitating the discovery of the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics in order to bring information from the laboratory bench to patient bedside to provide for the best clinical outcomes."
Bioinformatics research already has led to personalized medicine, in particular, to the discovery of cancer drugs that are "targeted" for certain tumor sites. The technology also played a vital role in the creation of a test applied to biopsy specimens to determine whether a patient needs additional treatment to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. It is these types of discoveries and applications that Rajagopal and his team hope to facilitate at CINJ, "We are in a wonderful period of scientific discovery where we can take advantage of tremendous advances in technology, our deeper intellectual understanding of biology and our inclusive partnership between academia and industry, to effectively address the pain and suffering caused by cancer."
Rajagopal also will serve as a panelist during a special session, which will address cancer biomarkers in relation to the development of personalized medicine. Barriers to the development of cancer biomarkers for clinical use will be discussed as will the overall goal on how to best facilitate biomarker use in drug development and subsequent treatment.
The work represented by CINJ members will be among the 6,000 abstracts being presented at the AACR gathering, which will feature more than 17,000 researchers, healthcare professionals, and patient advocates from around the globe.
About The Cancer Institute of New JerseyThe Cancer Institute of New Jersey is the state's first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is dedicated to improving the prevention, detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer. CINJ's physician-scientists engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice quite literally bringing research to life. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is a center of excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To support CINJ, please call the Cancer Institute of New Jersey Foundation at 1-888-333-CINJ.
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Network is comprised of hospitals throughout the state and provides a mechanism to rapidly disseminate important discoveries into the community. Partner Hospital: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Affiliate Hospitals: Bayshore Community Hospital, CentraState Healthcare System, Cooper University Hospital*, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Overlook Hospital, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton (CINJ-Hamilton), Saint Peter's University Hospital, Somerset Medical Center, Southern Ocean County Hospital, The University Hospital/UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School*, and University Medical Center at Princeton. *Academic Affiliate
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