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Biology professor receives $205,500 grant to study cancer-related protein

March 06, 2007

For immediate release - March 6, 2007 Contact: Eric Cárdenas (860) 439-2508; eric.cardenas@conncoll.edu

Connecticut College cancer researcher granted $205,500 to study a protein's impact on cell division

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Martha Grossel, associate professor of biology at Connecticut College, has been awarded a $205,500 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a particular protein that may be a factor in the development and spread of tumor cells that cause brain cancer.

Grossel, who was selected in 2006 as a "Woman of Innovation" in the field of research by the Connecticut Technology Council, researches unchecked cellular division that is associated with cancer. Unregulated or improperly timed cell division can result in cancer, can cause developmental defects, and can affect the physiology of all cell types.

For this grant, Grossel will study the protein cdk6, which is thought to control cell division and which plays a role in blocking cell specialization. Cells specialize, or differentiate, in order to carry out bodily functions, such as carrying oxygen or secreting insulin.

"It turns out this is important not only for development but also in the disease of cancer, where tumor cells are often undifferentiated," Grossel said. "So, with this grant I'll undertake experiments to understand how the protein cdk6 may function in the process of specialization, or differentiation."

Grossel will perform these experiments in astrocytes - mammalian brain cells - which have the potential to become a form of cancer called glioma.

"This research aims to better understand cancer and specifically the type of brain cancer called gliomas - the formation of which may involve cdk6," Grossel said.

Grossel, who joined Connecticut College in 1999 and teaches cell biology, molecular biology and microbiology, plans to involve Connecticut College students in her research. The students will help conduct the experiments.

The grant, one hundred percent of which is funded by the federal government, is effective for three years.

Grossel's earlier research on cell division and cdk6 was supported in part through a National Science Foundation CAREER grant. The Faculty Early Career development (CAREER) program is the NSF's most prestigious awards for new faculty, supporting activities of those faculty members who are most likely to become academic leaders of the 21st century.

Ranked among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 43 states and 45 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 85-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu