Pancreatic cancer symposium to be held at NDSU on August 10

Learn about new developments in pancreatic cancer diagnosis and drug delivery at the NDSU Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases Symposium to be held on Thursday, Aug. 10 in the Great Plains Ballroom of the Memorial Union at 1401 Administration Avenue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Fargo. Visitor parking lots are available directly south of the Memorial Union and one block north.

The symposium is coordinated by the Center for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies in Pancreatic Cancer at NDSU. The Center was established with support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, under the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program of the National Institutes of Health, grant 1P20GM109024.

There is no fee to attend but online registration is required. Invited guest speakers include:

  • Randall E. Brand, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and director of the GI Malignancy Early Detection, Diagnosis and Prevention Program of UMPC – Shadyside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Adrienne Cox, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Radiation Oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

  • Michael A. Hollingsworth, Ph.D., Professor at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Director - Pancreatic Cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health

  • Michael Lotze, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of Strategic Partnerships at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

  • Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D., Harvard University, Hiller Professor of Bioengineering, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Wyss Institute Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering

  • Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic, Director - Pancreatic Cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health

Learn, network and explore new research directions in pancreatic cancer.

For more information and to register, go to https://www.ndsu.edu/centers/pancreaticcancer/

Sanku Mallik, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and D.K. Srivastava, a James A. Meier Professor of chemistry and biochemistry at NDSU, lead the Center. A competitive grant of up to $9.62 million from NIH funds the first disease specific research center at NDSU.

The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is approximately 8 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute. Life expectancy after diagnosis is often six months or less, Mallik said. A lack of early symptoms, short survival time and resistance to therapy are hallmarks of this deadly disease. The NDSU Center’s research is aimed at early diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

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