Pancreatic cancer research symposium set for Thursday, August 10 at NDSU

August 9, 2017 – Fargo, North Dakota – The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is approximately 8 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute. Researchers from the NDSU Center for Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases and other renowned experts from around the country will share their findings at a symposium on Thursday, August 10 in the Great Plains Ballroom of the Memorial Union at 1401 Administration Avenue, Fargo, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In addition, NDSU graduate students will provide poster presentations regarding their pancreatic cancer research from 11:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Plains Room of the Memorial Union.

Invited event 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 Healt

  • 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., Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Wyss Institute Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University

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

For program details, visit https://www.ndsu.edu/centers/pancreaticcancer/symposium/agenda/

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.

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

Life expectancy after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis can be 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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