USC-Taiwan center for translational research

Center supported by Trustee Daniel Tsai. Founding Director: Dr. Jean Chen Shih.

 

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The USC School of Pharmacy has established of a center for translational research that will take advantage of our internationally-recognized research and facilities to develop a strategic relationship with Taiwan involving exchange of trainees, research and experience. The focus of this center is the creation of a nexus of effective research in development of new therapeutics targeted to monoamine oxidase. The center will be based in the USC School of Pharmacy under the leadership of Dr. Jean Chen Shih, an internationally recognized expert in monoamine signaling. Dr. Shih will be assisted by an Advisory Board, including the USC School of Pharmacy Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs and the USC School of Pharmacy Associate Dean for Global Initiatives, to both ensure the success of the center, and to ensure appropriate coordination with existing USC graduate and international programs so that the fellowship experience will be maximized.
Center activities will begin with the establishment of Fellowships that will enable leading graduate students and postdoctoral trainees from Taiwan and USC to work together side-by-side. Fellows will spend one to two years in USC School of Pharmacy laboratories, receiving training in cutting-edge techniques and novel research programs that will allow them to contribute to effective translational research for the development of the next generation of therapeutics. Fellows will be Named Fellows in Translational Research to reflect the prestigious
nature of these appointments.

Research activity at the USC-Taiwan center for translational research will focus on the use of MAO inhibitors in the treatment of cancer; recent work from Dr. Shih’s laboratory has shown that elimination of the gene that encodes monoamine oxidase (MAO) prevents the growth of prostate cancer in mice. As MAO is an important regulator of mood and motivation in the brain, there are already a number of drugs that effectively inhibit its function, called MAOI (MAO inhibitors), which are used clinically as antidepressants. Further collaboration with Dr. Leland Chung and Dr. Bogdan Olenyuk will attach the MAO I to a specific dye molecule that will target the drug specifically to cancer cells, thus increasing its effectiveness and reducing unwanted side-effects. Moreover, this dye is visible, and will thus be developed as the first non-invasive tool both for monitoring the progression of the cancer and for therapeutic treatment.

Additional research in this area of study will include applying these findings to other difficult-to-treat cancers, such as Glioblastoma (GBM). Collaboration with Dr. Tom Chen, Director of Surgical Neuro-Oncology Program at USC Keck School of Medicine will design, test and develop a revolutionary, novel treatment for GBM based on our established technology platform that involves MAOIs conjugated to tumor-targeting dyes. This effort by the center will bring together state-of-the-art expertise in biochemistry, imaging and nanomedicine to develop drugs targeted to monoamine oxidase that will inhibit tumor growth more effectively and more tolerably than current therapies and will also function to provide world-class training and global education to the fellows. The creation of this center is made possible through the support of a generous donor.