Dipak Sarkar makes opening remarks at the workshop. Photo: Kathy Manger.
“Hormones and Cancer” was the theme of the 7th Annual Pioneers in Endocrinology Workshop held last month at the Busch Campus Center. This annual daylong workshop was sponsored by the Rutgers Endocrine Program; Department of Animal Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS); Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension; and Rutgers-RWJMS Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition. Almost 100 students, postdocs, faculty, and staff attended the event, which comprised morning presentations and an afternoon poster session.
Director of the Rutgers Endocrine Program Dipak Sarkar, distinguished professor of Animal Sciences, SEBS Executive Dean Robert Goodman, and Rutgers Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development Christopher Molloy, distinguished professor in Pharmacology and Toxicology, welcomed the participants and gave opening remarks.
Louis Amorosa, professor of Medicine and chief, RWJMS Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, introduced the first invited speaker, Suzanne A.W. Fuqua, professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine’s Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center. Her talk was titled “Rediscovery of Estrogen Receptor (ESR1) Mutations in Breast Cancer.” A question-and-answer session following this talk was led by Carol Bagnell, professor of Animal Sciences.
Wendie Cohick, professor and chair of the Department of Animal Sciences, introduced the second speaker Douglas Yee, the John H. Kersey Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Yee’s presentation was titled “Is it Possible to Target Insulin-Like Growth Factor Signaling in Breast Cancer?” Following this talk, Larry Katz, director, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and professor of Animal Sciences, led a question-and-answer session.
Poster session in the Fireside Lounge in the Busch Campus Center. Photo: Kathy Manger, Animal Sciences.
The afternoon featured 46 posters reporting state-of-the-art endocrine research being conducted at Rutgers and other universities. Three individuals received “Endocrine Poster Awards” in recognition of their excellence in research. The winners were postdoctoral fellows Ryan Logan, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Sengottuvelan Murugan, Rutgers Animal Sciences and the Sarkar lab, and graduate student Arpita Bhurke, Rutgers Endocrinology & Animal Biosciences from the Uzumcu lab.
Industry partners BioExpress and Life Technologies were represented at the workshop and hosted display booths in the Fireside Lounge where the posters were displayed. Their financial contributions to the workshop were much appreciated, especially by the student attendees who enjoyed a free lunch!
Following the poster session, faculty participated in a round-table meeting with the two speakers. Additional photos of the workshop are displayed on the program website.
