Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Globalization announces newest grant recipients.
This year’s grant recipients include:
Dr. Changyi Johnny Chen, professor of surgery at BCM.
Infection with the liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) is endemic in Northeast Thailand and is a cause of Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), or bile duct cancer. Since 2008, Chen has established an active collaboration with Khon Kaen University to study molecular targets of CCA. The most critical targets for CCA discovered from their collaboration research are cyclophilin A and the ERK pathway. Thus, the current collaborative project is to carry out a preclinical study to test FDA-approved drugs, Cyclosporin A (CypA inhibitor) and Sorafenib (the ERK pathway inhibitor) in cell culture and animal models of CCA. Once this preclinical study is successfully done, this novel targeted therapy will immediately apply to clinical trials in Thailand.
http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=6886