COLUMBUS, Ohio – A portion of the dollars raised by the Pelotonia grassroots cycling tour will fund 22 graduate student cancer researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. The National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center has earmarked $1 million of the dollars raised for fellowship grants for undergraduate, graduate, medical and post-doctoral students. “Pelotonia dollars are funding vital cancer research at Ohio State, allowing our youngest and brightest cancer investigators to help bridge the gap until they may one day qualify for federal research funding,” says Dr. Michael Caligiuri, director of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “Student researchers play a crucial role in making new discoveries that may one day lead to a cancer-free world.” Jeff Mason, director of the Pelotonia Fellowship Program, said the fellowship program fosters a unique collaboration between students and world renowned researchers at Ohio State. The third annual Pelotonia is scheduled for Aug. 19-21. For more information, visit www.pelotonia.org . The graduate grant recipients, along with their majors and titles of their research projects, include: Jennifer Ahn-Jarvis, Los Angeles, Calif.; Food Science and Nutrition; “Evaluating Bioavailability of Isoflavones Delivered by Soy Bread in Men with Recurring Prostate Cancer and Rising Prostate Specific Antigen” Christina Austin, Lexington, SC; Molecular Genetics; “Ligand Specificity in EGFR signaling in Drosophila melanogaster” Edward Briercheck, Canton, OH; Medical Scientist Program; “The role of PTEN in human natural killer cell function” Huizi Chen, Columbus, OH; Medical Scientist Program; “Atypical mammalian repressors E2F7 & E2F8 link hepatocyte endocycle regulation with tumor suppression” Hsiao-Ching Chuang, Taiwan, ROC; Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy; “Combining poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors with FTY-720 as a novel therapeutic approach for triple-negative breast cancer” Nripesh Dhungel, Kathmandu, Nepal; Molecular Genetics; “tRNA splicing endonuclease: Investigating novel functions” Zhongqi Ge, Molecular, Hefei, China; Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB); “Role of acetylation of newly synthesized histone H4 in DNA repair linked chromatin reassembly” April Sandy Gocha, Dover, Ohio; Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program; “BRCA1 and RecQ-like helicases in the control of telomere maintenance” Geoffrey Gonzalez, Trujillo, Peru; Microbiology; “Establishment of Salmonella gallbladder carriage: role in hepatobiliary carcinoma” Brian Hutzen, Poland, Ohio; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; “Treatment of Medulloblastoma with Re-targeted Oncolytic Measles Viruses” Huayang Liu, Yueyang, China; Molecular Genetics; “A novel genome-wide screen to identify novel regulators of the tumor microenvironment” Justin North, Greenville, OH; Physics (Experimental Biophysics); “A study of the molecular mechanism by which human Rad51 and MSH2/MSH6 clear their own path for DNA repair” Sundaresan Raman, Chennai, India; Computer Science & Engineering; “A Framework for Analysis of Vasculature Phenotypes in the Tumor Microenvironment” Shreyas Rao, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Chemical Engineering; “Brain Mimetic Biomaterials for Investigating Tumor Cell Migration” Maurisa Riley, Malden, MA; Molecular Genetics; “Examining post-transcriptional regulation of the Notch pathway by microRNAs” Amit Sharma, New Delhi, India; Molecular Genetics, “Novel translation control strategy of junD protooncogene, a modulator of neoplastic transformation” Hosung Sim, Seoul, Korea; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB); “Molecular orchestration between cancer cells and microenvironment for brain tumor progression: Activation of PDGF signaling by tumor-secreted proteoglycans” David Taffany, Centerville, OH; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; “Ets2-Mediated Global Genetic and Epigenetic Alterations to the Myeloid Genome Throughout the Course of Tumor Progression” Chuang Tan, Nanning, Guangxi, China; Chemical Physics; “The repair dynamics of UV-induced DNA damage by Photolyase” Salene Wu, Shandong, China; Psychology; “Relationship of General and Health-related Anxiety and Worry to Markers of Inflammation in Women with Recurrent Cancer” Jamie Wolf, South Park, PA; Molecular Genetics; “Roles of RNA Polymerases IV and V RNA-Directed DNA Methylation of Geminivirus DNA” Bo Wang, Seattle, WA; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; “Role of Cancer Stem Cells in Choline Deficient and Ethionine Supplemented (CDE) diet-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in liver-specific miR-122 knockout mice” Click here for more information about the Pelotonia Graduate Fellowship recipients. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (cancer.osu.edu) is one of only 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States designated by the National Cancer Institute. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top cancer hospitals in the nation, The James is the 205-bed adult patient-care component of the cancer program at The Ohio State University. The OSUCCC-James is one of only seven funded programs in the country approved by the NCI to conduct both Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. ### Jennifer Mutchler Medical Center Public Affairs and Media Relations 614-293-3737 mutchler.27@osu.edu