“It is hard to live in Texas and not be impressed by the outstanding research environment of the University of Texas,” said Finnell. “Once they decided to place an emphasis on children’s health with the development of the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, I knew that I wanted to get in on the ground floor and do whatever I could to make it a success.”

Finnell will be involved in teaching undergraduates and supervising the research of graduate students, while continuing and extending his own research program. His research examines the interaction between specific genes and environmental toxins as they influence normal embryonic development.

While his primary research focuses on discovering the role of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects, his laboratory is also working to identify the gene or genes that determine susceptibility to human neural tube defects (NTDs) and orofacial clefts.

Finnell is studying teratogenic agents, both pharmaceutical compounds and those found in the environment, that contribute to the population burden of birth defects. Given the recent oil spill a few hundred miles offshore from Houston, he is acutely aware of the potential threat to human health stemming from this environmental catastrophe and hopes to work with teams of new colleagues at the university as they assess, and perhaps remedy, the reproductive risks associated with the oil slick.

Finnell will move into the DPRI and officially begin his appointment on September 1, 2010.

Read more on the College of Natural Sciences web.

When: 2 p.m., Friday, April 23.

Where: Dell Pediatric Research Institute, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd., Austin, Texas.

Background: The Dell Pediatric Research Institute (DPRI) is The University of Texas at Austin’s new state-of-the-art medical research facility that promises to advance understanding of childhood diseases and disorders. DPRI is located on the site of the old Robert Mueller Airport in Central Austin and next door to the Dell Children’s Medical Center.

DPRI research will enable advances in areas including childhood obesity, cancer, birth defects, brain injury, nutrition, epilepsy and autism.

The institute is being created as a result of a $38 million challenge grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

They will study the impact of obesity on cancer development and progression, including obesity that occurs early in life.

“Obesity in children has risen dramatically in recent years, and the growing epidemic is alarming,” said DiGiovanni, who joined the Colleges of Pharmacy and Natural Sciences in January. “Obesity in both adults and children increases the risk of cancer development as well as severity of the disease for a number of important cancers.”

Over the past 25 years, the number of Texas children and adolescents who are overweight or obese has more than quadrupled, with nearly 25 percent of elementary, middle school and high school students overweight, and another 20 percent at high risk of becoming overweight.

The epidemic is occurring in girls and boys, across all socioeconomic lines and among all racial and ethnic groups.

“While we have made important gains over the past 20 years with early detection and better treatments for many cancers, there is no doubt that our progress in reducing the suffering and death from cancer has been significantly slowed by the obesity epidemic,” said Hursting, who is chairman of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and specializes in obesity-cancer research.

Cancer is a disease involving gene-environmental interactions and, therefore, understanding environmental influences as well as genetic factors is key to developing the most effective strategies for preventing cancer, said the researchers.

“Understanding the early cellular, biochemical and molecular changes that transform normal cells into cancer cells is essential if we are to eventually eradicate cancer as a major human disease,” DiGiovanni said.

“Approximately 75 percent of overweight children will be obese adults,” he said. “Given the rising number of overweight and obese kids in Texas, it is extremely important to develop effective ways for preventing obesity and obesity-related diseases in children and young adults.”

Hursting hopes the work of their team, which also includes nutritional science faculty members Drs. Linda deGraffenried and Nomeli Nunez, will lead to new strategies for reducing cancer with a combination of diet, exercise and medicine that will target specific genes.

“Our goal is to identify targets for breaking the obesity-cancer connection,” he said. “We recognize that not everyone can run five miles a day or have a drastic change in diet. But if we can identify those molecular targets that are important we can use that information to disrupt the link between cancer and obesity.”

Read the full feature story on the University of Texas at Austin web.

Wallingford is a scientist doing basic research at The University of Texas at Austin. Using frogs and mice as models, he studies how embryos develop and what can go wrong in development.

George is a pediatric neuro-surgeon at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. Among his patients are children with birth defects.

The scientist and the surgeon have teamed up to find ways to translate the basic discoveries made in Wallingford’s laboratory for use in George’s examination room.

They want to reduce birth defects, particularly neural tube defects, the second most common class of birth defects behind heart problems…

Read more.

The institute—a collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin and Seton Family of Hospitals—is strategically located in the Mueller Development, near the UT campus and right across the street from Seton’s Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. The objective is for UT researchers to mingle with Dell physicians and swap ideas about research, how it relates to practical medicine, and vice versa.

“In a sense, Dell represents a bridge between UT Austin and clinical enterprise. It is a very important step,” said Dr. Kenneth Shine, UT System executive vice chancellor for Health Affairs.

The institute, with a total projected capacity of 28 senior faculty members, is the first of several planned UT Austin research institutes on 30 acres of land at Mueller. It is a prime example of the kind of translational research activity that large biotech companies seek out when deciding where to locate.

The institute cost about $100 million to establish, including $38 million from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and $45 million from the UT System.

Read the full story on Impact News.

AUSTIN, Texas — Dr. John DiGiovanni, an internationally known cancer researcher who studies the link between obesity and cancer, has joined the pharmacy and nutritional sciences faculty at The University of Texas at Austin.

DiGiovanni will hold the Coulter R. Sublett Chair in the College of Pharmacy. He has a joint appointment in the College of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology and the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences. Most recently, DiGiovanni was a professor in the Department of Carcinogenesis (carcinogenesis is the process of cancer development) at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Science Park Cancer Research Center in Smithville.

DiGiovanni’s research lab will be at the new Dell Pediatric Research Institute (DPRI) adjacent to Dell Children’s Hospital. Dr. Stephen Hursting, professor and chairman of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and a long-time collaborator of DiGiovanni, will be among the pharmacy and nutrition faculty moving to the DPRI. A major part of their research will deal with how obesity affects health, particularly chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Dedication of the DPRI is scheduled for April 23. Researchers from molecular biology, neuroscience and genetics with additional focus areas in cancer, neurogenetics, drug development and birth defects eventually will work at the DPRI.

“John DiGiovanni is one of the preeminent researchers in oncology, and we are delighted to welcome him to our faculty,” said Dr. Lynn Crismon, dean of the College of Pharmacy. “His research is complementary to that of many of our current faculty members, and I am excited to consider the investigative collaborations that will, no doubt, develop.”

Much of DiGiovanni’s past research has focused on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with cancer development. A major new research direction focuses on the impact of obesity on cancer development and progression, including obesity that occurs early in life.

“Obesity in children has risen dramatically in recent years,” DiGiovanni said. “Obesity in both adults and children increases risk of cancer development as well as severity of the disease for a number of important cancers. However, the mechanisms that underlie the effects of obesity on cancer development and progression are not well understood.

“Our research aims to address these mechanisms and to identify molecular targets and strategies to offset the increased cancer risk and mortality associated with obesity.”

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Texas and the nation, DiGiovanni said. There is no single known cause or cure for cancer.

“Behavioral and lifestyle factors are the leading causes of cancer mortality in the United States,” DiGiovanni said. “The human and economic toll from illness and untimely death resulting from cancer is enormous, thereby making present-day prevention efforts all the more imperative.

“Despite the remarkable treatment advances in the past several decades, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children between the ages of one and 14 years.”

DiGiovanni said the growing epidemic of childhood obesity is alarming. Over the past 25 years, the number of Texas children and adolescents who are overweight or obese has more than quadrupled, with nearly 25 percent of elementary, middle school and high school students overweight, and another 20 percent at high risk of becoming overweight, he said.

“This epidemic is occurring in both boys and girls, across all socioeconomic lines and among all racial and ethnic groups,” DiGiovanni said. “Approximately 75 percent of overweight children will be obese adults. Thus, it is extremely important to develop effective strategies for preventing obesity and obesity-related diseases in children and young adults.”

For more information, contact: Nancy Neff, Office of Public Affairs, 512-657-6602; John DiGiovanni, College of Pharmacy, 512-495-4726.

Dr. John Wallingford (College of Natural Sciences) and Dr. Tim George (Dell Children’s Medical Center) highlight ways in which the new Dell Pediatric Research Institute (DPRI) will allow critical relationships to be forged between clinicians and researchers. Wallingford and George use their own work–in neural tube defects such as spina bifida–as an example of how collaboration at DRPI can accelerate advances in diagnosis and therapies for childrens’ health. Video by Christina Murrey.

Kenny Wilson, Central and South Texas president for Bank of America, presented the gift at a reception hosted by university officials to educate local community leaders on the interdisciplinary benefits the new institute and the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas will have on pediatric medical research.

“As a company, we believe that healthy communities create strong businesses,” Wilson said. “UT Austin has made a tremendous investment in the health of our community’s greatest assets: our children. We applaud the university’s efforts and are proud to take this opportunity to join them in the creation of the institute, which will serve as an anchor in our community by driving economic growth, attracting leading experts and generating world-class research in the field of pediatric medicine.”

The Dell Pediatric Research Institute will combine The University of Texas at Austin’s expertise in life sciences, pharmacology, technology, biomedical engineering and other disciplines with the resources of the new Dell Children’s Medical Center, which opened in June. Researchers from the University of Texas System’s other health science institutions will also contribute to the center, establishing Austin as a center of excellence for children’s health and biomedical research.

A recent study commissioned by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce showed Austin’s health care industry carries an annual economic impact of about $8.8 billion and employs more than 85,000 people. The study concluded that a quality medical enterprise helped recruit other businesses and establish improved long-term quality of life for area residents.

The cash contribution, the largest gift from a corporate foundation for the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, will be used toward completion of the $97 million, 150,000-square-foot facility, which is under construction at the former Austin municipal airport site. The institute is scheduled to open in December 2008.

“The University of Texas at Austin joins the citizens of our community and all of Central Texas in thanking the Bank of America Charitable Foundation for this very generous gift,” William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin, said. “It will make possible innovation in the sciences, biomedical engineering and pharmacology. And it will help us to offer the most advanced health care to children and provide a healthier future for generations to come. We are deeply indebted to the Bank of America.”

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation awarded a $38 million gift in May 2006 to help establish a pediatric health research institute in Austin. The UT System Board of Regents also authorized $45 million in support of the project. Of that amount, $25 million in bond proceeds from the Permanent University Fund was applied toward construction of the facility. The other $15 million was awarded from the Available University Fund and $5 million came from the UT System’s Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention (STARs) program to recruit a top-notch director for the institute and provide faculty and equipment start-up costs.

“Bank of America’s generous gift will significantly facilitate the University of Texas’ efforts to improve the lives of thousands of children in Austin and Central Texas,” said Randa S. Safady, vice chancellor for external relations for the University of Texas System. “A corporate gift of this magnitude speaks volumes about the business community’s interest in ensuring the vitality and health of Austin’s growing population, and we’re grateful that Bank of America has taken a leadership role in doing so.”

With the Bank of America Charitable Foundation $1 million gift, private support for the project received to date is $44 million. Other contributors include The RGK Foundation of Austin and the Topfer Family Foundation of Austin.

“We are thrilled with this commitment to children and their parents because it further demonstrates our shared vision to ensure the availability of world-class health care, research and education right here in Austin,” said Susan Dell, co-founder and chairwoman of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

For more information, contact: Britney Sheehan, Bank of America, 305-407-6154.