Modified visualization of an IF-stained tumor section (Courtesy of the Kelber Lab).

CSUN molecular biologist receives renewed support from NIH to study breast cancer at the cellular level

The Kelber laboratory has received a second cycle of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) NIGMS SCORE grant program to continue investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cancer metastasis.

This SC1 grant will provide $1.45 million over 4 years for Kelber’s group to study the spatiotemporal mechanisms of eIF5A1/2-mediated metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer — the most lethal of breast cancers, for which no targeted therapies currently exist. This grant is a natural extension of Kelber lab members’ efforts over the past six years, including publications by postdoctoral researchers Robert Guth and Farhana Runa; graduate students Yvess Adamian, Kayla Meade, Francesca Sanchez, Malachia Hoover, Sa La Kim, Armen Gharibi, and Megan Agajanian; and undergraduate researcher Analine Aguayo.

Of particular significance is the recent announcement by the NIH that SCORE grant recipients are eligible to apply for additional Diversity Supplements to support promising trainee candidates. The lab will aim to use these funds to support eligible undergraduates in the lab as well as recruit additional postdoctoral scholar talent to advance the careers of those otherwise underrepresented within STEM disciplines and biomedicine.