Grant from Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Assists UB in Study of Prostate Cancer

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has awarded a $7,500 grant for a study of prostate cancer to the Department of Medicine in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Lowell Sheflin, Ph.D. '79, UB research assistant professor of medicine working at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, is in charge of the year-long study. He will look at how loss of androgen-mediated changes in two RNA-binding proteins affects the expression of early-response genes that are known to cause prostate cancer to become malignant.

"This study ultimately will help in the early detection and therapy of prostate cancer, using the proteins as metastatic cancer markers," Sheflin said.

Sheflin has conducted endocrinology research at the Buffalo VA Medical Center in collaboration with Stephen W. Spaulding, UB professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, since 1987.

The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, created in 1919, makes annual grants to charities and nonprofit organizations in Western New York, as well as scholarships to college-bound students from the area. With assets of approximately $120 million, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $10 million in grants and scholarships in the past two years.

The grant is part of UB's $250 million campaign, one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it is the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it is the first national/international, university-wide campaign to be alumni-driven with campaign volunteer leaders from across the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.