Georgia Tech’s Faculty/Staff Newspaper • Vol. 37, No. 8 • April 16, 2012 WTHE histle ASK AWAY Compound Halts the Spread of Brain Cancer Cells ABBY ROBINSON stops tumor invasion into healthy tissue How can I sign up RESEARCH NEWS and enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy, for a crime which suggests that chemotherapy may be prevention ? class to learn Using a combination of chemo- more effective when the target is station- ? ary,” said Ravi Bellamkonda, Carol Ann about campus therapy and radiation to treat brain safety strategies? tumors has improved clinical out- and David D. Flanagan Chair in Biomedical Engineering. “These results reveal a new comes — but few patients survive According strategy for treating brain cancer that could to Alex more than two years after their improve clinical outcomes.” Gutierrez, condition is diagnosed. In addition to Bellamkonda, collabora- crime pre- tors on the project include Jack Arbiser, vention The effectiveness of the treatment is a professor in the Emory University officer for hindered by how aggressively the tumor Department of Dermatology; Daniel the Georgia Tech Police invades healthy brain tissue, which makes Brat, a professor in the Emory University Department, crime preven- it difficult for the chemotherapy to reach Department of Pathology and Laboratory tion classes are available to the cancer cells and complicates surgical Medicine; and the paper’s lead author, all students, faculty and staff removal of the tumor. To address this chal- Jennifer Munson, who was a bioengineer- members. The crime preven- ing graduate student in the School of lenge, researchers from Georgia Tech and Image courtesy of Jennifer Munson Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering tion officers will provide Emory University have designed a new The image on the left is of an untreated when the research was conducted. classes on an as-needed/ treatment approach that appears to stop the tumor, and the image on the right is as-available basis. To request spread of cancer cells into normal brain tis- of a tumor treated with the compound “I formulated the imipramine blue com- a class, visit http://police. sue in animals. imipramine blue. Researchers count the pound as a triphenylmethane dye because gatech.edu/services. The researchers treated animals that had number of tumor cells (green) per the I knew that another triphenylmethane dye, invasive tumors by inserting a membra- area of healthy tissue (red) to quantify gentian violet, exhibited anti-cancer prop- Have a Tech-related nous pouch containing a molecule called the invasion of tumor cells beyond the erties,” Arbiser said. “I decided to use imip- question that you’d like “imipramine blue” into the animal. This tumor border (the blue dotted line). ramine — a drug used to treat depression answered? Email it to treatment was followed by conventional — as the starting material because I knew [email protected]. and the animals survived longer than ani- chemotherapy with doxorubicin. it could get into the brain.” mals treated with chemotherapy alone. With this treatment strategy, the tumors “Our results show that imipramine blue stopped expanding into the healthy tissue, CANCER, continued on page 2 NEWS BRIEFS ‘Rent’ Due at Mekong Green Tech Wins Ideas to SERVE DramaTech this Month Faculty, Staff Competition ARMINA KHWAJA Mekong COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Members Honored Green Tech’s Georgia Tech’s campus is filled with integral piec- at Annual Luncheon technol- es of history, one being its very own theater com- ogy to pany, DramaTech. clean up Vietnam’s rural brick- making industry won first place and People’s Choice at The company the 2012 Ideas to SERVE (I2S) began in 1947 and, Competition. Read the full despite periodic eco- story at nomic and political turmoil, has oper- tinyurl.com/7kw9mam ated ever since, making it the oldest Tech Sponsors continually running theater company in Science, Engineering Atlanta. DramaTech Festival Expo is located in a small Image courtesy of Melinda Ellington theater in the rear Rent will be performed at 8 p.m. on More than April 18, 19, 20 and 21. 25 faculty of the Robert Ferst and staff will Center for the Arts. travel to All this month, DramaTech is performing the rock musical Washington, Rent, winner of the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical, which Image courtesy of Zach Porter D.C., April was reincarnated as a motion picture in 2005. The script is based on Puccini’s “La Bohème” and follows a year in the life 27 to 29, to demonstrate the On April 12, faculty and staff gathered to honor colleagues at Institute’s commitment to edu- of eight friends in the late 1980s. The characters are faced with the annual Faculty and Staff Honors Luncheon. Pictured above cation in science, technology, social issues while struggling to make a living in New York City is the administrative team from Stamps Health Services, which engineering and mathematics and follow the tagline, “No day but today.” earned an Outstanding Staff Performance Award. For a full list of at the national level. Find out The culture of DramaTech, a student-run organization, can this year’s 25-Year Service Award honorees and Institute award recipients, turn to page 3. more at be described as nothing short of unique, according to Melinda tinyurl.com/cj65ygv RENT, continued on page 2 www.whistle.gatech.edu EVENTS Campus News ARTS & Chair Named for Civil, Environmental Engineering CULTURE Reginald neering into the future,” said Gary S. May, ulty, staff and alumni,” DesRoches said. “This DesRoches has dean of the College of Engineering. “He is an is an exciting time for the civil and environ- April 22 active researcher and highly regarded educa- mental engineering profession, and I believe The Georgia Tech Chorale and been appointed tor. Reggie has the vision, scholarship, experi- that our program is well positioned to lead in Chamber Choir will perform with the the new Karen Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra at ence, temperament and outstanding reputa- educating and empowering our students to 3 p.m. at the Ferst Center. and John tion in fields critical to the school that make solve future global challenges.” www.music.gatech.edu Huff Chair him ideally suited and prepared to lead.” DesRoches earned his PhD in structural in the School As chair, DesRoches will oversee a school engineering from the University of California April 23 to June 1 of Civil and that is consistently ranked as one of the at Berkeley. His primary research interests The Innermost Room is an exhibition nation’s most prominent programs of its kind are design of buildings and critical infrastruc- of rescued photographs and public Environmental in both graduate and undergraduate educa- ture subjected to extreme loads, seismic risk documents. Featuring original images Engineering, and video, the exhibit will benefit Reginald DesRoches tion. assessment of transportation systems, and Operation Photo Rescue. It is open effective May 15. “I am honored to be chosen as the next application of smart materials in seismic- to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 5 school chair, and I look forward to working resistant design and retrofit. p.m. at the Robert C. Williams Paper “Without a doubt, Reggie is the very best with an outstanding group of students, fac- Museum. person to lead civil and environmental engi- www.ce.gatech.edu http://ipst.gatech.edu April 29 The Ferst Center presents Mohammad Tech Honored as Bicycle Friendly University Reza Shajarian and Shahnaz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Call 404-894- Georgia Tech has earned the Committee (BIIC). “The criteria vary, but are 9600 for ticket information. focused on ‘the five Es’ — education, enforce- www.ferstcenter.gatech.edu national honor of being named a Bicycle Friendly University by the ment, engineering, encouragement and evalu- ation.” League of American Bicyclists. The CONFERENCES The BIIC convened in January 2011 to tack- Institute earned a silver designation le large-scale enhancements related to cycling AND LECTURES among the 2012 group of honorees, on campus. The group of students and staff making it the easternmost university has helped make visible cycling improvements April 18 to campus in its year and a half of operation, The Center for 21st Century to earn that ranking or higher. Universities will sponsor a town hall including additional bike lanes and sharrows. featuring Udacity’s Sebastian Thrun, “We submitted an extensive applica- “I want to commend our student leadership who will speak on innovation in higher tion, which was reviewed by the League of and members of the Bicycle Infrastructure Georgia Tech is the easternmost university to education at 2:30 p.m. in LeCraw American Bicyclists, as well as local judges Improvement Committee who have worked so earn the silver designation among the 2012 Auditorium, College of Management. diligently in making Georgia Tech an official Bicycle Friendly University honorees. www.c21u.gatech.edu who are familiar with Tech, Atlanta and peer institutions,” said Johann Weber, a gradu- ‘bike friendly’ campus,” said President G. P. “Bud” Peterson. reapply to maintain or improve its status. April 19 ate student in public policy who compiled The designation as a Bicycle Friendly The College of Computing’s Noonan and submitted the application as chair of http://bike.gatech.edu Distinguished Lecture will feature the Bicycle Infrastructure Improvement University lasts four years before Tech must Lance Fortnow, incoming chair of the School of Computer Science, who will speak on “Bounding Rationality by CANCER, continued from page 1 RENT, continued from page 1 Computational Complexity” at 4 p.m. in the Tech Square Research Building Because imipramine blue is hydrophobic and cannot mix with Ellington, a fifth-year international affairs major and president of Auditorium. RSVP at water, and the chemotherapy drug (doxorubicin) is toxic to the DramaTech.