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November 2, 2007
Purdue names director of Discovery Park's Oncological Sciences Center
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
Marietta Harrison, who has been interim director of the center since its launch in July 2005, will lead the Oncological Sciences Center as it integrates the broad areas of research in life sciences, liberal arts, engineering and chemical sciences to focus on wider aspects of the cancer problem, said Alan H. Rebar, executive director of Purdue's Discovery Park.
Her appointment is effective immediately.
The Oncological Sciences Center, created through a gift from Lilly Endowment in 2005 and housed in the Gerald D. and Edna E. Mann Hall, builds on existing research areas and is expanding Purdue's thrust into nanotechnology, drug delivery, and cancer care and prevention.
Harrison said she will continue working closely with the Purdue Cancer Center, expanding research in experimental therapeutics for new cancer drugs and diagnostic tools and in structural biology for examining cancer cell proteins to help drugs target them more effectively. She also will seek new opportunities, forge new partnerships and cultivate new relationships to advance cancer research beyond the laboratory.
Harrison will remain associate director of the Purdue Cancer Center, a post she has held since 1999.
Harrison, who received her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Wyoming and did postdoctoral training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, joined the faculty of Purdue's College of Pharmacy in 1989.
Her research focuses on mechanisms underlying the activation of the immune system. She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles.
This year Harrison received the Collaborator of the Year Award from the Indianapolis-based Walther Cancer Institute for her collaborative efforts with the Indiana University School of Medicine Cancer Center. She also has served on several National Institutes of Health study sections and on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: Alan H. Rebar, (765) 496-6625, rebar@purdue.edu
Marietta Harrison, (765) 494-1442, harrison@pharmacy.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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