TRED Annual Report FY 2017

29 NSU CENTER FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH 28 NSU AUTONATION INSTITUTE FOR BREAST AND SOLID TUMOR CANCER RESEARCH CCR Mission The newly opened Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) is one of the largest (215,000 square feet) and most advanced research facilities in Florida. Located on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, the CCR has state-of-the-art laboratories and is equipped with wet and dry labs; leading research equipment, including access to a high-performance computing environment; and other resources, such as Florida LambdaRail, a high- speed broadband service delivery network. Staff Members Jill L. Hacket, Ed.D., M.B.A., MHRM, SHRP Director of Institutional Research Strategy and Administration Sara Tavakoli, Ph.D. Scientific Director for Research Facilities Javier Foronda Vivarium Core Manager Kimberly Kusser Laboratory Coordinator II Emily Blake, M.S. Data Analyst II Suzanne Branecki Vivarium Core Technician Awilda Ortiz Administrative Assistant II • developing diagnostic and therapeutic cancer care strategies through basic research that can be translated to clinical trials for the cure of breast and solid tumor cancers • developing a tissue repository of solid tumors and creating tumor and matching non-tumor adjacent cell lines for further investigation to generate targeted cancer therapies based on gene expression • evaluating the epigenetics (reversible genetic makeup) of cancer cells and determining possible uses of microRNA (the part of the genome that regulates gene expression) in blocking their ability to resist drugs, which could be used in future treatment protocols for metastatic disease • testing chemicals included in a variety of commonly used consumer products to determine if there is a possible link to cancer, and educating the public and regulatory agencies of concerning findings, and • using blood tests to check for specific biomarkers that could indicate if a patient is predisposed to cancer and assessing whether patients will be responsive to chemotherapy , and • analyzing the origin of cancer based on ancestral and racial disparities in cancer outcomes OUR RESEARCH