Cancer researcher, NICU units shine

Medical Center faculty and staff often are recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for their academic or medical achievements. These accolades place UMMC among health science centers worldwide.

Researcher’s award to aid investigations of bone cancer in children

Dr. Nicole Anderson, University of Mississippi Medical Center assistant professor of cell and molecular biology, has received a $330,000 Scholar Grant from the St. Baldrick's Foundation for her research on bone metastasis in children with neuroblastomas.

UMMC’s Cancer Center and Research Institute and its Department of Cell and Molecular Biology are home to the three-year project.

“This project is new but builds on previous findings that our zebrafish model of neuroblastoma efficiently models the process of metastasis,” Anderson said. Earlier this year, Anderson was named co-chair of the Early Career Investigator committee within the Zebrafish Disease Models Society.

“We hope that by improving our understanding of metastatic disease in neuroblastoma, we can identify new therapeutic targets,” she said.

An Intramural Research Support Program grant from UMMC helped provide the preliminary data needed to secure the funding from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants.

Metastatic disease is the primary cause of death for children with neuroblastomas – a type of cancer that develops in nerve tissue.

“Despite improvements in therapy, the overall survival rate for neuroblastoma patients is only 60%, and for children who achieve long-term survival, most are left with health issues due to treatment toxicity,” Anderson said.

“Our research will define why bone marrow is so advantageous for metastasis formation – 90% of metastatic patients have bone marrow metastases – and how cell dormancy helps neuroblastomas evade conventional treatment strategies.”

Anderson’s research in pediatric cancer spans 12 years. “I am passionate about developing innovative ways to solve long-standing questions about neuroblastomas and improving the outcomes for this vulnerable patient population,” she said.

The Scholar Award from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an honor as well as a source of needed funding, Anderson said.

“I want to thank the staff and volunteers who work hard at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to raise funds for pediatric cancer research as well as the donors who generously support pediatric cancer research.”

Progress in this research would not have been possible without her team, Anderson said.

“My entire lab has played an important role in generating critical preliminary data for this award: graduate students Kyle Woodward and Farah Hamdad in cell and molecular biology, Base Pair and SURE student Perla Luna-Camacho, technicians Borum Ryu, Brian Tran [now a medical student at UMMC] and Jackson Boone,” she said.

“I am really lucky to work with a fantastic team.”

For a second year, Children’s of Mississippi’s neonatal intensive care units in the Sanderson Tower and Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants placed first in their division and in the top 10 NICUs overall during the annual nationwide Babies with Books Read-a-thon.

A record 6,569 stories were read at Children’s of Mississippi this year, topping the 5,704 reading sessions from 2024’s competition.

Children’s of Mississippi’s team at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo finished seventh overall and seventh among smaller NICUs. Children’s of Mississippi in Jackson finished eighth overall and first among larger NICUs.

“Reading in the NICU has been demonstrated to be important for speech and language development, school readiness, and success later on in life,” states the Babies with Books website.