 "Dr. Linda" "Dr. Linda" and her team are the essential complement necessary to allow Indiana University's breast cancer research program to fully participate in the genetic revolution created by the mapping of the human genome. The university is now becoming a leader in unlocking the clues that could provide a cure for this elusive disease. Husbands and wives often share passions, but few take them to the workplace like Linda H. Malkas and Robert J. Hickey, two of IUPUI's world-class cancer researchers in the IU School of Medicine. Malkas, the Vera Bradley Professor of Oncology, and Hickey are both part of the IU Cancer Center and the school's hematology/oncology division, and illustrate the campus's determination to unlock the riddles that surround the onset and evolution of cancer. Both Malkas and Hickey, who came to the IUPUI campus from the University of Maryland, are heavily involved in the fight against breast cancer. Malkas has developed an impressive research program, a strong record of intramural funding and an international reputation for research on the molecular biology of breast cancer. Her investigations of DNA replication and biomarkers have led to important new diagnostic/prognostic tools for cancer detection and treatment. Hickey, also renowned in the field of ovarian cancer, is part of the IUPUI-based cancer target team that is an integral part of the BioCrossroads project, a public-private partnership linking private industry (like Eli Lilly & Co.), government (Indiana and Indianapolis) and the research strengths of Hoosier universities (IU, Purdue and IUPUI). | Dr. Linda Malkas Bio
During Dr. Malkas' tenure at Maryland she was the first to isolate and characterize a fully functional multiprotein complex from human cells that supports DNA replication in vitro. Dr. Malkas then demonstrated that the DNA replication apparatus of human breast cancer cells mediates an error-prone (mutagenic) DNA synthetic process. She was also able to correlate acquisition of a mutagenic DNA replication mechanism in breast cancer with a modification of a specific protein in the DNA synthetic apparatus. Dr. Malkas is evaluating this protein as a potential biomarker for breast cancer and as a target for cancer therapy. Dr. Malkas attained the rank of Full Professor at the University of Maryland in July 2001. In January 2002 Dr. Malkas joined the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine as a Professor of Medicine, and was named the Vera Bradley Chair for Oncology. In March Dr. Malkas was named the co-leader of the Indiana University Cancer Center's Hormone and Reproductive Oncology Program. In 2006, she was given the additional title of Professor of Surgery. Dr. Malkas has been invited to participate in a variety of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD) grant review study sections. These include: permanent membership on the NIH Experimental Therapies I (1994-1998) and the Cancer Molecular Pathobiology Study Sections (2003-2007), a variety of NIH Program Project Review Committees and special review panels, a number of DOD Breast Cancer Program grant review panels and chairing a DOD ovarian program project review panel (Sept. 2001). |
