Professor and Vice Chair of Basic Research James Bibb, Ph.D., will be honored on April 28 at the SDHB Pheo-Para Coalition Annual Gala with their Science Award. This year, the gala will be virtual.
Intracellular signal transduction mechanisms that drive neuroendocrine tumor neoplasticity is a major area of focus in Bibb’s lab. The SDHB Pheo-Para Coalition recently funded research on the causes and possible new treatments for pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma being conducted collaboratively by Dr. Bibb and Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Division of Surgical Oncology Sushanth Reddy, M.D.
The SDHB Coalition stated that they continue to support the research scientist-surgical oncologist team who are studying SDHB signaling mechanisms that drive pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.
The coalition notes that Bibb and Reddy have advanced the study of pheochromocytoma and now are now revising an important manuscript for a high impact journal that shows a major advance in understanding the causes and identifying new treatment approaches. The team, which includes researcher Priyanka Gupta, has also identified a new mechanism by which SDHB mutations alter metabolism, mitochondrial dynamics, and identified tumorigenic signaling mechanisms consistent with their original scientific hypothesis.
Additionally, Bibb and Reddy are identifying new diagnostic biomarkers and are testing new targeted drug therapies with the goal of moving effective treatments to clinical trials. Finally, they have identified improved drug delivery systems using biomimetic nanoparticles with higher efficiency and lower toxicity. The coalition notes that this excellent progress in the last year will be the subject of new publications in 2022.
Bibb is proud to represent UAB Surgery on this national stage as a basic scientist and part of a surgeon-scientist team.
“It is an honor to have been selected for this award and be recognized by the SDHB Coalition,” said Bibb. “They have been extremely supportive of our research in the UAB Department of Surgery, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”