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Bio-Techne Awards 40,000 USD Research Grant to Innovative Cancer Researcher

Advanced Cell Diagnostics

Melanoma researcher selected as the winner of ‘RNAscope ISH Get Hybridized’ giveaway, supporting cutting-edge research

17 Nov 2017
Finn Price
Administrator / Office Personnel

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Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD), a Bio-Techne brand, has announced the winner of its ‘RNAscope ISH Get Hybridized’ giveaway, designed to recognize and support groundbreaking research with RNAscope® in situ hybridization (ISH) technology. The winner, Dr. Andreas Behren, Group Leader in Cancer Immunobiology at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research (ONJCRI) Institute in Melbourne, Australia, received the grand prize—a 40,000 USD research grant—at a well-attended reception at Madame Tussauds in Washington DC on November 13, 2017.

Several thousand researchers from around the world participated in the year-long giveaway by describing their research and its impact, as well as a potential role for RNAscope ISH. In addition to the 40,000 USD grand prize, ACD also gave away eight 2,000 USD grants during the year - donating a total of 56,000 USD to research. Dr Behren was awarded the grand prize in recognition of his research on the interplay between the immune system and cancer - classifying immune cells and studying their activation status.

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Describing the impact of his research, Dr. Behren commented: “The information from our research could be a step forward in understanding why some tumors respond to immunotherapy and others don’t. When I heard I’d won the giveaway,” he continued, “I immediately thought about the possibilities for RNAscope in our projects. Often there isn’t money to develop or adjust novel assays or methods to specific questions, so I am delighted and grateful to now have this opportunity with the ACD research grant.”

Dr Behren went on to explain the utility of RNAscope in his research: “Using RNAscope, we hope to track and visualize antigen-specific T cells in situ and profile their activation status and immune-checkpoint expression pattern. With this information, it would be possible to determine the activation profile of tumor-specific T cells and their location within the tumor-microenvironment in FFPE tissues. Hopefully, this will reveal novel targetable mechanisms that contribute to resistance to immunotherapies.”

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ACD’s revolutionary RNAscope and BaseScope ISH assays provide a much-needed easy-to-use platform capable of detecting and quantifying RNA at single‐molecule sensitivity. Xiao-Jun Ma, Chief Scientific Officer at ACD noted: “RNAscope is on its way to becoming a gold standard for in situ expression analysis, thanks to its wide-ranging utility in many research areas. Dr. Behren’s work on the functional characterization of immune cells in the native tumor microenvironment is a great example of groundbreaking research facilitated by the unique advantages of RNAscope. I am confident that RNAscope will prove instrumental in the results of this ongoing work and in advancing this exciting field. We look forward to continue working with this group as they push the limits of our technology.”

Reflecting on working with ACD, Dr. Behren said: “Having previously worked with ACD, our experience so far has been very good. ACD’s technical support and expertise is great and they are always approachable and interested in listening to our needs.”

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ImmunologyImmunological techniques measure and characterize immune responses. Immunology kits and analysis systems often use techniques such as ELISA, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and immunodiffusion assays, Immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry. Immunologists use equipment such as flow Cytometers, plate readers, plate washers and fluorescent microscopes.DNA / RNA Extraction and PurificationPurified DNA and RNA are required for numerous downstream molecular biology applications. Consequently, the importance of high-quality DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment cannot be underestimated. Many purification kits are available and are typically optimized for nucleic acid type and source, including plasmid DNA, genomic DNA, mRNA, RNA and viral nucleic acid purification kits. Automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids can be implemented with magnetic bead separator instruments or high-throughput purification workstations. Find the best DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.DNA / RNA QuantificationDetection and quantification of nucleic acids is important in molecular biology, cloning, expression, forensics and clinical diagnostics. Nucleic acids can be detected by labeling with colorimetric, fluorescent or radio labels and using in situ hybridization kits to identify specific sequences. Multiple nucleic acids can be detected and quantified at once using RNA / DNA detection beads or RNA / DNA microarrays. Find the best DNA / RNA Quantification products in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.RNARNA is a nucleic acid that plays a key role in gene expression and protein synthesis. It serves as a messenger between DNA and ribosomes, carrying genetic instructions to produce proteins. Advances in RNA-based therapies, such as mRNA vaccines and gene editing, have revolutionized treatment strategies for genetic disorders and infectious diseases. Explore RNA research tools and therapies in our peer-reviewed product directory; compare products, check customer reviews, and get pricing directly from manufacturers.FFPEFormalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are commonly used in medical research, particularly in histology and cancer studies. The preservation process allows long-term storage of tissue samples for later analysis. Explore FFPE research products in our peer-reviewed product directory; compare products, check reviews, and get pricing directly from manufacturers.Cancer ResearchAlthough cancer is often referred to as a single condition, it actually consists of more than 100 different diseases. Microscopy, mass spectrometry, high throughput sequencing and flow cytometry are some of the most common techniques employed in cancer research labs.

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