Agilent Technologies Thought Leader Award Supports Dr. Ronald A. DePinho And Translational Research Program At MD Anderson Cancer Center

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, a world-renowned oncologist and researcher, has received an Agilent Thought Leader Award.

DePinho is president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The award will support his research into metabolic reprogramming in the earliest stages of cancer.

DePinho and his team hope to discover and characterize alterations in metabolic flux during tumor initiation and maintenance, and to identify biomarkers for early detection of pancreatic cancer together with novel therapeutic targets. Researchers on his team will work with scientists from the university’s newly formed Institute of Applied Cancer Sciences.

The Agilent Thought Leader Award provides funds to support personnel as well as a state-of-the-art Agilent 6550 iFunnel Q-TOF LC/MS system.

“I am extremely pleased to receive this award for metabolomics research, as the survival rates for pancreatic cancer have not significantly improved over the past 20 years,” DePinho said. “This technology will allow us to rapidly identify new targets that drive the formation, progression and maintenance of pancreatic cancer. Discoveries from this research will also lead to the development of effective early detection biomarkers and novel therapeutic interventions.”

“We are proud to support Dr. DePinho’s exciting translational research program, which will make use of metabolomics and integrated biology workflows and solutions in biomarker discovery,” said Patrick Kaltenbach, Agilent vice president and general manager of the Liquid Phase Division. Kaltenbach is also the executive sponsor of this award.

“The ability to investigate in a comprehensive, unbiased manner the metabolic adaptations that occur during the development of pancreatic cancer will be greatly enhanced by this [Agilent 6550 iFunnel Q-TOF LC/MS] instrument,” said Dr. Giulio Draetta, director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science. “The insights gained from these studies will allow us to understand the changes that occur during the evolution of pancreatic cancer. Armed with novel biomarkers, earlier diagnosis and treatment will be possible, leading to improved patient outcomes. Additional opportunities for novel therapeutic intervention will also emerge from this work.”

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