Leaders of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa have named three researchers as recipients of the second round of the 2012 American Cancer Society seed grant awards.

The awards allow junior faculty members and independent research scientists to explore new ideas related to the cause, prevention, and treatment of cancer.

The three grant recipients, all faculty in the UI Carver College of Medicine, will each receive a one-year, $30,000 grant.

• Suzanne Cassel, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine, will investigate the role of an immune system molecule, NLRC4, in the formation of melanoma tumors.
• Miles Pufall, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry, will use a genome-wide, high-coverage, gene-silencing screening technology to investigate causes of treatment resistance in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• William Rockey, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology, will develop and test a new dual-labeled imaging agent for prostate cancer, which can be used with positron emission tomography (PET) and near-infrared optical imaging.