Dr. Leonard Weather Jr., R.Ph., gynecologist and past president of the National Medical Association, was recently appointed to the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum’s Board of Directors. The LHCQF is a private, non-pro t organization led by a volunteer board of directors and serves as a neutral convener, bringing providers, purchasers, payers and consumers together to drive improvements in health care quality, safety and value for Louisiana residents.

Dr. Jun Chung and his team at LSU Health Shreveport have been awarded a new 5-year, $1.4-million R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute. Through this grant, Chung and his team will study the role of a critical molecule, alpha6beta4 integrin, in breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the secondleading cause of cancer death of women in the US. When the levels of alpha6beta4 integrin are elevated in breast cancer, patients are more likely to die from their cancer. This is because the protein triggers breast cancer cells to spread from their origin to distant organs of the body. However, no therapeutic intervention targeting alpha6beta4 integrin has yet been developed. Chung hopes to develop therapeutic strategies that will block the function of alpha6beta4 integrin. An associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chung has focused his research career on the biology of integrins and breast cancer.

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