Ann Arbor, MI — March 5, 2007 — For the second consecutive year, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry's Dr. Russell Taichman has been awarded nearly $100,000 from the Prostate Cancer Foundation to investigate why prostate cancer spreads to the bone.

Taichman, a professor in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, was among 63 researchers in four countries receiving an award from PCF, the world's largest philanthropic source of support for prostate cancer research. The Foundation, which received 420 applications from 22 countries, awards innovative venture-style research funding to support high-impact research projects with the greatest potential to improve survival and reduce side effects and death for men with advanced prostate cancer.

Taichman will receive $99,935 to fund his study, “Prostate Cancer Parasitism of the Stem Cell Niche." This study builds on the work of a previous award in which Taichman's research team explored how blood stem cells and prostate cancers function simultaneously. In this new study, the team will explore if the two cell types occupy the same environment or niche in the marrow.

Last year, Taichman was awarded $100,000 by the Foundation to investigate factors that cause prostate cancer to spread to the bone.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation is the world's largest philanthropic source of support for prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $288 million and provided funding for prostate cancer research to more than 1,200 investigators at 100 institutions worldwide. The PCF has a simple, yet urgent goal: to find better treatments and a cure for recurrent prostate cancer. For more information visit the Web at www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation's leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care, and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the School to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia, and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.

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