Collaborative prostate cancer project led by Kristin A. Taskén supported by the Movember Foundation

K.A. Taskén with Movember initiator Justin Coughlan (photo Turid Eide)

During last years "Movember" - an annual month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer. The Movember Foundation and associated charities raised 839 mill NOK worldwide. 
As Movember's collaborator in Norway, the Norwegian Cancer Society distritubes 3.6 mill NOK to national research on prostate cancer. One of the two projects receiving support is a collaborative effort led by Kristin Austlid Taskén from the Department of Tumor Biology at the Institute for Cancer Research and Ian G. Mills from the Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM). The project is entitled "Identification of Biomarkers for Indolent and Aggressive Prostate Cancer".

Statements from project leader Kristin Austlid Taskén:

We have let us inspire by Movember's philosophy and established a collaborative projct involving 24 research groups in Norway, all working within the field of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is a complex disease, and we need access to biological samples from many patients as well as input from many fields of interest in order to succeed.
Through actively exchanging information between research groups and by analyzing the results collectively we are able to optimize the amount of knowledge produced.
Our goal is to make it easier for urologists to inform their patients whether they av a benign or aggressive disease, thus making it possible to give them a treatment best suited to the individual patient.
Ian Mills and Kristin Austlid Taskén are both involved in other global Movember projects (http://ca.movember.com/programs/research) and they have been inspired by the way these projects are organized.

For more information about the project: please contact Kristin A. Taskén or Ian G. Mills.

Links:

Home page of Kristin Austlid Taskén's Group of Urological Molecular Biology

Home page of Ian G. Mills Prostate Cancer Group at NCMM

News item from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK):
Movember initiator Justin Coughlan meets Anne Grete Ryel from the Norwegian Cancer Society and Kristin Austlid Taskén in Taskéns lab at the Institute for Cancer Research, Montebello 
Mannen bak Movember i Norge (starting at 6:00 in the clip)

From the nrk.no web pages
Norske barter samler inn millioner ("Norwegian moustaches collect millions")

From the home page of the Norwegian Cancer Society (in Norwegian):
Movember-bartene vokser videre ("Movember moustaches continues growing")

Movember home page - movember.com