< PreviousFor most academic scientists con- ducting biomedical research, the possi- bility of advancing a new medicine to the clinic is, at best, an aspiration. Despite the odds, Gary Piazza and his research team in Auburn’s Harrison College of Pharmacy discovered a highly potent and selective anticancer drug and are collaborating with investigators at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center to advance a new drug candidate to clinical trials for patients with the most fatal of cancers. Piazza joined the Harrison College of Pharmacy (HCOP) in 2021 as the W.W. Walker Professor and head of the Department of Drug Discovery and Development. A highly respected can- cer investigator, Piazza is a UAB grad- uate with over 35 years of research experience, including 10 years as a professor at the University of South Al- abama Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI) in Mobile and 10 years as a principal scientist with Southern Research in Birmingham. Along with his administrative respon- sibilities, Piazza continues his ground- breaking research as director of the newly created Cancer Research Center at HCOP. His collaborators also made the move from MCI to Auburn includ- ing medicinal chemist Xi Chen, cancer biologist Adam Keeton, pharmacologist Yulia Maxuitenko and lab manager Kristy Berry. “Having a multidisciplinary team with diverse scientific expertise has allowed us to solve many technical problems as we seek to advance our experimental drugs to the clinic,” said Piazza. Piazza also brought with him multi- ple actively funded research projects, including three R01 projects from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute and a project from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, along with several million dol- lars in funding. SELECTIVE TARGETING From his early research in a class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflam- matory drugs (NSAID), Piazza was the first to publish evidence a drug called sulindac could kill cancer cells by a specific mecha- nism known as apoptosis, or programmed cell death. This research supported the clinical development of a sulindac deriva- tive called exisulind to treat precancerous colon adenomas (polyps) in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis who are at high risk of developing colorectal cancer. “NSAIDs are not considered to have strong anticancer activity and are not FDA approved for long-term use to either pre- vent or treat cancer because of potentially fatal gastrointestinal and other toxicities,” said Piazza. “Yet, this unusual anticancer activity of NSAIDs commonly used to treat everything from headaches to arthritis in- spired me to better understand the under- lying mechanism of action.” His research looks to use his novel series of compounds to inhibit a protein called RAS, a protein in which mutations in RAS genes have been known for de- cades to be responsible for many human cancers and those that are the most fa- tal, especially pancreatic, colorectal and lung. A UNIQUE APPROACH Piazza is optimistic that their lead compound, ADT-1004, is an attractive drug candidate inching closer and closer to clinical trials. Although more research is needed, Piazza is encouraged by the promising anticancer activity that ADT- 1004 has shown in mouse models of pancreatic cancer and our detailed un- derstanding of how the drug can selec- tively kill cancer cells. “In many ways, cancer cells are just like normal cells, especially those cells in tissues where there is rapid cell divi- sion, for example, in the gut,” said Piazza. “The difficulty in cancer drug develop- ment has always been the ability to find target-directed small molecules that can selectively kill cancer cells without harming normal cells.” POTENTIAL AT AUBURN Piazza is excited about what can be accomplished on the Plains to be a bea- con of hope in the battle to fight cancer. “Most of my career prior to joining Au- burn was in the pharmaceutical industry where I learned the value of collaboration and in cancer centers, I saw sick patients every day coming in for chemotherapy, which made me more determined not to be satisfied with only conducting basic research,” said Piazza. “At Auburn, I rec- ognized the diverse expertise within the college, which I believed could help solve some of the major hurdles we encoun- tered to advance our experimental anti- cancer drugs to the clinic.” To read more on the Piazza lab’s work, visit https://aub.ie/cancer. UNIVERSITY NEWS BY MATT CROUCH 50 UNIVERSITY NEWS AUBURNTIGERS.COM Gary Piazza came to Auburn in 2021 with a multidisciplinary team tasked with finding treatment options for the most fatal cancers. Gary Piazza, left, is a highly respected cancer investigator with over 35 years of research experience. At Auburn’s Harrison College of Pharmacy, he is di- rector of the Cancer Research Center, a professor and department head. A UNIQUE APPROACH TO CANCER TREATMENT: PIAZZA AND HIS PHARMACY TEAM BRING A NEW APPROACH TO CANCER RESEARCH AT AUBURNCardiacandVascularAwards from EastAlabamaMedicalCenteristheONLYhospital inAlabamatobeamongthetop5% ofhospitalsnationwideforcardiacsurgery! 2023Women'sChoiceAwardsBestHospitalsfor CancerCare,Orthopedics,andObstetrics Congratulationstoourstaff forearningtheseprestigiousawards! ServingOpelika,Auburn,Valleyandan11-countycoveragearea52 MEET THE COACHES: AUBURN TIGHT ENDS COACH BEN AIGAMAUA Faith, family and football. If you grew up in the South, you’ve probably seen the phrase on a shirt or a door hanger. But it’s more than just a charming slogan. It’s a mantra for a lot of peo- ple, a way of life. It’s no different in the Samoan culture. “Our culture is God first. Then family and football or whatev- er sport that you’re playing or whatever that next thing is,” said Ben Aigamaua, Auburn’s first-year tight ends coach. “In our culture, the biggest thing you will know about us is that we’re very humble. We’re going to put others first, and we’re going to do whatever it is we can do to help each other. We’re very laid back. We do a lot of listening. We don’t talk a lot until it’s time to voice whatever it is you need to voice.” Aigamaua was born and raised in American Samoa, a small island in the South Pacific. He played football on the island and earned a scholarship to play at Lambuth University, a Division II school in Jackson, Tennessee. He got a chance and took it. Now, 18 years after he left the islands to follow the path football laid out for him, he’s an SEC assistant coach at Auburn. The path hasn’t always been easy. There have been bumps along the way. But Aigamaua has never wavered from his roots or what’s important. It’s still faith, family and football. In 2018, Aigamaua was serving as the Assistant Athletics Di- rector for Community Relations at Ole Miss. He kept a prayer journal where he jotted down his prayer requests, big or small. One of those requests was to be an assistant coach at an SEC school. At the time, Aigamaua assumed it would happen at Ole Miss. He had been there since 2012 when Hugh Freeze be- came the head coach and brought him on staff as a graduate assistant working with the offense. The two first met at Lam- buth where Aigamaua played for Freeze in 2008 and 2009. It would only be a matter of time before he climbed the ranks and earned his spot as an assistant coach with the Rebels. God had other plans. Aigamaua left Ole Miss that same year to follow Freeze again. He joined Freeze’s staff at Liberty as the tights ends coach, putting the SEC dream on hold. “In my culture, trust is super important for me,” Aigamaua said. “(Coach Freeze) was somebody that I trusted and that I leaned on for a lot of things as I got older. To see the impact he had on my life and the impact he’s had on my teammates at Lambuth – I knew there was more to learn from him, and I just wanted to be a part of that culture that he was building. I wanted to help build that culture.” Despite the move away from the SEC, Aigamaua kept go- ing back to that prayer request. He kept circling it and circling it. In December, his prayer was answered. His faith rewarded. Freeze made Aigamaua one of his first hires on his new staff at Auburn. “To see all that come full circle – being here with Coach (Freeze), we want to give back to this community, give back to the fans, and give back to the Auburn faithful,” Aigamaua said. “It’s super important to us. “There are more prayers that are circled. God will show up when it’s His time. Not my time. But we’re excited to be here. We can’t wait to get things kicked off and just see what God has in store for us.” Two years before Aigamaua left Ole Miss for Liberty, his life was turned upside down. He and his wife, Kendra, were expecting their first child, a daughter. However, when their baby girl, Lily, was born, they found out she had Down Syndrome. The diagnosis stunned them. Aigamaua left the hospital, went home and just cried. He didn’t understand it. This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan. Through a lot of prayer, Aigamaua eventually found a sense of peace and calmness. Still, there was some anxiety. When Lily was born, Aigamaua and his wife were told that she had a hole in her heart. It’s com- mon for children born with Down Syndrome, but that meant open-heart surgery for their daughter at just two weeks old. How could you not be a little anxious? “Even going through those emotions, I was like, ‘You know what God, I’m going to trust you through this process and through this journey. Just show up,’” said Aigamaua. Two weeks later, the family traveled to Tupelo, Mississippi for Lily’s appointment. They did some scans and listened to her heart, and Aigamaua will never forget what happened next and the look on their doctor’s face when he came to consult with them. He asked the doctor, “Is everything OK?” The doc- tor said, “We don’t need to do anything. The hole in her heart closed.” “From then on, I always tell people that was kind of God’s wink,” Aigamaua said. “‘I told you I’ve got this. Just trust me.’ That’s where my faith took off, and I just started trusting God through everything in my life and through everything we were going through with Lily. Seven years later, he’s shown up pow- erfully through her and through our family. It’s been a huge blessing.” Lily started first grade this fall. Aigamaua and his wife had a son, Ben, two years after Lily. Aigamaua wasn’t a five-star recruit coming out of Ameri- can Samoa, but he’s found his calling as a football coach and a leader of young men on and off the field. “I’m not a big rah-rah guy, but I’m a big teacher,” Aigamaua said. “The biggest thing for me is I love the coaching aspect of it, but my goal is to make sure the way that I treat my kids is the same way I treat my players. Love them hard. Treat them the right way. In the back of my mind is, ‘How would I want some- body to treat my son when he is being coached?’” Faith and family will always come first for Aigamaua, but he wouldn’t be where he is today without the football part of it. It gave him an opportunity. It led him to Coach Freeze. It has landed him and his family in Auburn where he believes there’s unlimited potential. BEN AIGAMAUA BY GREG OSTENDORF AUBURNTIGERS.COM MEET THE COACHES: AUBURN TIGHT ENDS COACHDINE IN // DELIVERY // CURBSIDE // CATERING Opelika 2664 Enterprise Drive, Opelika, AL 36801 GO TIGERS!54 2023 STADIUM MAP 2023 STADIUM MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM SOUTH CLUB BROADWAY CLUB NORTH CLUB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 14 14 13 151617181920 383940414243 3744 44 45 46 46 36 37 35 35 21 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 100 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 AUBURN VISITOR 23 23 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 9 8U 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 21 BILL & CONNIE NEVILLE LOBBY 0 EXIT GATE STUDENT GATE STUDENT GATE EAST UPPER DECK ACCESS ONLY SOUTH SERVICE GATE FOOTBALL RECRUITING SOUTH DONAHUE DRIVE HEISMAN DRIVE HD VIDEOBOARD NEVILLE ARENA MIKE & JANE McCARTNEY BRICK PLAZA TICKET OFFICE SALES & PICK-UP GAMEDAY TRANSIT & FANFEST (NS PASS) NORTH STADIUM LOT VISITOR TICKET SALES HARBERT FAMILY RECRUITING CENTER AUBURN PLAYER GUEST EXIT GATEVISITING TEAM LOCKER ROOM SUITE TICKET PICK-UP STUDENT GATE SOUTH NORTH WEST EAST BROADWAY CLUB & MEDIA CREDENTIALS TIGER WALK CLUB ENTRANCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES 11 10 TIGERWALK TICKET SALES TICKET SALES BROADWAY CLUB ONLY HRC ONLY ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP 1U VISITING PLAYER GUEST & VISITING FAN TICKET PICK-UP ADA SHUTTLE PICKUP NORTH SERVICE GATE OLYMPIC SPORT RECRUITING Entry GateElevator First Aid Tiger Babies LEGEND Charging Station Student Section Seating bowl closed to non-students Team Shop Medical Bag Entry Special Access Statues Guest Services ADA Shuttle56 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP 2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP AUBURNTIGERS.COM2023 AUBURN PARKING MAP LEGEND 57 2023 AUBURN PARKING LEGEND AUBURNTIGERS.COM© 2022 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. 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