Q. Ping Dou, Ph.D, WSU professor of pathology, recently received a $492,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Program to study a group of synthetic, antibiotic-delivered drugs that are not toxic to the human body. The new cancer-fighting substances, known as beta lactam analogs, could lead to a major breakthrough in treatment of breast and other cancers since they work powerfully to kill cancer cells without harming other nearby healthy cells. The new drugs will first be tested on cultured human breast cancer cells and later on laboratory mice.