How cancer begins
Cells become cancerous after acquiring a series of mutations in their DNA, which occur as a result of exposure to radiation, cigarette smoke, dietary components or a genetic predisposition.
Mutations may intensify or eliminate the messages cells use to grow, stop growing or die. Cells then begin to divide too often and are unable to die, forming tumors. Identifying the mutations, signals and mechanisms that promote and sustain tumors creates new opportunities to target human cancer.
Director's statement
We’ve brought together scientists with expertise in developmental and stem cell biology with investigators who focus on RNA biology and the signaling pathways that regulate cell growth and cell fate. The diversity of our faculty members, along with our shared interests in what drives cancer cell growth, is fostering strong interactions that will lead to breakthrough treatments for brain, breast and prostate cancers, as well as melanoma and leukemia.
– Robert Wechsler-Reya, Ph.D., Program Director
Appointments
Program Director
Adjunct Faculty Appointments
Craig Hauser, Ph.D.
Tao Long, Ph.D.
Tariq Rana, Ph.D.
Tannishtha Reya, Ph.D.
Publications
EGFR-Pak Signaling Selectively Regulates Glutamine Deprivation-Induced Macropinocytosis.
Lee SW, Zhang Y, Jung M, Cruz N, Alas B, Commisso C
Dev Cell 2019 Aug 5 ;50(3):381-392.e5
Lsd1 as a therapeutic target in Gfi1-activated medulloblastoma.
Lee C, Rudneva VA, Erkek S, Zapatka M, Chau LQ, Tacheva-Grigorova SK, Garancher A, Rusert JM, Aksoy O, Lea R, Mohammad HP, Wang J, Weiss WA, Grimes HL, Pfister SM, Northcott PA, Wechsler-Reya RJ
Nat Commun 2019 Jan 18 ;10(1):332
Gut microbiota dependent anti-tumor immunity restricts melanoma growth in Rnf5-/- mice.
Li Y, Tinoco R, Elmén L, Segota I, Xian Y, Fujita Y, Sahu A, Zarecki R, Marie K, Feng Y, Khateb A, Frederick DT, Ashkenazi SK, Kim H, Perez EG, Day CP, Segura Muñoz RS, Schmaltz R, Yooseph S, Tam MA, Zhang T, Avitan-Hersh E, Tzur L, Roizman S, Boyango I, Bar-Sela G, Orian A, Kaufman RJ, Bosenberg M, Goding CR, Baaten B, Levesque MP, Dummer R, Brown K, Merlino G, Ruppin E, Flaherty K, Ramer-Tait A, Long T, Peterson SN, Bradley LM, Ronai ZA
Nat Commun 2019 Apr 2 ;10(1):1492
Characterization of G-CSF receptor expression in medulloblastoma.
Paul MR, Huo Y, Liu A, Lesperance J, Garancher A, Wechsler-Reya RJ, Zage PE
Neurooncol Adv 2020 Jan-Dec ;2(1):vdaa062
PTEN and DNA-PK determine sensitivity and recovery in response to WEE1 inhibition in human breast cancer.
Brunner A, Suryo Rahmanto A, Johansson H, Franco M, Viiliäinen J, Gazi M, Frings O, Fredlund E, Spruck C, Lehtiö J, Rantala JK, Larsson LG, Sangfelt O
Elife 2020 Jul 6 ;9
Unfolded Protein Response in Leukemia: From Basic Understanding to Therapeutic Opportunities.
Khateb A, Ronai ZA
Trends Cancer 2020 Jun 12 ;
Stimulated emission depletion (STED) super resolution imaging of RNA- and protein-containing domains in fixed cells.
Dumbović G, Sanjuan X, Perucho M, Forcales SV
Methods 2020 Apr 30 ;
Golgi Acidification by NHE7 Regulates Cytosolic pH Homeostasis in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.
Galenkamp KMO, Sosicka P, Jung M, Recouvreux MV, Zhang Y, Moldenhauer MR, Brandi G, Freeze HH, Commisso C
Cancer Discov 2020 Jun ;10(6):822-835
Zika Virus Targets Glioblastoma Stem Cells through a SOX2-Integrin α<sub>v</sub>β<sub>5</sub> Axis.
Zhu Z, Mesci P, Bernatchez JA, Gimple RC, Wang X, Schafer ST, Wettersten HI, Beck S, Clark AE, Wu Q, Prager BC, Kim LJY, Dhanwani R, Sharma S, Garancher A, Weis SM, Mack SC, Negraes PD, Trujillo CA, Penalva LO, Feng J, Lan Z, Zhang R, Wessel AW, Dhawan S, Diamond MS, Chen CC, Wechsler-Reya RJ, Gage FH, Hu H, Siqueira-Neto JL, Muotri AR, Cheresh DA, Rich JN
Cell Stem Cell 2020 Feb 6 ;26(2):187-204.e10