Cancer Biology
Members of the Cancer Biology program aim to discover basic biological processes that promote cancer risk, development, and progression, leading to more effective strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer across populations.
Program Leader
Carol Williams, PhD
Joan K. Van Deuren Professor in Breast Cancer Research; Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Program Aims
- Characterize genetic, epigenetic, and post-transcriptional events driving malignancy
- Identify structural and functional determinants of cancer drivers
- Define cancer regulatory mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment
Areas of Expertise
The Cancer Biology program is focused on characterizing genetic, epigenetic, and post-transcriptional events driving malignancy; determining structural and functional interactions of cancer drivers; and defining immuno-regulatory events in the tumor microenvironment.
- Epigenetics and transcriptional regulation
- Glycomics and cancer metabolism
- G protein signaling
- Structural and chemical biology
Notable Science
- KrasG12D induces changes in chromatin territories that differentially impact early nuclear reprogramming in pancreatic cells. (Lomberk G, Urrutia R, et al) Genome Biol; October 2021
- Single-cell transcriptome reveals the novel role of T-bet in suppressing the immature NK gene signature. (Rao S, Malarkannan S, et al) Elife; May 2020
- Monomeric and dimeric CXCL12 inhibit metastasis through distinct CXCR4 interactions and signaling pathways. (Dwinell MB, et al) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A; October 2011