Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

A recent explosion in technological advances has created a new field known as translational “omics” that allows the measurement of molecules within a tissue or cell — genomics investigates DNA and proteomics examines proteins. These new omics-based tests may be used to guide patient therapy in the future. Such omics-based tests are much more complex [...]

Understanding DNA replication and DNA damage responses – which must proceed faithfully to prevent diseases such as cancer – requires the ability to monitor protein dynamics at active and damaged replication forks (sites of DNA duplication). Existing methods for studying replication fork machinery have been limited in resolution and sensitivity. Now, David Cortez, Ph.D., and [...]

When the double-stranded “rope” of DNA is unwound to be copied, it can become knotted or tangled. The enzyme topoisomerase II detangles DNA by cutting both strands, removing the tangles, and stitching the DNA back together. Because breaks in the DNA can lead to genetic mutations and cell death, topoisomerase II is a target of [...]

Aflatoxins – carcinogenic toxins produced by fungi – contaminate food. Aflatoxin B1 has been implicated in the development of human liver cancer. A metabolite of aflatoxin B1 reacts with DNA, forming adducts that cause mutations. To understand how different chemical forms of such adducts induce differing levels of mutations, Surajit Banerjee, Ph.D., Kyle Brown, Ph.D., [...]

If one thinks of DNA – stored in the nucleus – as the “master blueprint” for building functional cells, then the RNA copy of each gene can be considered the “instruction sheet” for each individual job. Many RNAs, after being carefully copied from the DNA, must move out into the cell cytoplasm to serve their [...]

Renowned molecular biologist and Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman, Ph.D., will discuss “The Meaning of Race in the Post-Genome Era” at the next Discovery Lecture on Thursday, May 5. Tilghman, who participated in cloning the first mammalian gene as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a former Howard Hughes Medical [...]

Since the first of the year, one cutting-edge sequencer, the Illumina HiSeq 2000, has been installed in a lab in the Preston Research Building, and another has been delivered. More than 30 Vanderbilt investigators have submitted samples for sequencing by the machines, which are not much bigger than half-size refrigerators.“The access to this technology allows [...]

A mere 10 years after the first draft of the human genome sequence was completed, scientists and companies are delivering some of the first fruits of that achievement to patients and consumers. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for example, patients scheduled for cardiac catheterization are tested for a genetic variation to determine which blood thinner [...]

A new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators reveals that a gene signature may be useful in predicting outcomes for patients with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer most commonly diagnosed in children. The study, carried out by first author Jennifer Rosenbluth, Ph.D.; Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, Cancer Biology and Otolaryngology and director of [...]

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has launched the nation’s first personalized cancer decision support tool, “My Cancer Genome,” to help physicians and researchers track the latest developments in personalized cancer medicine and connect with clinical research trials for their patients. This web-based information tool is designed to quickly educate clinicians on the rapidly expanding list of genetic [...]