Research Categories - Cancer

Cancer remains a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Research into the underlying molecular and genetic basis of cancer has been hampered by the complex and diverse etiologies for different cancers. Many HMS investigators are exploring the aberrant pathophysiological events that characterize tumor cell growth and dissemination. Areas of molecular oncology research that are being studied include cell growth and division, growth factor signaling, angiogenesis, immune cell regulation, apoptosis, and novel small molecule anticancer therapeutics.

Related Investigators

  1. John Blenis, PhD

    Signal transduction: nutrient and energy sensing; disease; mTOR; PI3-kinase; Ras

    Explore the diverse yet overlapping intracellular transmission signals propagated by cell surface receptors that respond to extracellular growth factors, environmental conditions, and other ...

  2. Daniel Finley, PhD

    Ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation and the proteasome: mechanisms and coordination; architecture; role in disease

    Study of proteasome activity and its relationship to diseases caused by proteinopathies.

  3. Jose Halperin, MD

    Targeting protein translation for anticancer therapies; CD59 and diabetes

    Employ the preclinical resources of the Laboratory for Translational Research to develop new therapies and diagnostics in oncology and diabetes

  4. Ed Harlow, PhD

    Molecular mechanisms of cell signaling and applications to cancer biology

    Global molecular screening studies to gain insights into the genetic regulation of cancer development and response of cancer cells to chemotherapy  

  5. Peter Howley, MD

    Papillomavirus biology

    Investigate the activities of papillomavirus-encoded proteins, including the E6-mediated degradation of p53 and E2-mediated regulation of viral transcription and genome replication

  6. Guo-Fu Hu, PhD

    Angiogenin and its role in disease: angiogenesis, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases

    Investigate angiogenin’s mechanism of action and its role in cancer and neurodegenerative disease, with a focus on prostate cancer and ALS.  

  7. Norbert Perrimon, PhD

    Modeling developmental processes and signaling pathways in Drosophila

    Use Drosophila as a model organism to explore basic biological mechanisms of development and cellular signaling, with a focus on muscle physiology.

  8. Xuebin Qin, MD, PhD

    Immune modulation to treat cancer and viral infections

    CD59, the complement cascade, and disease    

  9. Yang Shi, PhD

    Histone demethylation and gene regulation: gene expression; epigenetics; disease

    Studies on lysine-specific demethylases and biochemical and functional aspects of histone demethylation.  

  10. Pamela Silver, PhD

    Systems and synthetic biology: gene expression; synthetic proteins; biofuel

    Investigate a wide spectrum of biological phenomena. Starting with gene regulation as a core theme, investigate nuclear spatial architecture, synthetic biology, epigenetics, systems biology, ...