Damon Runyon News

Human cells compact their vast genomes into the small confines of the nucleus by wrapping their DNA into a highly complex structure called chromatin. Packaging DNA into chromatin, however, affects all nucleic acid-transacting machines (e.g., transcription factors) that need to access the genomic information stored in the DNA. NuRD is a large multi-subunit protein complex that plays a major role in making chromatin either accessible or inaccessible.

In addition to acute illness, viruses can cause cancers. While our understanding of cellular immunity against viruses that have DNA-based genomes is robust, we know less about how cells protect themselves against RNA-based viruses such as hepatitis C, a leading cause of liver cancer. Because many cellular defenses against viruses are known to be shared between mammals and bacteria, Dr. Mendoza [HHMI Fellow] is looking for new cellular defenses against RNA viruses in bacteria and will investigate how these defenses work.

Multiple cancers, including prostate, breast, and gastrointestinal cancers, are known to be heavily innervated. However, the role of neurons and their signaling within the tumor microenvironment remains unknown. Previous work has shown that transecting the vagus nerve can block the progression of gastric cancer, emphasizing a critical role for the vagal neurons in this disease. However, these transections produce side effects, making it a difficult strategy to translate to the clinic. Dr. Wong [Kenneth G. and Elaine A.

Sleep problems may be a risk factor for developing certain types of cancer—lung, colon, pancreas, and breast—and may affect the progression of these cancers and the effectiveness of their treatment. Conversely, symptoms of cancer or side effects of treatment, including restless legs and obstructive sleep apnea, may cause sleeping problems, reducing quality of life. Understanding the complex relationship between cancer and sleep creates opportunities to improve health, treatment options, and quality of life.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are immune cells that have been genetically engineered to bind specific proteins on cancer cells. CARs can display exquisite sensitivity and discrimination, and CAR T cells have been deployed with spectacular success to detect and kill blood cancers. Unfortunately, they are much less effective against “solid” tumors, such as breast or kidney cancers. To address this problem, Dr.

Dr. Parker [HHMI Fellow] studies the role of molecular assemblies known as stress granules that form when cells are exposed to stressful conditions. The assembly of stress granules upon cellular insult is thought to regulate gene expression and modulate cell survival. Notably, stress granules are present in various cancers and many chemotherapeutic treatments lead to the formation of stress granules. Dr.

One of the defining features of cancerous cells is that they divide quickly. The composition of the human microbiome is also due to differences in how quickly microbes grow. How do we determine how fast cells are growing in their natural environment? Is there a way to take a ‘snapshot’ and turn it into a ‘growth rate’? This is the fundamental problem Dr. McCain is studying. He is using computational simulations, machine learning, and experiments with bacteria to determine the optimal way to use markers of gene expression to estimate these critical rates.

Regulation of gene transcription is a major mechanism cells use to modify the levels of certain proteins in response to their environment. A specific class of genes called immediate-early genes (IEGs) responds rapidly to external stimuli to adjust downstream gene transcription programs before any new proteins are synthesized. Abnormal expression of IEGs has been implicated in multiple types of cancers, as well as in neurological syndromes like addiction.

Dr. Johnson [HHMI Fellow] studies the role that a particular type of cell-cell communication, known as quorum sensing, plays in the development of spatially structured bacterial communities called biofilms. Biofilm formation promotes disease in many clinically relevant bacterial species, and infections caused by them pose severe risks for patients receiving chemotherapy. Dr.

One in 64 people in the U.S. develops pancreatic cancer in their lifetime and only 9% will survive 5 years. This rate has barely changed in the last 40 years; better innovative treatments are urgently needed. Among the most promising immunotherapies is adoptive T cell therapy (ACT), which involves infusion of the patients' own immune T cells that have been engineered outside of their body to make them selectively kill cancer cells. ACT has been effective against certain blood cancers but has had limited success against solid tumors, including pancreatic cancers. Dr.