Research innovations from EDT investigators
Members of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics research program at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center are improving cancer therapy with a “bedside-to-bench-to-bedside” approach.
Miller SA, et al. LSD1 and Aberrant DNA Methylation Mediate Persistence of Enteroendocrine Progenitors That Support BRAF-Mutant Colorectal Cancer. Cancer Res. 2021 Jul 15;81(14):3791-3805.
Wilson DM 3rd, et al. Fragment- and structure-based drug discovery for developing therapeutic agents targeting the DNA Damage Response. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2021 Aug;163:130-142.
Su X, et al. PCNA inhibition enhances the cytotoxicity of β-lapachone in NQO1-Positive cancer cells by augmentation of oxidative stress-induced DNA damage. Cancer Lett. 2021 Oct 28;519:304-314.
Disrupting DNA pathways: John Turchi, PhD
John Turchi, PhD, recently received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop a novel therapy to treat lung cancer.
Dr. Turchi’s lab is studying a protein called replication protein A (RPA), which binds to single-strand DNA to signal DNA damage response (DDR) to repair the damage and make new cells.
They crafted a small drug-like molecule designed to disrupt the DNA repair pathways that allow lung cancer cells to continue replicating and tumors to grow. They’re now poised to move findings from the lab towards clinical applications.
Collaborators on the NCI grant include EDT members Karen Pollok, PhD, director of the In Vivo Therapeutics Core, and physician-scientists Shadia Jalal, MD, and Catherine Sears, MD.
The complementary expertise of the many cancer center researchers is going to allow us to answer some really important questions and ultimately impact patients’ lives.
John Turchi, PhD — Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Research
