The Cancer Biology focus group encompasses a wide spectrum of research interests, from translational goals for improving treatment of human tumors, to basic research describing the molecular interactions of pathways that are key to cell regulation. Several group members work on the molecular regulation of known tumor driver pathways, such as the hormonal drivers of breast and prostate cancer (Alarid, Schuler, Xu), epidermal growth factor signaling components for several carcinomas (Wheeler) or NFkb for multiple myeloma (Miyamoto). Others evaluate the viral origins of cervical and hematopoietic tumors (Lambert, Sugden). Some focus on pathways that collaborate to promote tumor development, such as deficiencies of DNA repair (Tibbetts), or problems with mitosis and aneuploidy (Ahmad, Weaver, Skop); others aim to find out which genes are activated during tumor progression, using unbiased genetic screens (Collier, Zhang). An emerging sub-focus is the study and imaging of the unique metabolism of cancer cells and tumors (Ahmad, Alexander, Cryns, Pagliarini, Skala, Yen). With the realization that tumor development and growth can be suppressed or promoted by the tumor microenvironment, several group leaders are focused on immune, metabolic or physiologic interactions of tumor cells (Arendt, Asimakopoulos, Miyamoto). The approaches vary from nanometer scale analysis of molecular regulation of phosphatases (Xing) to the assembly of rodent models of human breast, head and neck and cervical tumors (Alexander, Arendt, Asimokopolous, Lambert, Zhang). Our investigators are interested in many specific tumor types, from head and neck tumors (Kimple, Lambert, Wheeler) to breast tumors (Alarid, Alexander, Arendt, Cryns, Schuler, Wheeler, Xu), to cervical (Lambert) and prostate cancer (Marker), melanoma (Ahmad, Setaluri) and tumors of the hematopoietic lineage (Asimakopoulos, Bresnick, Miyamoto, Rui, Zhang). For students interested in translational aspects, many groups are developing therapeutic strategies for specific tumor types, suppressing graft-versus-host disease and developing novel imaging modalities for screening patient responses (Capitini, Fowler, Wheeler).
Focus Group Chair Caroline Alexander
Oncology Department
Mammary tumor cell biology
alexander@oncology.wisc.edu
Focus Group Members
Paul Ahlquist
Credentials: Institute for Molecular Virology, Oncology, Plant Pathology Department
Position title: Virus Replication and Host Interactions
Email:
ahlquist
Nihal Ahmad
Credentials: Dermatology Department
Position title: Mechanism of cancer development & novel approaches for cancer management
Email:
nahmad
Elaine Alarid
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Molecular mechanism of hormone action in cancer
Email:
alarid
Richard Anderson
Credentials: Medical School Dean's Office
Position title: Molecular and cellular signaling and cancer
Email:
raanders
Lisa Arendt
Credentials: Comparative Biosciences Department
Position title: Obesity, breast cancer, mouse models
Email:
lmarendt
Anjon Audhya
Credentials: Biomolecular Chemistry Department
Position title: Mechanisms of membrane trafficking; live cell imaging techniques
Email:
audhya
David Beebe
Credentials: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department
Position title: Investigating cellular scale phenomena from physical and biological sciences perspectives
Email:
djbeebe
Alexander Birbrair
Credentials: Dermatology
Position title: Mechanisms regulating cancer progression
Email:
birbrair
Marjorie Brand
Credentials: Cell and Regenerative Biology
Position title: Leukemia; Blood differentiation; Gene regulation; Genomics; Proteomics
Email:
mbrand3
Emery Bresnick
Credentials: Cell & Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Normal and malignant hematopoiesis; epigenetics; molecular medicine
Email:
ehbresni
Mark Burkard
Credentials: Medicine Department
Position title: Mitotic kinase function and cancer
Email:
mburkard
Christian Capitini
Credentials: Pediatrics Department
Position title: Adoptive cell therapies (NK cell and CAR T cell infusions), Bone marrow transplant, GVHD
Jason Cantor
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Influence of environmental factors on human cell metabolism
Email:
jcantor
Pippa Cosper
Credentials: Human Oncology
Position title: Chromosomal instability, radiation sensitivity, DNA tumor viruses
Email:
cosper
Vincent Cryns
Credentials: Medicine Department
Position title: Mechanisms of cell death in disease
Email:
vlcryns
Huy Dinh
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Computational biology, Tumor microenvironment heterogeneity
Email:
huy.dinh
Amy Fowler
Credentials: Radiology Department
Position title: Molecular imaging of steroid receptors in breast cancer
Email:
afowler
Anne Griep
Credentials: Cell & Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Molecular regulation of mammalian eye development
Email:
aegriep
Gaelen Hess
Credentials: Biomolecular Chemistry
Position title: High-Throughput Mammalian Functional Genomics
Email:
ghess3
Troy Hornberger
Credentials: Comparative Biosciences Department
Position title: Mechanotransduction and the regulation of skeletal muscle mass
Email:
troy.hornberger
Jiaoyang Jiang
Credentials: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Position title: Protein glycosylation in biology and disease
Email:
jiaoyang.jiang
Rob Kalejta
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Manipulation of the cell cycle by Human Cylomegalovirus
Email:
rfkalejta
Randall Kimple
Credentials: Human Oncology Department
Position title: HPV associated cancers; therapeutic resistance in cancer
Email:
rkimple
Pamela Kreeger
Credentials: Biomedical Engineering Department
Position title: Tumor microenvironment, systems biology, ovarian cancer
Email:
kreeger
Paul Lambert
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Molecular genetics of papillomaviruses
Email:
lambert
Dudley Lamming
Credentials: Medicine Department
Position title: Regulation of metabolism by nutrient signaling pathways
Email:
lamming
Jessica Lang
Credentials: Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Position title: Translational ovarian cancer epigenetics
Email:
jessica.lang
Peter Lewis
Credentials: Biomolecular Chemistry Department
Position title: Mechanisms of chromatin assembly, gene silencing, and epigenetic inheritance
Email:
peter.lewis
Yun Liang
Credentials: Medical Microbiology & Immunology Department
Position title: Molecular basis for sexual dimorphism
Email:
liang95
Dan Loeb
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Molecular biology of hepatitis B viruses
Email:
loeb
Kinjal Majumder
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Mechanisms of virus localization to cellular DNA breaks
Email:
kmajumder
Thomas Martin
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Mechanisms of hormone action; regulation of hormone/neurotransmitter secretion
Email:
tfmartin
Kristyn Masters
Credentials: Biomedical Engineering Department
Position title: In vitro disease modeling
Email:
kmasters
Daniel Matson
Credentials: Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Position title: Transcription Factors and Replication Origins
Email:
drmatson
Douglas McNeel
Credentials: Medicine Department
Position title: Development of immunological treatments, and vaccines in particular, that can eradicate prostate cancer
Email:
dm3
Shigeki Miyamoto
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Regulatory mechanisms of Rel/NF-kappaB transcription factors
Email:
smiyamot
Zachary Morris
Credentials: Human Oncology
Position title: Radiotherapy to immune-modulate tumor microenvironments
Email:
zmorris
Muhammed Murtaza
Credentials: Surgery
Position title: Cancer genomics and precision medicine
Email:
murtaza
Xuan Pan
Credentials: Medical Sciences Department
Position title: Epigenetic regulation, hematopoiesis, mouse models
Email:
xpan24
Rebecca (Becky) Richards
Credentials: Pediatrics
Position title: Engineering next-generation CAR-T cells for blood cancers
Email:
rmrichards3
Avtar Roopra
Credentials: Neuroscience Department
Position title: Regulation of chromatin structure in neurons and cancer
Email:
asroopra
Lixin Rui
Credentials: Medicine Department
Position title: Molecular pathogenesis of lymphoma
Email:
lrui
John-Demian (JD) Sauer
Credentials: Medical Microbiology & Immunology Department
Position title: Host-pathogen interactions
Email:
sauer3
David Schwartz
Credentials: Chemistry Department
Position title: Structural variation in mammalian genomes
Email:
dcschwartz
Nathan Sherer
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Cell biology of HIV replication
Email:
nsherer
Vijay Setaluri
Credentials: Dermatology Department
Position title: Cell and molecular biology of skin in health and disease
Melissa Skala
Credentials: Biomedical Engineering Department
Position title: Metabolism, cancer, microscopy
Email:
mcskala
Paul Sondel
Credentials: Pediatrics Department
Position title: Clinical immunotherapy of cancer and tumor immunology
Email:
pmsondel
Aussie Suzuki
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Cell Division, Mitosis, Kinetochore, Tension, Chromosomal Instability
Email:
aussie.suzuki
Randal Tibbetts
Credentials: Human Oncology Department
Position title: DNA repair; gene expression; neurodegeneration; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Email:
rstibbetts
Beth Weaver
Credentials: Cell & Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Mitosis, chromosome segregation, aneuploidy and cancer
Email:
baweaver
Deric Wheeler
Credentials: Human Oncology Department
Position title: Mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies
Email:
dlwheeler
Yongna Xing
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Cell signaling related to caner, structural biology, biochemistry, proteomics
Email:
xing
Wei Xu
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Epigenetic regulation of breast cancer
Email:
wxu
Jing Zhang
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Hematopoietic stem cell, leukemic stem cell, cytokine signaling
Email:
zhang