Cancer Biology and Genetics Program Summary

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The Cancer Biology and Genetics Program ) at the Arizona Cancer Center was conceived in Fall 2000 with the goal of creating synergy between the AZCC and other biologists on campus, particularly those using model organisms to study fundamental aspects of biology. One important tactic in meeting this goal was the import of a core of genetics oriented faculty into the AZCC, primarily from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) in the College of Science. A major goal of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program is to promote the use of model organisms to understand key aspects of eukaryotic biology, in order to identify new targets for cancer therapeutics and to improve existing cancer treatments. This approach is based on two central tenets: 1) that an understanding of the basic biology and genetic changes underlying tumor development and progression will provide new opportunities for therapeutic development, and 2) that the basic biology underlying much tumor formation is conserved and can be rapidly and rigorously explored in simple, genetically tractable model organisms, including yeast, fruit flies, nematodes, and mice. Perhaps most importantly, Cancer Biology and Genetics serves as something of an outreach Program, creating an intellectual community wherein basic biologists, many from outside the College of Medicine, communicate with more traditional cancer biologists and medicinal chemists to identify new targets and to transfer an understanding of basic biology to therapeutic development.

 

 

For more information, please contact: 

Kathleen Dixon, Ph.D., program leader
Bernie Futscher, Ph.D., program co-leader

 

 

 

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