Research Project
10270212
GENE REGULATION AND INHERITANCE PROGRAM ? PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Gene Regulation and Inheritance (GRI) Program focuses on determining basic mechanisms governing the regulation of gene expression and cellular inheritance at the molecular level, and on discovering how these mechanisms are perturbed to influence the initiation and/or progression of cancer. GRI Program members share an interest in uncovering the mechanisms governing transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation and DNA replication, and in understanding how gene networks and cellular plasticity are rewired in cancer cells. While basic fundamental research continues as a major focus of the Program, a number of studies naturally transitioned in a preclinical or clinical direction, in part stimulated by the strong strategic alliance with Northwell Health, making patient samples and clinical discussions more accessible. The GRI Program has three main research themes: (1) elucidating essential mechanisms governing the regulation of non-coding RNAs, transcription, splicing, and genome inheritance; (2) determining how transcriptional and post-transcriptional control are dysregulated in cancer; and (3) developing therapeutic agents and biological systems to target transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators. The Program is co-led by Leemor Joshua-Tor and David Spector and includes 14 members. Since 2015, Program members have produced 121 papers (110 publications and 11 preprints). Of these, 13 (11%) resulted from intra-programmatic collaborations, 32 (26%) resulted from inter-programmatic collaborations, 77 (64%) involved collaborations with investigators at other institutions, and 44 (36%) were published in journals with an impact factor greater than ten. Among the 14 Program members, 12 (86%) co-authored at least one article with another member of the CSHL Cancer Center. Peer-reviewed funding in the Program increased from $3.2 million in 2015 to $4.3 million in 2020. Program members are supported by 14 R01-equivalent grants among 9 members. In the coming five years, Program members will continue making novel insights into the mechanisms regulating RNA biology and cellular inheritance and developing novel strategies to target these mechanisms as potential anti-cancer therapies.
