Investigating the molecular mysteries of cancer

| 20 February 2024

From: https://healthsci.queensu.ca/stories/news-announcements/investigating-m…

Investigating the molecular mysteries of cancer.

Photo: Dr. Anna Panchenko holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics.

Each year on February 11, we celebrate the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science – a global recognition of contributions made by women and girls to scientific research and innovation across disciplines. The day also serves to highlight the persistent gender gap within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), while encouraging more women and girls to pursue careers in these fields.

Anna Panchenko, who joined Queen’s Health Sciences in July 2019, is committed to advancing science and innovation to positively affect health and well-being. Holding the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics her interdisciplinary work examines the intricate world of genetic and epigenetic factors—the nuanced interplay between our genes and the environmental conditions that influence them—that influence cancer progression. Specifically, her current research uses computational approaches to understand what causes ordinary cells to transform into cancerous ones.

A Common-Sense Approach to Bloodwork

Spotlight

| 16 February 2024

From: https://www.oha.com/news/a-common-sense-approach-to-bloodwork

Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is reducing the amount of blood it collects for testing, reducing hospital patient strain and demand on donated blood products.

While bloodwork provides crucial information to help guide treatment, losing too much blood can increase the risk of anemia, a shortage of red blood cells, and blood transfusion.

The new approach is simple: replace standard blood test vials with smaller tubes that draw less blood. These tubes are routinely used for children in hospital, but have never been widely used in adults.

- Dr. Jeannie Callum, Director of Transfusion Medicine for KHSC

The Bracken Chair Lecture

Spotlight

| 29 January 2024

Dr. Lois Mulligan, Professor & Bracken Chair, Pathology & Molecular Medicine, Queen's University

"Cellular and Molecular Regulation of RET Receptor Function in Normal and Cancer Cells"

Tuesday January 30th, 4:00 - 5:00pm: Lecture in Richardson Lab Amphitheatre Rm. 104 or Zoom option

Cellular and Molecular Regulation of RET Receptor Function in Normal and Cancer Cells. RET is a developmentally important receptor tyrosine kinase, but when mutated, over expressed, or mislocalized it can act as an oncogenic driver of neuroendocrine cancers and a critical determinant of invasion and spread in a much larger group of cancers. Here, we’ll discuss our ongoing investigations of the cellular mechanisms that regulate RET functions and how alterations in these processes contribute to RET-mediated oncogenicity.

Congratulations to Daria Ostroverkhova

News

| 16 January 2024

Congratulations to Daria Ostroverkhova on her first author research article entitled "DNA polymerase e and d variants drive mutagenesis in polypurine tracts in human tumors", published this past week in Cell Reports.

Daria is pursuing her PhD student with Dr. Anna Panchenko, where she employs computational approaches to explore mutations in cancer and correlate the observed patterns with mutations in cancer driver genes, including those encoding DNA polymerases. This research aims to determine if such driver mutations can be used as cancer biomarkers capable of predicting clinical outcomes.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)01666-2?rss=ye…;

Articles

Investigating the molecular mysteries of cancer

A Common-Sense Approach to Bloodwork

The Bracken Chair Lecture

Congratulations to Daria Ostroverkhova

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