At Perlmutter Cancer Center, scientists in our Cancer Genome Dynamics Research Program investigate the connections among DNA sequence, methylation status, chromatin modifications, DNA damage, and the three-dimensional organization of chromatin in the cell nucleus. Our researchers are working together to elucidate the mechanisms underlying normal gene regulation, providing insight into how alterations at any level can promote transformation and clonal evolution of cancer. We translate our insights into new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that are tested in investigator-initiated clinical trials.

Our investigators focus on the genetic and epigenetic regulation and deregulation that occurs in cancer. We are working to determine the role of DNA damage and repair in tumorigenesis and progression, including the origins and causes of spontaneous mutations and links to cancer, chromosome segregation defects, single-molecule analysis of DNA repair, and defects in mismatch repair and drug resistance. Our research targets cancer cell vulnerabilities and epigenetic changes in cancer.

Cancer Genome Dynamics Research Areas

Members of the Cancer Genome Dynamics Research Program include world leaders in genetics, epigenetics, chromatin architecture, and genome integrity, as well as basic, translational, and clinical investigators from Perlmutter Cancer Center who focus on delineating the connections among genetic sequence, DNA methylation status, chromatin modifications, DNA damage, and three-dimensional organization of chromatin. The goal of the program is to reveal how alterations at any of these levels can promote transformation, clonal evolution, or both.

Through our bench-to-bedside-to-bench approach, members hand off discoveries to clinical colleagues, NYU’s Therapeutics Alliances, or industry partners for further development to advance findings to clinical trials. Our “wet lab” faculty from NYU Langone’s Department of Population Health and Department of Medicine’s Division of Environmental Medicine focus on understanding the carcinogenic impact of the World Trade Center disaster, smoking, and other toxic agents. They also study the unique genetic and epigenetic features of prostate and breast cancer in the African American population in our communities.

Meet our program members and read their high-impact publications.