Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program

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ABSTRACT – CANCER GENETICS AND GENOMICS PROGRAM The Duke Cancer Institute’s Cancer Genetics and Genomics (CGG) Program is a basic science program whose goals are to define the genetic changes that drive tumorigenesis, to understand the origins and consequences of these changes, and to use the knowledge gained to inform cancer diagnosis and treatment. CGG members use diverse and complementary experimental approaches that include structural biology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and genomics and employ model organisms as well as pre-clinical models. Within the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), the CGG Program serves as the primary source of genetics and genomics expertise and broadly facilitates the application of ‘omics’ technologies to assess alterations in cancer genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes. As such, the Program coordinates DCI research activities related to the study and understanding of cancer genetics, epigenetics, gene expression, genome instability and genomics. The CGG fosters interactions and collaborations with other DCI programs. The CGG Program is organized into three focus groups: (1) Genomics and Epigenetics, (2) Recombination, Replication and Repair, and (3) Viral Oncology and Microbiomes. These focus groups reflect the diversity of factors that promote the development of cancer and alter the course of the disease. Each focus group provides opportunities for interaction and collaboration through research-in progress meetings and mini-symposia. In addition, each focus group is closely aligned with a T32 training grant that facilitates the education/mentoring goals of the Program and the DCI. The CGG fosters interactions between the focus groups through a monthly program-wide seminar and quarterly meetings designed to foster collaboration and multi-PI grants. The CGG program is comprised of 35 primary members and 25 secondary members from 10 departments and two schools within Duke University. Total direct funding for primary program members is $10.3M, of which $8.8M is peer reviewed, including $2.5M from the NCI. From 2014-2018, program members published 451 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 12% were intra-programmatic and 31% inter-programmatic collaborations.