Chromosome Metabolism and Cancer

描述(申请人提供)：癌症是一种遗传性疾病，这是非常明显的。染色体的完整性、复制、分离和调控在所有类型癌症的形成和发展中起着关键作用。在过去的几十年里，大量的癌基因和抑癌基因被发现，它们的表达在肿瘤的形成和发展中起着至关重要的作用。表观遗传改变或基因或染色体结构的改变可通过包括DNA突变、扩增、重排和丢失在内的各种机制引起表达改变。因此，了解这些和其他影响染色体新陈代谢的基本机制对癌症的研究至关重要，而对基本机制的了解的提高可以改进癌症的检测和治疗。尽管如此，对癌症的研究往往集中在特定类型的癌症、特定的染色体异常和特定的分子途径上，而对基本遗传和表观遗传机制的研究往往在基础科学实验室进行，很少或根本不了解与癌症病因和治疗的相关性。染色体代谢和癌症培训计划(CMCTP)旨在通过将癌症研究人员和基础科学家聚集在美国领先的癌症研究机构之一弗雷德·哈钦森癌症研究中心(FHCRC)来弥合这一差距。CMCTP的目的是让正在研究染色体结构和功能的普遍机制的年轻基础科学家感到兴奋，并鼓励他们将自己的成果应用于癌症生物学，同时帮助实习癌症研究人员更多地了解基础科学中的创新方法和想法。 在过去的两个项目期间，CMCTP获得了两个博士后职位和五个博士后职位的资助。在过去的一年里，ARRA竞争性副刊使我们的博士后职位增加到7个。我们毫不费力地找到了合格的候选人。过去10年的学员成功地发表了由CMCTP支持的研究，并在癌症研究领域建立了专业生涯。CMCTP以前的受训人员现在是学术界和生物技术领域富有成效的独立研究人员。因此，我们请求继续支持这一成功的博士后和研究生培训计划，并要求为两个博士后职位和六个博士后职位提供资金。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is abundantly evident that cancer is a genetic disease. The integrity, replication, segregation and regulation of chromosomes play critical roles in the formation and progression of all types of cancer. In the past decades a large number of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes have been identified, expression of which is critical in cancer formation and progression. Altered expression can result from epigenetic changes or alteration of gene or chromosome structure through a variety of mechanisms including DNA mutations, amplifications, rearrangements and loss. Understanding these and other basic mechanisms that affect chromosome metabolism is therefore critical to the study of cancer, and improved knowledge of fundamental mechanisms could improve cancer detection and treatments. Despite this, research on cancer is often focussed on specific types of cancer, specific chromosome aberrations, and specific molecular pathways, while research on fundamental genetic and epigenetic mechanisms frequently proceeds in basic science labs with little or no appreciation of the relevance for cancer cause and treatment. The Chromosome Metabolism and Cancer Training Program (CMCTP) seeks to bridge this gap by bringing together cancer researchers and basic scientists in one of the nation's leading Cancer Research institutions, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC). The purpose of the CMCTP is to excite young basic scientists who are researching universal mechanisms of chromosome structure and function and to encourage them to apply their results to cancer biology, while at the same time helping trainee cancer researchers learn more about innovative methods and ideas in fundamental science. For the last two project periods, the CMCTP has been funded for two predoctoral and five postdoctoral positions. For the last year, an ARRA Competitive Supplement has allowed us to increase to seven postdoctoral positions. We have had no trouble identifying qualified candidates. Trainees from the past 10 years have been successful in publishing the research supported by the CMCTP, and in building professional careers in cancer research. Former trainees in the CMCTP are now productive independent researchers in academia and biotechnology. Therefore, we are requesting continued support for this successful postdoctoral and graduate training program, and request funding of two predoctoral positions and six postdoctoral positions.