Epigentics and Female Reproductive Cancers

简介(申请人提供)：我是一名环境卫生科学家，在过去的十年里一直在政府和学术界从事流行病学工作。目前，我是纽约大学医学院精神病学和环境医学系的助理教授。我被招募到纽约大学，组成一个新的精神病学分子和转化医学分部的核心，该分部是精神病学系和癌症研究所的共同努力。该司的一个主要重点将是疾病的表观遗传起源。我开始对癌症的表观遗传过程感兴趣，通过我的论文工作，以及与我的导师和共同导师在这本K07上的合作。目前，我希望获得几个领域的必要培训，包括遗传学、分子生物学和先进的统计方法，以从事这项研究。最终，我想成为一名研究女性生殖癌症表观遗传起源的独立研究员。我需要在我的母校(纽约大学)、哥伦比亚大学和坦普尔大学接受培训，这样我才能与这一领域的一些杰出的研究人员合作。在纽约大学，我将接受先进的流行病学方法、伦理学和分子生物学方面的指导和培训(马拉斯皮纳、科斯塔和哈拉普博士)。在哥伦比亚大学，我将在R·桑特拉博士的实验室接受应用分子流行病学方面的培训，并与I·麦基格博士在统计方法方面进行合作。我将在坦普尔大学C·萨皮恩扎博士的实验室接受应用遗传学方面的培训。 我的研究将集中在两个表观遗传过程：X染色体失活和IGF2印记丢失。我将在以医院为基础的病例对照研究中，探讨X染色体失活偏态与卵巢癌的关系。使用不协调的姐妹对，我将研究乳腺癌与倾斜的X染色体失活和IGF2.1印记丢失之间的关联，还将探索这些现象的流行病学，特别是关注父亲和母亲的年龄。研究IGF2的X染色体失活和印记丢失及其与乳腺癌和卵巢癌的关系有两个目的：1)进一步了解这些癌症的潜在生物学，从而可能导致更好的治疗方式；2)确定可以作为早期和更频繁筛查目标的高危女性群体。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): I am an Environmental Health scientist who has worked in epidemiology for the past ten years in governmental and academic settings. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Environmental Medicine in the School of Medicine, New York University. I was recruited at NYU to form the nucleus of a new Division of Molecular and Translational Medicine in Psychiatry, a combined effort of the Department of Psychiatry and the Cancer Institute. A major focus of this Division will be the epigenetic origins of disease. I became interested in epigenetic processes in cancer through my work on my dissertation and collaborations with my mentor and co-mentors on this K07. Currently, I am looking to obtain the necessary training in several fields including genetics, molecular biology and advanced statistical methods to pursue this research. Eventually I would like to become an independent investigator in the epigenetic origins of female reproductive cancers. I will need to obtain training at both my home institution (NYU), Columbia and Temple Universities so that I may work with some of the pre-eminent researchers in this field. At NYU I will be mentored and trained in advanced epidemiologic methods, ethics and molecular biology (Drs. Malaspina, Costa and Harlap). At Columbia I will be trained in the applied molecular epidemiology in the laboratory of Dr. R Santella and collaborate with Dr. I Mckeague in statistical methods. I will be trained in applied genetics in the laboratory of Dr. C. Sapienza of Temple University. My research will focus on two epigenetic processes: X-chromosome inactivation and loss of imprinting at IGF2. I will investigate in hospital-based case control study, the relation between skewed X-chromosome inactivation and ovarian cancer. Using discordant sister pairs, I will examine the association between breast cancer and skewed X-chromosome inactivation and loss of imprinting at IGF2.1 will also explore the epidemiology these phenomena focusing in particular on paternal and maternal age. Studying X-chromosome inactivation and loss of imprinting at IGF2 and their association with breast and ovarian cancer could serve two purposes: 1) to further understand the underlying biology of these cancers which could lead to better treatment modalities and 2) to identify an at risk group of women who could be targeted for earlier and more frequent screenings.