Measuring the effect of environmental stress on checkpoint, genome instability and survival

细胞有一种非凡的能力，可以在有毒的压力下生存。不同种类的压力--有害药物、紫外线、汞等重金属--会产生不同的结果。我的工作是检查破坏DNA的药物。DNA决定了我们如何成长、改变，以及我们的孩子如何发展。当DNA被药物破坏时，细胞会激活一条停止其生长的途径。通过停止生长，细胞可以评估损伤，修复它，然后恢复健康的分裂。这些停车通道被称为“检查点”。我对检查站是如何工作的以及它们失败的原因感兴趣。一个错误的检查站会导致大量问题，包括DNA重排和死亡。许多癌症是检查站故障的直接结果。

Cells have a remarkable ability to survive toxic stress. Different kinds of stress –harmful drugs, UV light, heavy metals like mercury– have different outcomes. My work examines DNA damaging drugs. DNA determines how we grow, change, and how our children develop. When DNA is damaged by a drug, the cell activates a pathway that STOPS its growth. By STOPPING growth, a cell can assess damage, repair it and then resume healthy division. These STOP pathways are called “checkpoints.” I am interested in how checkpoints work and why they fail. A faulty checkpoint causes massive problems including DNA rearrangements and death. Many cancers are a direct result of checkpoint failures.