Two researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center recently received Young Investigator Awards from the Prostate Cancer Foundation for their work investigating epigenetic features of aggressive prostate cancer that could lead to more personalized care and better results from existing therapies.
Epigenetics focuses on DNA modifications that do not change the underlying sequence.
Every cell of the human body has the same set of genes encoded in DNA, but when cells specialize into different tissues, they only need a subset of those genes turned on.
A second “epigenetic” code customizes DNA with chemical tags that regulate which genes are turned on and off in specific circumstances, such as when a generic cell in early development becomes a muscle, skin, kidney or brain cell.
Some epigenetic changes drive cancer, but those changes can be manipulated without changing the underlying genetics, making them a promising target for therapy.
Pallabi Mustafi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Michael Haffner, MD, PhD, received a Young Investigator Award for research into a subtype of aggressive prostate cancer she discovered. The subtype is characterized by an unusual epigenetic modification that responds well to a combination of drugs.
Ruben Raychaudhuri, MD, PhD, also received a Young Investigator Award to test an epigenetic approach that could make a recently approved therapy more effective in aggressive prostate cancer by increasing the contrast between tumor cells and normal tissue.
The awards provide $75,000 a year for three years and include collaboration with mentors. Haffner is a mentor for both recipients.
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