Current Projects in the Ganesan lab include:
1. DNA repair abnormalities in cancer: We are interested in understanding the role of DNA repair abnormalities in the pathogenesis of cancer, with a special focus on the role of BRCA1 loss in breast and ovarian cancer. DNA repair abnormalities not only drive tumorigenesis, but may render cancers vulnerable to specific classes of DNA damage. By studying how DNA repair is broken in different cancer classes, we hope to develop both novel therapeutic approaches, and learn how to optimize the use the current classes of DNA damaging agents in cancer therapy.
2. Genomic classification of cancer. We have undertaken a clinical protocol in which rare and/or poor prognosis cancer are analyzed by next generation sequencing of a large panel of “actionable” cancer genes. We are functionally characterizing novel mutations found by this approach in order to define classes of driver mutations and identify potential targeted therapies.
