We're hiring!
We are hiring multiple positions at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics.
Apply nowUnderstanding how cells transform into cancer
The Department of Cancer Genetics & Genomics at Roswell Park studies the role of individual genes – as well as large sets of genes (genomics) – in cancer. We know that cancer is fundamentally a disease caused by multiple genetic alterations, but it also involves large-scale ‘re-programming’ of many genes (epigenomics).
Meet our chair
“My interest in science started when I was a kid,” recalls Dr. Ohm. “By the time I was doing my postdoctoral work, I was immersed in looking at how genes are regulated and passed down genetically. Cancer epigenetics is a hot spot, and we’re starting to see epigenetic therapies really moving forward, with Roswell Park emerging as a global leader in combining epigenetics therapy with immunotherapy.”
“Over time, I’ve come to learn that even the studies I thought were horrible failures ended up being important and shaped the next steps towards progress and success.”
Roswell Park 2022 Big Game Commercial | "My Why"
In Roswell Park's 2022 Big Game Commercial, Dr. Ohm shares her moving story about the reason why she's dedicated to achieving Roswell Park's vision to free our world from the fear, pain, and loss due to cancer.
What we do
As we understand the genes and pathways that contribute to tumorigenesis, we hope to identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention and provide biomarkers for the better diagnosis, staging and risk assessment for individual cancer patients.
- Identify and isolate novel genes that are important in the development of specific cancers, and characterize the mechanism of action of the protein products of these aberrant genes.
- Apply our knowledge of human oncogenes to aid in the clinical management of cancer patients.
- Investigate epigenetic mechanisms that drive the development of cancer.
- Use genomic approaches to discover cancer-causing genes, understand the response to therapies (including immunotherapy) and identify new targets for therapy.
A better understanding of mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis will provide the opportunity to manipulate these pathways in animal models and also will contribute to a fundamental understanding of cancer and potentially generate the opportunity to test new treatment regimens in vivo.
Upcoming seminars
January 26: Lizhong Wang, MD PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Zebro Conference Room, Center for Genetics & Pharmacology, Roswell park Comprehensive Cancer Center
For more information, please contact Taylor.Petroff@RoswellPark.org.
Spotlight: Edwin Yau, MD, PhD
Dr. Yau's lab is interested in translational studies for patients with lung cancers, particularly KRAS and STK11 mutated genomic subsets of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), using immunogenomic analysis and functional genomic screening. Ongoing projects include the development of early detection assays using collateral CRISPR systems and development of novel therapeutics for genomic subsets of NSCLC and Lung SCC.
Shared Resources
Gene Targeting and Transgenic
State-of-the-art transgenic technologies, methods, and models
Learn more
Gene Modulation Services
Supporting investigators interested in modulating gene expression
Learn moreTraining the next generation of scientists
In addition to our research and community outreach, the Department of Cancer Genetics & Genomics is actively involved in hands-on teaching with Master’s and PhD students in our highly competitive graduate studies program.
Our multidisciplinary education model allows students a unique immersive experience, preparing them for successful careers as independent investigators.
See the science
Publications
Choi YK, Maki T, Liang AC, Hayakawa K, Koh SH, Kim YM, Whalen MJ, Seo JH, Lok J, Gelman IH, Kim KW, Lo EH, Arai K. A-kinase anchor protein 12 promotes oligodendrogenesis and cognitive recovery in carbon monoxide therapy for traumatic brain injury. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2025 Jan 25:271678X251314371. doi: 10.1177/0271678X251314371. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39862180; PMCID: PMC11765309.
- Dolan M, Shi Y, Mastri M, Long MD, McKenery A, Hill JW, Vaghi C, Benzekry S, Barbi J, Ebos JML. A Senescence-Mimicking (Senomimetic) VEGFR TKI Side Effect Primes Tumor Immune Responses via IFN/STING Signaling. Mol Cancer Ther. 2024 Jun 19;:OF1-OF20. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-24-0139. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 38896060
- Benzekry S, Mastri M, Nicolò C, Ebos JML. Machine-learning and mechanistic modeling of metastatic breast cancer after neoadjuvant treatment. PLoS Comput Biol. 2024 May;20(5):e1012088. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012088. eCollection 2024 May. PubMed PMID: 38701089; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11095706
- Dolan M, Shi Y, Mastri M, Long MD, McKenery A, Hill JW, Vaghi C, Benzekry S, Barbi J, Ebos JML. A senescence-mimicking (senomimetic) VEGFR TKI side-effect primes tumor immune responses via IFN/STING signaling. Mol Cancer Ther. 2024 May 1;. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-24-0139. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 38690835; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1152779
- Boland PM, Ebos JML, Attwood K, Mastri M, Fountzilas C, Iyer RV, Banker C, Goey AKL, Bies R, Ma WW, Fakih M. A phase I/II study of nintedanib and capecitabine for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2024 Apr 30;8(3). doi: 10.1093/jncics/pkae017. PubMed PMID: 38697618; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11065487
- Tzetzo SL, Kramer ED, Mohammadpour H, Kim M, Rosario SR, Yu H, Dolan MR, Oturkar CC, Morreale BG, Bogner PN, Stablewski AB, Benavides FJ, Brackett CM, Ebos JML, Das GM, Opyrchal M, Nemeth MJ, Evans SS, Abrams SI. Downregulation of IRF8 in alveolar macrophages by G-CSF promotes metastatic tumor progression. iScience. 2024 Mar 15;27(3):109187. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109187. eCollection 2024 Mar 15. PubMed PMID: 38420590; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10901102
- Ishikawa H, Kimura S, Takase H, Borlongan M, Fukuda N, Hoshino T, Hamanaka G, Park JH, Shindo A, Kim KW, Gelman IH, Lok J, Lo EH, Arai K. Sex differences in the role of AKAP12 in behavioral function of middle-aged mice. Biol Sex Differ. 2024 Nov 21;15(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s13293-024-00670-8. PMID: 39574214; PMCID: PMC11580627.
- Miller KA, Degan S, Wang Y, Cohen J, Ku SY, Goodrich DW, Gelman IH. Correction: PTEN-regulated PI3K-p110 and AKT isoform plasticity controls metastatic prostate cancer progression. Oncogene. 2024 Jan;43(1):76. doi: 10.1038/s41388-023-02920-2. Erratum for: Oncogene. 2024 Jan;43(1):22-34. doi: 10.1038/s41388-023-02875-4. PMID: 38097735; PMCID: PMC10766535.
- Glass TJ, Russell JA, Fisher EH, Ostadi M, Aori N, Yu YE, Connor NP. Altered tongue muscle contractile properties coincide with altered swallow function in the adult Ts65Dn mouse model of down syndrome. Front Neurol. 2024;15:1384572. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1384572. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 38585362; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10995394
- Pechous RD, Malaviarachchi PA, Xing Z, Douglas A, Crane SD, Theriot HM, Zhang Z, Ghaffarieh A, Huang L, Yu YE, Zhang X. SARS-CoV-2 Infection Causes Heightened Disease Severity and Mortality in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Biomedicines. 2024 Feb 28;12(3). doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12030543. PubMed PMID: 38540156; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10967796
- Xing Z, Li Y, Cortes-Gomez E, Jiang X, Gao S, Pao A, Shan J, Song Y, Perez A, Yu T, Highsmith MR, Boadu F, Conroy JM, Singh PK, Bakin AV, Cheng J, Duan Z, Wang J, Liu S, Tycko B, Yu YE. Dissection of a Down syndrome-associated trisomy to separate the gene dosage-dependent and -independent effects of an extra chromosome. Hum Mol Genet. 2023 Jun 19;32(13):2205-2218. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddad056. PubMed PMID: 37014740; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10281752
- Zhang J, Gelman IH, Qu J, Hochwald SN. Phosphohistidine signaling promotes FAK-RB1 interaction and growth factor-independent proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Oncogene. 2023 Feb;42(6):449-460. doi: 10.1038/s41388-022-02568-4. Epub 2022 Dec 13. PMID: 36513743.
- Zhang R, Singh S, Pan C, Xu B, Kindblom J, Eng KH, Krolewski JJ, Nastiuk KL. Rate of castration-induced prostate stroma regression is reduced in a mouse model of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Am J Clin Exp Urol. 2023;11(1):12-26. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 36923722; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10009314
- Xing Z, Li Y, Cortes-Gomez E, Jiang X, Gao S, Pao A, Shan J, Song Y, Perez A, Yu T, Highsmith MR, Boadu F, Conroy JM, Singh PK, Bakin AV, Cheng J, Duan Z, Wang J, Liu S, Tycko B, Yu YE. Dissection of a Down syndrome-associated trisomy to separate the gene dosage-dependent and -independent effects of an extra chromosome. Hum Mol Genet. 2023 Jun 19;32(13):2205-2218. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddad056. PubMed PMID: 37014740; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10281752
- Ellegate J Jr, Mastri M, Isenhart E, Krolewski JJ, Chatta G, Kauffman E, Moffitt M, Eng KH. Loss of MAGEC3 Expression Is Associated with Prognosis in Advanced Ovarian Cancers. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Jan 30;14(3). doi: 10.3390/cancers14030731. PubMed PMID: 35158998; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8833712.
- Vickman RE, Aaron-Brooks L, Zhang R, Lanman NA, Lapin B, Gil V, Greenberg M, Sasaki T, Cresswell GM, Broman MM, Paez JS, Petkewicz J, Talaty P, Helfand BT, Glaser AP, Wang CH, Franco OE, Ratliff TL, Nastiuk KL, Crawford SE, Hayward SW. TNF is a potential therapeutic target to suppress prostatic inflammation and hyperplasia in autoimmune disease. Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 19;13(1):2133. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29719-1. PMID: 35440548; PMCID: PMC9018703.
- Martin JC, Sims JR, Gupta A, Hagoel TJ, Gao L, Lynch ML, Woloszynska A, Melendy T, Kane JF, Kuechle J, Ohm JE. CDC7 kinase (DDK) inhibition disrupts DNA replication leading to mitotic catastrophe in Ewing sarcoma. Cell Death Discov. 2022 Feb 26;8(1):85. doi: 10.1038/s41420-022-00877-x. PubMed PMID: 35220396; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8882187.
- Boison D, Masino SA, Lubin FD, Guo K, Lusardi T, Sanchez R, Ruskin DN, Ohm J, Geiger JD, Hur J. The impact of methodology on the reproducibility and rigor of DNA methylation data. Sci Rep. 2022 Jan 10;12(1):380. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-04346-w. PubMed PMID: 35013473; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8748700.
- Hagoel TJ, Cortes Gomez E, Gupta A, Twist CJ, Kozielski R, Martin JC, Gao L, Kuechle J, Singh PK, Lynch M, Wei L, Liu S, Wang J, Ohm JE. Clinicopathologic and molecular analysis of a BCOR-CCNB3 undifferentiated sarcoma of the kidney reveals significant epigenetic alterations. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud. 2022 Jan;8(1). doi: 10.1101/mcs.a005942. Print 2022 Jan. PubMed PMID: 34819304; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8744494.
- Grand'Maison A, Kohrn R, Omole E, Shah M, Fiorica P, Sims J, Ohm JE. Genetic and environmental reprogramming of the sarcoma epigenome. Adv Pharmacol. 2023;96:283-317. doi: 10.1016/bs.apha.2022.10.001. Epub 2022 Nov 7. PMID: 36858777.
- Martin JC, Sims JR, Gupta A, Bakin AV, Ohm JE. WEE1 inhibition augments CDC7 (DDK) inhibitor-induced cell death in Ewing sarcoma by forcing premature mitotic entry and mitotic catastrophe. Cancer Res Commun. 2022 Jun;2(6):471-482. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-22-0130. Epub 2022 Jun 20. PMID: 36338546; PMCID: PMC9635308.
- Omole EB, Aijaz I, Ellegate J Jr, Isenhart E, Desouki MM, Mastri M, Humphrey K, Dougherty EM, Rosario SR, Nastiuk KL, Ohm JE, Eng KH. Combined BRCA2 and MAGEC3 Expression Predict Outcome in Advanced Ovarian Cancers. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Sep 28;14(19):4724. doi: 10.3390/cancers14194724. PMID: 36230652; PMCID: PMC9562635.
- Torres-Estay V, Mastri M, Rosario S, Fuenzalida P, Echeverría CE, Flores E, Watts A, Cerda-Infante J, Montecinos VP, Sotomayor PC, Amigo J, Escudero C, Nualart F, Ebos JML, Smiraglia DJ, Godoy AS. The Differential Paracrine Role of the Endothelium in Prostate Cancer Cells. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Sep 29;14(19). doi: 10.3390/cancers14194750. PubMed PMID: 36230673; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9563990
- Katsuta E, Gil-Moore M, Moore J, Yousif M, Adjei AA, Ding Y, Caserta J, Baldino CM, Lee KP, Gelman IH, Takabe K, Opyrchal M. Targeting PIM2 by JP11646 results in significant antitumor effects in solid tumors. Int J Oncol. 2022 Oct;61(4):114. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2022.5404. Epub 2022 Aug 3. PMID: 35920189; PMCID: PMC9387562.
- Krolewski JJ, Singh S, Sha K, Jaiswal N, Turowski SG, Pan C, Rich LJ, Seshadri M, Nastiuk KL. TNF Signaling Is Required for Castration-Induced Vascular Damage Preceding Prostate Cancer Regression. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Dec 7;14(24). doi: 10.3390/cancers14246020. PubMed PMID: 36551505; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9775958
- Zonneville J, Wang M, Alruwaili MM, Smith B, Melnick M, Eng KH, Melendy T, Park BH, Iyer R, Fountzilas C, Bakin AV. Selective therapeutic strategy for p53-deficient cancer by targeting dysregulation in DNA repair. Commun Biol. 2021 Jul 12;4(1):862. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02370-0. PubMed PMID: 34253820; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8275734.
- He X, Zhou S, Dolan M, Shi Y, Wang J, Quinn B, Jahagirdar D, Huang WC, Tsuji M, Pili R, Ito F, Ortega J, Abrams SI, Ebos JML, Lovell JF. Immunization with short peptide particles reveals a functional CD8+ T-cell neoepitope in a murine renal carcinoma model. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Dec;9(12):e003101. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003101. PMID: 34862254; PMCID: PMC8647534.
- Degan SE, Gelman IH. Emerging Roles for AKT Isoform Preference in Cancer Progression Pathways. Mol Cancer Res. 2021 Aug;19(8):1251-1257. doi: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-20-1066. Epub 2021 Apr 30. Review. PubMed PMID: 33931488; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8349788.
- Li F, Aljahdali IAM, Zhang R, Nastiuk KL, Krolewski JJ, Ling X. Kidney cancer biomarkers and targets for therapeutics: survivin (BIRC5), XIAP, MCL-1, HIF1α, HIF2α, NRF2, MDM2, MDM4, p53, KRAS and AKT in renal cell carcinoma. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Aug 12;40(1):254. doi: 10.1186/s13046-021-02026-1. Review. PubMed PMID: 34384473; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8359575.
- Illouz T, Biragyn A, Frenkel-Morgenstern M, Weissberg O, Gorohovski A, Merzon E, Green I, Iulita F, Flores-Aguilar L, Dierssen M, De Toma I, Lifshitz H, Antonarakis SE, Yu E, Herault Y, Potier MC, Botté A, Roper R, Sredni B, Sarid R, London J, Mobley W, Strydom A, Okun E. Specific Susceptibility to COVID-19 in Adults with Down Syndrome. Neuromolecular Med. 2021 Dec;23(4):561-571. doi: 10.1007/s12017-021-08651-5. Epub 2021 Mar 4. PubMed PMID: 33660221; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7929736.
- Sawa M, Overk C, Becker A, Derse D, Albay R, Weldy K, Salehi A, Beach TG, Doran E, Head E, Yu YE, Mobley WC. Impact of increased APP gene dose in Down syndrome and the Dp16 mouse model. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Nov 10;. doi: 10.1002/alz.12463. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34757693; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9085977.
- Brault V, Nguyen TL, Flores-Gutiérrez J, Iacono G, Birling MC, Lalanne V, Meziane H, Manousopoulou A, Pavlovic G, Lindner L, Selloum M, Sorg T, Yu E, Garbis SD, Hérault Y. Dyrk1a gene dosage in glutamatergic neurons has key effects in cognitive deficits observed in mouse models of MRD7 and Down syndrome. PLoS Genet. 2021 Sep;17(9):e1009777. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009777. eCollection 2021 Sep. PubMed PMID: 34587162; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8480849.
- Shen H, Chen Y, Wan Y, Liu T, Wang J, Zhang Y, Wei L, Hu Q, Xu B, Chernov M, Frangou C, Zhang J. Identification of TAZ-Dependent Breast Cancer Vulnerabilities Using a Chemical Genomics Screening Approach. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021;9:673374. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.673374. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34211974; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8239392.
- Ma S, Wu Z, Yang F, Zhang J, Johnson RL, Rosenfeld MG, Guan KL. Hippo signalling maintains ER expression and ER+ breast cancer growth. Nature. 2021 Mar;591(7848):E1-E10. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03131-5. Epub 2021 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 33658690; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8725601.
- Wei L, Christensen SR, Fitzgerald ME, Graham J, Hutson ND, Zhang C, Huang Z, Hu Q, Zhan F, Xie J, Zhang J, Liu S, Remenyik E, Gellen E, Colegio OR, Bax M, Xu J, Lin H, Huss WJ, Foster BA, Paragh G. Ultradeep sequencing differentiates patterns of skin clonal mutations associated with sun-exposure status and skin cancer burden. Sci Adv. 2021 Jan;7(1). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd7703. Print 2021 Jan. PubMed PMID: 33523857; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7775785.
- Zonneville J, Colligan S, Grant S, Miller A, Wallace P, Abrams SI, Bakin AV. Blockade of p38 kinase impedes the mobilization of protumorigenic myeloid populations to impact breast cancer metastasis. Int J Cancer. 2020 Oct 15;147(8):2279-2292. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33050. Epub 2020 May 28. PubMed PMID: 32452014; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7484223.
- Zonneville J, Wong V, Limoge M, Nikiforov M, Bakin AV. TAK1 signaling regulates p53 through a mechanism involving ribosomal stress. Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 13;10(1):2517. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59340-5. PubMed PMID: 32054925; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7018718.
- Oshi M, Katsuta E, Yan L, Ebos JML, Rashid OM, Matsuyama R, Endo I, Takabe K. A Novel 4-Gene Score to Predict Survival, Distant Metastasis and Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2020 May 2;12(5). doi: 10.3390/cancers12051148. PubMed PMID: 32370309; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7281399.
- Vaghi C, Rodallec A, Fanciullino R, Ciccolini J, Mochel JP, Mastri M, Poignard C, Ebos JML, Benzekry S. Population modeling of tumor growth curves and the reduced Gompertz model improve prediction of the age of experimental tumors. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 Feb;16(2):e1007178. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007178. eCollection 2020 Feb. PubMed PMID: 32097421; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7059968.
- Audrey-Bayan C, Trager MH, Gartrell-Corrado RD, Rizk EM, Pradhan J, Silverman AM, Lopez A, Marks DK, Niedt G, Geskin LJ, Saenger YM. Distinguishing melanophages from tumor in melanoma patients treated with talimogene laherparepvec. Melanoma Res. 2020 Aug;30(4):410-415. doi: 10.1097/CMR.0000000000000661. PubMed PMID: 32379409; NIHMSID:NIHMS1734307.
- Pan C, Jaiswal Agrawal N, Zulia Y, Singh S, Sha K, Mohler JL, Eng KH, Chakkalakal JV, Krolewski JJ, Nastiuk KL. Prostate tumor-derived GDF11 accelerates androgen deprivation therapy-induced sarcopenia. JCI Insight. 2020 Mar 26;5(6). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.127018. PubMed PMID: 32078585; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7213789.
- Dy GK, Khalil M, Yau E. First-line cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen for non-small cell lung cancer in the elderly population: plus ça change. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2020 Aug;9(4):1591-1594. doi: 10.21037/tlcr-2020-15. PubMed PMID: 32953530; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7481582.
- Iovoli AJ, Hermann GM, Ma SJ, Platek AJ, Farrugia MK, Yau E, Wooten KE, Arshad H, Gupta V, Kuriakose MA, Hicks WL Jr, Singh AK. Association of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use With Survival in Patients With Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Treated With Chemoradiation Therapy. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jun 1;3(6):e207199. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.7199. PubMed PMID: 32602907; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7327544.
- Wang S, Zhang Q, Tiwari SK, Lichinchi G, Yau EH, Hui H, Li W, Furnari F, Rana TM. Integrin αvβ5 Internalizes Zika Virus during Neural Stem Cells Infection and Provides a Promising Target for Antiviral Therapy. Cell Rep. 2020 Jan 28;30(4):969-983.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.11.020. Epub 2020 Jan 16. PubMed PMID: 31956073; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7293422.
In the news
Contact us
Jennifer Panaro
Department Administrator
Email: Jennifer.Panaro@RoswellPark.org
Taylor Petroff
Administrative Assistant
Email: Taylor.Petroff@RoswellPark.org
Allie Valentine
Scientific Research Project Specialist
Email: Alexandra.Thomson@RoswellPark.org