Wendy Huss

Research Overview:

My research lab focus is to understand the mechanism of cancer stem cells to understand the clonal expansion that can represent field cancerization in early tumorigenesis and expansion of therapy resistant cells recurrent cancer. In attempts to analyze the rare cancer stem cells in bulk tissue, collaborations with Drs. Wei and Paragh take advantage of the high percentage of cancer stem cells in melanoma and then early UV induced clonal mutations in normal sun-exposed skin. Our collaborations led to studies using single cell sequencing of melanoma cells and detection of clonal mutations in sun-exposed “normal” skin. With the success of these projects, the lab focuses on utilizing current genomic and clinical resources to move studies into the clinic.

In a long-term collaboration with Dr. Foster, we have established a track record of testing stem cell and cancer stem cell properties from both mouse and human tissues. We have demonstrated acquiring human surgical and donor specimens for use in stem cell assays from multiple tissues including bladder, melanoma, prostate, sarcoma and ovarian. The tissues are procured from both surgical specimens at Roswell Park and a warm autopsy program, rapid tissue acquisition program (RTAP) in collaboration with ConnectLife, Western New York’s Blood and Organ Donor Program. Additionally, we have determined the impact of time of procurement for utilizing fresh surgical specimens for genomic and cell-based assays. We are excited to use our expertise to determine if clonal mutational burden in normal tissue frequently exposed to carcinogens (i.e. skin, lung, esophagus, colon, bladder) can predict cancer risk. These studies will eventually lead to better preclinical screening to assess the risk of cancer and enable prevention and early therapeutic interventions.

Past and current funding include: NCI, NIDDK, DOD, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, NYSTEM, and Dr. Louis Sklarow Memorial Fund.