The Sheltzer Lab studies the genetic changes that drive cancer progression and cause developmental disabilities. We’re particularly interested in a condition called aneuploidy – a state in which cells gain or lose whole chromosomes. Aneuploidy is found in more than 90% of human tumors and is the most common cause of miscarriage and intellectual disability, but its effects on cell physiology are poorly understood. We apply a variety of complementary technologies, including chromosome engineering, CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis, and single cell sequencing, in order to develop new ways to model aneuploidy and to better understand its cellular and organismal consequences.
The genetic alterations that occur during tumorigenesis re-wire the underlying architecture of cancer cells and create certain cancer “dependencies”: genes and pathways that are required for cancer cell growth but that are dispensable in normal tissue. Drugs that inhibit the function of a cancer dependency can serve as potent therapeutic agents. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we are working to identify novel cancer dependencies, and to improve the characterization of the drugs that target them.
News
September, 2024
Our new paper uncovering whole-genome duplications as a potential driver of cancer disparities out in Nature Communications. Congrats to the authors!
October, 2023
Our new paper exploring the function of a mischaracterized cancer drug is out in Cell Chemical Biology. Check it out!
July, 2023
Our new paper on “aneuploidy addictions” in cancer is out in Science! Congrats to Vish, Asad, and the other contributors.
Check out the write-up in the Washington Post: “Gene editing helped crack a 100-year-old mystery about cancer”.
July, 2022
Our new work looking at the effects of aneuploidy on protein expression has been published! Congrats to first author Dr. Klaske Schukken.
March, 2022
Our new paper analyzing prognostic biomarkers across cancer types has been published in Cell Reports!
Check out the associated webtool: http://tcga-survival.com/.
September, 2021
Our new paper on chromosomal instability as a driver of drug resistance has been published in Developmental Cell!
January, 2021
Our new review on the role of aneuploidy in tumorigenesis has been published in Nature Reviews Cancer.
June, 2020
Our new review on the identification of cancer drug targets has been published.
February, 2020:
Our new paper on aneuploidy, lineage infidelity, and metastasis has been published.
September, 2019:
Our new paper on cancer drug targets and CDK11 has been published.
Check out the write-up by Carl Zimmer in the New York Times.