| Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology O. John Semmes, Ph.D. |
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Anthem Professor for Cancer Research Lewis Hall, #3110 Teaching: Virology, Tumor Biology Biomedical Sciences Program Track: Molecular Integrative Biosciences (MIB) Education
Cancer Biomarkers Dr. Semmes directs a multi-disciplinary team of investigators with the long-term goal of the development and application of clinical proteomics techniques to the early detection of cancer. This program brings together a unique group of individuals with the experience and expertise needed to achieve the objectives of biomarker discovery within existing national and international collaborative efforts, most notably the National Cancer Institute’s Early Detection Research Network. The basic science expertise of the group is in molecular biology, protein chemistry and cancer biology, as well as experimental applied mathematics, physical chemistry and mass spectroscopy. The clinical expertise of the group resides in urological oncology, ob-gyn oncology, and molecular pathology. This team of investigators forms the basis for Dr. Semmes’ successful translational research program. In addition, the group includes biocomputational mathematicians, biostatisticians and programmers to design and evaluate studies, as well as develop methodologies to facilitate data processing in the emerging field of clinical proteomics. These are faculty members at either EVMS or at our neighboring institutions, Old Dominion University and the College of William and Mary. These research activities benefit from the combined facilities provided by three specialized centers of excellence: The Virginia Prostate Center, of which Dr. Semmes is the scientific director, houses and supports the VPC Clinical Biorepository and the George L. Wright Center for Biomedical Proteomics. The biorepository has been in operation since 1990 and houses tissue and body fluids from patients admitted to the EVMS-associated clinical practices. Dr. Semmes established the Center for Biomedical Proteomics in 2002 to meet the growing demands for state-of-the-art proteomics in translational research; the facility was recognized by EVMS and named in honor of George L. Wright in 2005. The Applied Research Center of the Thomas Jefferson Laboratories houses the William and Mary Research Institute activities and provides state-of-the-art laser, materials and chemical physics facilities, and the Applied Mathematics program at William and Mary provides computational expertise in high-dimensional data analysis and associated networking support. Each of these specialized facilities contributes significantly toward an outstanding research environment. Cancers Arising from Infectious Agents Infection with Human T-cell leukemia Virus (HTLV-1) leads to development of a particularly aggressive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease, Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). HTLV-1 is the only known transforming human retrovirus. However, unlike the case with other known transforming retroviruses, ATL does not arise from viral introduction of a cellular oncogene or insertional activation of an endogenous proto-oncogene. The objective of our studies is to understand the mechanisms by which HTLV-1 causes ATL. We are particularly focusing on the viral transactivator Tax, a 40kD protein required for efficient transcription of the viral genome, and for activating and repressing a variety of cellular genes involved in control of cell growth. Selected Publications
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