Genetic Mechanisms Program

The Masonic Cancer Center's Genetic Mechanisms (GM) research program consists of 112 faculty members at all ranks from 19 different departments in 19 colleges and schools including the Medical School on the Minneapolis and Duluth campuses, the School of Dentistry, the College of Science and Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The scientific goals of the program are to define and understand the genetic changes that occur during cancer development, including the specific changes that drive tumor initiation and progression and those that influence cancer susceptibility, and to develop interventions to treat or prevent cancers attacking cancer specific features.

See Genetic Mechanisms Program Members

Research themes:

• Cancer gene discovery and analysis: identify  cancer susceptibility genes through germline and somatic tissue analysis, genetic screens for cancer-relevant phenotypes in animal models, functional genomic analysis 
• Genome stability: chromosome segregation; DNA replication, repair and recombination; DNA
• Cancer gene therapy and virotherapy: developing gene therapy and virotherapy
• Genome modification: develop cell-based therapies, and animal and human cancer models by using state-of-the art genome engineering technologies.