A fundamental goal in cancer treatment is the delivery of therapeutics in a manner that takes into consideration genetic differences between individuals. Genome-wide association analyses have discovered many DNA variants that influence complex phenotypes such as response to anti-cancer chemo-therapeutic agents. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping techniques have subsequently been employed to identify gene candidates whose mRNA expression is affected by genomic variation and that may serve as missing links between genome variation and cell phenotypes. To improve our understanding of the genetic basis of differential response to anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents, we quantified hundreds of cell signaling proteins and transcription factors in genotyped HapMap LCLs. We then identified many novel genome loci associated with protein expression and identified many novel proteins whose expression was correlated with cellular response to anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents. We subsequently validated several of these proteins as novel causal agents whose expression influenced cell death in response to anti-cancer agents. In this talk, we will speak about our vision for using global micro-array based protein analysis approaches to further the goal of personalized medicine.

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Cancer Community At Illinois Symposium 2012

April 5-6, 2012: Connecting patient care, research, and scientific advancement

Symposium Premise
This on-campus research symposium aims to bring together members of campus and the surrounding community to foster interdisciplinary discussions on cancer research and its affects on patient care. In order to increase understanding and awareness, we will discuss in an open forum with research talks, poster presentations, and panel discussions. We invite community members, clinicians, and researchers from UIUC and other Midwest regional institutions from departments ranging from the social sciences to basic sciences to engineering and medicine.
The symposium features invited talks from nationally-recognized cancer researchers, oral presentations from UIUC faculty and students, and poster sessions. We encourage student researchers from UIUC and from other regional schools to apply (travel awards are available).

About CC@I Symposium
The Cancer Community at Illinois (CC@I) Symposium is organized by a group of students on the University of Illinois campus to bridge the areas of social science, basic sciences to engineering and medicine as they relate to cancer. The symposium mission is to: 1) Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and understanding that transcends established departmental affiliation; 2) Foster an increased understanding of the social and environmental factors affecting patients; and 3) Develop unique vantage points afforded by interactive dialogue between and among the various cancer research disciplines. In order to accomplish this, the symposium will engage the local patient community through use of the nascent social and support efforts of the Mills Breast Cancer Institute, Carle Hospital, and regional clinical collaborators.
If you are interested in other CC@I events or the program in general, please contact cancer-community@illinois.edu

Dr. Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. He is also a Core Fellow of the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and is a founder and director of the University of Chicago Micro-western array Protein Analysis Core Facility. Dr. Jones has a long-standing interest in the development of automated protein analysis technologies for interrogating the roles of protein systems in cancer biology. Dr. Jones received his undergraduate training at Indiana University. He received his Ph.D. at the Center for Cancer Biology and Nutrition through Texas A&M University. He trained at Harvard University as an NIH postdoctoral fellow where he participated in the development of protein microarray approaches for studying mapping human protein interaction networks. His lab has since developed the micro-western array methodology for the network-level interrogation of protein abundances and modification states. His lab has recently applied this methodology for identifying protein networks that underlie resistance to anti-cancer agents.

Workshop Sponsored by:

The Focal Point Project by the Graduate College

Co-sponsors:

Beckman Institute

Department of Bioengineering

Departmnt of Cell and Developmental Biology

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Department of Chemistry

Department of Computer Science

Division of Biomedical Sciences

Institute for Genomic Biology

Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory

Midwest Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center

Molecular and Integrative Physiology

University of Illinois Office of the Provost

University of illinois Cancer Center

Obaid Sarvana, NanoBio Node

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign