Wilmot Cancer Institute / Research / Research Programs / Genetics, Epigenetics and Metabolism (GEM)

Genetics, Epigenetics and Metabolism (GEM)

Doctors looking at computer

The goal of the Genetics, Epigenetics and Metabolism (GEM) program is to better understand the molecular and cell intrinsic processes that normally constrain cancer development, as well as cancer cell survival, evolution, and recurrence. The GEM program achieves this goal through fundamental research that addresses:

The contribution of genetic and epigenetic disruption and altered gene regulatory mechanisms to cancer;
The role of cellular and organismal aging in exposing new cellular vulnerabilities;
The central role of metabolic dysregulation as a defining and exploitable feature of cancer cells.

The GEM program has three specific aims:

To understand the mechanisms by which altered transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation contribute to aberrant cancer-cell programming.
To elucidate the role of plasticity and aging in cancer development and disease trajectory.
To define and exploit vulnerabilities brought about by oxidative stress and metabolic reprogramming.

GEM strives to work toward clinical translation through the development of preclinical models, the identification of novel biomarkers, and by informing early-phase therapeutic strategies and new clinical trials in collaboration with Wilmot’s Translational Research Groups. GEM has increasingly embraced principles of community-engaged research to guide its studies.

Program Leaders

Genetic Leaders

Darren Carpizo, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Surgery/Oncology at the Wilmot Cancer Institute
Dr. Carpizo's interests include liver, pancreatic, and other gastrointestinal cancers and basic science in those areas that leads to clinical trials.

Paula Vertino, Ph.D.
Wilmot Distinguished Professor in Cancer Genomics and Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research at URMC.
Dr. Vertino’s interests are focused on cancer epigenetics and novel mechanisms of gene silencing in cancer.

Members

Brian Altman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

John Ashton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Benoit Biteau, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Paul L. Boutz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Paul Brookes, Ph.D.
Professor, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

Roman Eliseev, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Orthopaedics

Carol Fries Simpson, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics/Hematology Oncology

Vera Gorbunova, Ph.D.
Professor, Biology

Stephen Hammes, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Medicine/Endocrinology

Isaac Harris, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Aram Hezel, M.D.
Professor, Medicine/Hematology Oncology

Clara Kielkopf, Ph.D.
Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Hartmut Land, Ph.D.
Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Lynne Maquat, Ph.D.
Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Matthew McCall, Ph.D., M.H.S.
Associate Professor, Biostatistics

Stephano Mello, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Edward Messing, M.D.
Professor, Urology

Nimish Mohile, M.D.
Professor, Neurology

Josh Munger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Patrick Murphy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Mark Noble, Ph.D.
Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Mitch O'Connell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Catherine Ovitt, Ph.D.
Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Archibald Perkins, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Irfan Rahman, Ph.D.
Professor, Environmental Medicine

Marlies Rossmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Genetics

Andrei Seluanov, Ph.D.
Professor, Biology

Eric Wagner, Ph.D.
Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Shu-Yuan Yeh, Ph.D.
Professor, Urology

Yi-Tao Yu, Ph.D.
Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics