Digging for Therapeutic Gold: Prospecting for Targets in the Wnt Signaling Pathway

Speakers

Stuart A. Aaronson, MD

Mount Sinai School of Medicine
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Stuart Aaronson is the Jack and Jane B. Aron Professor and chairman of the department of oncological sciences at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In his early studies, Aaronson established that mammalian sarcoma viruses are capable of transformation but are defective in replication and went on to clone many of their oncogenes. His laboratory now focuses on cancer gene discovery: his current research includes investigations into the mechanisms by which tumor suppressor genes induce permanent growth arrest and senescence. He also studies the signaling pathways involved in this process.

Aaronson received his MD degree from the University of San Francisco. He joined the National Institutes of Health in 1967 and became chief of the laboratory of cellular and molecular biology at the National Cancer Institute in 1977. Aaronson is the recipient of numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. Public Health Service, the Rhoads Memorial Award from the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Paul Erhlich Prize from Germany. He is the author of over 530 publications, an inventor on more than 50 patents, and a member of numerous editorial boards and scientific advisory committees.

Eric R. Fearon, MD, PhD

University of Michigan Cancer Center
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Eric Fearon is professor of internal medicine, human genetics, and pathology at the University of Michigan. He is also the associate director for basic science at the University of Michigan Cancer Center. The research in Fearon's laboratory seeks to address the means by which specific oncogene and tumor suppressor gene defects contribute to the pathogenesis of colon and other cancers. Present areas of emphasis include studies of the APC/β-catenin/Tcf, CDX2, and E-cadherin pathways, as well as gene expression profiling of colorectal cancers.

Fearon received his medical and doctoral degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his postdoctoral training at the hematology division of the department of medicine and the oncology center. Fearon has been awarded the David Israel Macht Prize for Basic Science Research by Johns Hopkins and the Wilson S. Stone Award by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He also served as McDonnell fellow in molecular medicine in cancer research.

Randall T. Moon, PhD

University of Washington
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Randall Moon is professor of pharmacology and director of the center for developmental biology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He studies the biochemistry of the Wnt signal transduction pathways and the role of these pathways in vertebrate embryonic development. He is interested in understanding the role of Wnt signaling in diseases and in using this understanding to develop potential therapies.

Moon received his PhD degree from the department of zoology at the University of Washington. His postdoctoral research was conducted at the California Institute of Technology. After returning to the University of Washington, he was a Syntex scholar in cardiovascular research. He is a recipient of a research career development award from the National Institutes of Health and the T.L.L. Temple Foundation Discovery Award of the Alzheimers Association.

Paul Polakis, PhD

Genentech, Inc.
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Paul Polakis is a senior scientist at Genetech, Inc. He heads the tumor antigen project in an effort to identify tumor cell markers that will serve as targets for therapeutic antibodies. He is currently working on identifying antigens that are expressed on the surface of human cancer cells. The overall goal of this project is to raise antibodies to these antigens that will ultimately serve as therapeutics in the treatment of cancer. He also works on the Wnt signaling pathway, which is often defected in human colorectal cancer.

Polakis received his PhD in biochemistry from Michigan State University and went on to become assistant professor of chemistry at Oberlin College. He then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the Duke University Medical Center. He joined Genetech as a postdoctoral research associate in 1987 and, after working at Cetus Corporation and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, returned as senior scientist in 1999.

Sheila Sperber Haas

Sheila Sperber Haas is a freelance science and health care writer living in New York City who writes about issues ranging from molecular biology and immunology to complementary and alternative medicine. Her varied projects include Dermatology Focus, bringing the forefront of molecular investigative dermatology to a clinical readership.