Paulovich Lab

The Paulovich lab works on developing technologies for detecting cancers at an early stage, while they are curable. We are focused on two areas: developing technology for discovery of diagnostic biomarkers and developing functional assays for risk assessment:

1. Developing technology for discovery of diagnostic biomarkers:

Technological advances in areas such as mass spectrometry and nanotechnology are providing new tools for discovering blood proteins that may be used for diagnosing cancer. However, we have not yet figured out how to use these exciting new technologies effectively. The short-term goal of our research is to develop methods for applying these new technologies to the problem of biomarker discovery. For the next two years, this work will be done in a highly controlled experimental system: inbred mouse strains genetically engineered to develop cancers. The use of mouse models allows us to minimize biological variation (“noise”) and to generate as much sample as needed for technology development. In the longer term, we hope to apply the technology we learn from the mouse work to discovery of diagnostic markers in human cancer patients.

2. Developing functional assays for risk assessment:

Humans vary widely with respect to risk for developing cancer. If we can identify who is at highest risk for developing cancer, as well as who is at highest risk for developing the kind of cancer that spreads, we could then risk-stratify the population to help us in applying and interpreting diagnostic biomarkers.

Specifically, many lines of evidence suggest that differences among humans in cellular repair of DNA damage may explain differences in genetic risk for developing cancer. Over the next two years, we will be developing proteomics-based functional assays of DNA repair that can be performed in high throughput on samples from many patients. These assays will be used to study blood cells derived from people who develop aggressive cancer as compared to healthy people, in hope that we can discern differences that could ultimately be used to risk-stratify the general population or to identify elusive cancer risk genes.

ATM Micro Array Project: A large microarray data set of ATM +/+, +/- and -/- LCLs treated +/- Ionizing Radiation.

Biodosimetry Project: A screen for proteomic changes in response to radiation.

Publications: A list of publications from the Paulovich Lab

Lab Members: Members of the Paulovich Lab