Laboratory of Cancer Genetics

From left: Zhang, Qian, Massie, Noyes, Westphal, Farber, Kort, Chen, Petillo, Matsuda, Teh

Scientific Overview

General Overview

The Laboratory of Cancer Genetics is headed by Bin Teh. This lab is identifying and studying the genetic alterations found in hereditary cancers versus those found in sporadic cases. Because hereditary cancers are rare, Dr. Teh has collaborations with physicians and scientists worldwide that aid in studying the families in which these cancers occur. Kidney cancers are one focus of the work, and an alteration on chromosome 3 had been identified in the genes of afflicted patients. The patterns of gene expression from spontaneous kidney cancers have been studied and correlated with the patient’s progress in fighting the disease. The gene for another hereditary cancer, Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, has been mapped to chromosome 17.