BMG Medical Genomics: Convolutional neural network models for cancer type prediction based on gene expression

April 3, 2020

Milad Mostavi, Yu-Chiao Chiu, Yufei Huang & Yidong Chen Abstract Background Precise prediction of cancer types is vital for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Through a predictive model, important cancer marker genes can be inferred. Several studies have attempted to build machine learning models for this task however none has taken into consideration the effects of tissue of origin that can […]

Pain Reports: Reliable approaches to extract high-integrity RNA from skin and other pertinent tissues used in pain research

March 27, 2020

Peter M LoCoco 1, Jacob T Boyd 1, Claudia M Espitia Olaya 2, Ashley R Furr 1, Dawn K Garcia 3, Korri S Weldon 3, Yi Zou 3, Erin Locke 1, Alejandro Tobon 4, Zhao Lai 3 5, Shivani B Ruparel 1, Nikita B Ruparel 1, Kenneth M Hargreaves 1 Abstract Introduction: Comprehensive mRNA sequencing is a powerful tool for conducting unbiased, quantitative differential gene expression analysis. However, the reliability of these data is contingent on the extraction of high-quality RNA from […]

Katsumi Kitagawa, Pharm.D., PhD Awarded $1M NSF Grant

March 16, 2020

Overview: Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation during mitosis. The kinetochore is the protein complex associated with the centromere. Dysfunction in centromeres causes chromosome instability and can result in aneuploidy. The overall goal of our research is to understand the mechanisms that help maintain centromere function. Centromere identity does not rely on specific DNA sequences, […]

bioRxiv : Assessing the Heterogeneity of Cardiac Non-myocytes and the Effect of Cell Culture with Integrative Single Cell Analysis

March 4, 2020

Abstract Cardiac non-myocytes comprise a diverse and crucial cell population in the heart that plays dynamic roles in cardiac wound healing and growth. Non-myocytes broadly fall into four cell types: endothelium, fibroblasts, leukocytes, and pericytes. Here we characterize the diversity of the non-myocytes in vivo and in vitro using mass cytometry. By leveraging single-cell RNA […]

Greehey CCRI Receives Its First NIH K99 Award (Chen Lab)

March 2, 2020

      Yu-Chiao Chiu, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (GCCRI), received the prestigious NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The highly competitive NIH grant is awarded to about 30 outstanding cancer researchers nationwide each year for them to complete mentored training (K99 […]

Clinical Cancer Research: EGFR Amplification Induces Increased DNA Damage Response and Renders Selective Sensitivity to Talazoparib (PARP Inhibitor) in Glioblastoma

March 1, 2020

Shaofang Wu 1, Feng Gao 1, Siyuan Zheng 2, Chen Zhang 1, Emmanuel Martinez-Ledesma 1 3, Ravesanker Ezhilarasan 4, Jie Ding 1, Xiaolong Li 1, Ningping Feng 5, Asha Multani 6, Erik P Sulman 4, Roel G Verhaak 2, John F de Groot 1, Tim P Heffernan 5, W K Alfred Yung 1, Dimpy Koul 7 Abstract Purpose: Exploration of novel strategies to extend the benefit of PARP inhibitors beyond BRCA-mutant cancers is of great interest in personalized medicine. Here, we identified EGFR amplification as a potential biomarker to predict sensitivity […]

Future Focus: San Antonio lands one of its largest Cancer Grants to Bring in New Talent

February 27, 2020

CPRIT officials said this is one of the largest amounts San Antonio institutions have collectively received from the institute in a single funding round since it was established by Texas voters in 2007. CPRIT CEO Wayne Roberts said it’s also further indication that the Alamo City “continues to expand its cancer research and prevention prowess.”