The focus of my research is the identification of genes critical to the development of breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes responsible for most inherited breast and ovarian cancer. However, their role in sporadic tumorigenesis is not clear. One aim of my research is to understand how loss of BRCA1 and BRCA2 function in inherited and sporadic tumors leads to tumors specifically of the breast and ovary. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are multifunctional proteins. In collaboration with numerous researchers at the University of Washington, the Baton Rouge Women's Hospital, various biotech companies, and others, we have designed experiments to reveal what functions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 are necessary for tumor suppression in vivo. Another aim of my research is to investigate breast cancer susceptibility that is not attributable to BRCA1 and BRCA2. Breast tumors are known to have a high rate of genetic alteration suggesting that defects in repair genes may also impact breast cancer. It is likely that some mutator mechanism is involved in breast tumorigenesis. I am using a novel yeast system to identify genes that are targets of mutator mechanisms and to identify new mutator genes. The identification of breast and ovarian cancer genes will be the basis for the development of greatly improved detection mechanisms and treatment regimens for breast and ovarian cancer
