Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa, MD, a world-known expert in the epigenetics of cancer. Dr. Issa recently joined the Coriell Institute for Medical Research as CEO after he worked as a director of Temple University’s Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology. His talk “Methylation Drift in Normal and Neoplastic Stem Cells” will take place on Thursday, April 25th from 12:00-13:00pm in C7619 (Lecture room D).
Dr. Issa’s laboratory has made significant contributions to the understanding of epigenetics in the pathophysiology and treatment of cancer. Some of his lab’s discoveries include the effects of aging and inflammation on promoter DNA methylation, the CpG Island Methylator Phenotype, methylation-independent gene silencing in cancer by Polycomb group proteins, and a link between epigenetics and the microbiome in colon cancer.
Starting in 2000, his group initiated laboratory research directed clinical trials that showed that low doses of hypomethylating drugs specifically target DNA methylation and are optimal in the treatment of leukemias. This work contributed to the FDA approval of decitabine in 2006, and led to a large number of epigenetic therapy clinical trials in different malignancies. His current research focuses on mechanisms of epigenetic alterations in aging and cancer, translation of epigenetic studies for precision medicine, development of drugs for reprogramming the epigenome, and clinical trials of epigenetic therapy in cancer.