Simone Benitz, PhD
ROR2, a novel driver of pancreatic cancer progression with therapeutic potential
Dr. Benitz’s team found that the receptor ROR2 (receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2) is expressed early in the transformation to cancer, and can be detected in a larger group of pancreatic cancer cells. Using CRISPR/Cas9, the team will knock out ROR2 to test whether losing it reprograms cells toward a less malignant state. They will also test whether drugs targeting molecules downstream of ROR2 — KDM1A, HDAC2 and AKT — have therapeutic benefit, with the goal of finding new strategies to treat the disease.
Dr. Simone Benitz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Howard Crawford, PhD, first at the University of Michigan and now at Henry Ford Health in Detroit. She earned her PhD at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, studying epigenetic alterations in pancreatic cancer. Her research investigates the transcriptional and epigenetic changes that drive cellular reprogramming, both as pancreatic cancer begins and as late-stage tumors progress. She aims to become an independent researcher, finding new molecular markers that can be used for early diagnosis and targeted by treatment.
Seed grants start at $50,000 — awarded by scientists, reported on annually.
Donate →Simone Benitz, PhD
ROR2, a novel driver of pancreatic cancer progression with therapeutic potential
Dr. Benitz’s team found that the receptor ROR2 (receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2) is expressed early in the transformation to cancer, and can be detected in a larger group of pancreatic cancer cells. Using CRISPR/Cas9, the team will knock out ROR2 to test whether losing it reprograms cells toward a less malignant state. They will also test whether drugs targeting molecules downstream of ROR2 — KDM1A, HDAC2 and AKT — have therapeutic benefit, with the goal of finding new strategies to treat the disease.
Dr. Simone Benitz is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Howard Crawford, PhD, first at the University of Michigan and now at Henry Ford Health in Detroit. She earned her PhD at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, studying epigenetic alterations in pancreatic cancer. Her research investigates the transcriptional and epigenetic changes that drive cellular reprogramming, both as pancreatic cancer begins and as late-stage tumors progress. She aims to become an independent researcher, finding new molecular markers that can be used for early diagnosis and targeted by treatment.
Seed grants start at $50,000 — awarded by scientists, reported on annually.
Donate →