Jonathan Diedrich, PhD
Allele-Specific Oncogenic Rewiring: A Multi-Omic Landscape of KRAS Variant Biology in Pancreatic Cancer
KRAS mutations drive most pancreatic cancers, but different KRAS mutations are often treated as if they were the same. Using pancreatic cancer cells engineered to be genetically identical except for their KRAS mutation, the lab will combine multi-omic and high-content imaging approaches (ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, Cell Painting, and ¹³C-glucose tracing with Seahorse XF analysis) to see how each mutation rewires the cell. The goal is to find weak points specific to each mutation, so each patient can be matched with the therapy most likely to work against their tumor's mutation.
Dr. Jonathan Diedrich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. He earned his BS in Zoology from Michigan State and his PhD in Cancer Biology from Wayne State University, then trained at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where his work in pharmacogenomics helped show that genetically distinct subtypes of leukemia are wired differently and respond differently to treatment. He is now building a multi-omic and functional atlas of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer with Dr. Thomas McFall of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Seed grants start at $50,000 — awarded by scientists, reported on annually.
Donate →Jonathan Diedrich, PhD
Allele-Specific Oncogenic Rewiring: A Multi-Omic Landscape of KRAS Variant Biology in Pancreatic Cancer
KRAS mutations drive most pancreatic cancers, but different KRAS mutations are often treated as if they were the same. Using pancreatic cancer cells engineered to be genetically identical except for their KRAS mutation, the lab will combine multi-omic and high-content imaging approaches (ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, Cell Painting, and ¹³C-glucose tracing with Seahorse XF analysis) to see how each mutation rewires the cell. The goal is to find weak points specific to each mutation, so each patient can be matched with the therapy most likely to work against their tumor's mutation.
Dr. Jonathan Diedrich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. He earned his BS in Zoology from Michigan State and his PhD in Cancer Biology from Wayne State University, then trained at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where his work in pharmacogenomics helped show that genetically distinct subtypes of leukemia are wired differently and respond differently to treatment. He is now building a multi-omic and functional atlas of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer with Dr. Thomas McFall of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Seed grants start at $50,000 — awarded by scientists, reported on annually.
Donate →