Shedding light on cancer cell biology
Dr. Sherif Abou Elela, Canada Research Chair in RNA Biology and Cancer Genomics, is seeking to better understand the biology of cancer cells. He is doing so by examining how the maturation and degradation of ribonucleic acid (RNA)?part of a cell?can define how cells function.
Recent work in the Abou Elela Lab showed that RNA is a major source of cancer biomarkers and may predict tumour behaviour and drug resistance. Over the next seven years, Abou Elela and his team will used introns?the part of DNA that is eliminated as the cell matures?and and other cell processes to better understand and treat cancer.