How cancer-linked pathways create fragile spots in DNA
Official title: Oncogenic pathway-induced fragile sites: a new paradigm for understanding genome instability in cancer
Funded at San Diego Biomedical Research Institute · NIH-11473636 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how cancer-related cellular pathways make weak spots in chromosomes so patterns in a tumor's genome can point to the pathways driving that cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | San Diego Biomedical Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project start | March 10, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $137,509 |
| NIH project number | 3R01CA270335-05S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11473636 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with cancer who have had or are willing to have tumor whole-genome sequencing or who can donate tumor tissue or genomic data for research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose cancers are driven purely by small gene changes without structural genome breaks, or who cannot access genomic testing, may not see direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, researchers will grow cells in the lab and expose them to stress that reveals chromosome fragile sites, then map where breaks occur. They will combine those lab maps with large-scale whole-genome sequencing data from cancers to link break patterns to disrupted cellular pathways. The team will follow how initial breaks expand into complex genome changes over time in controlled systems. The goal is to make lab models more like real tumors so genome patterns become a clearer guide to what is driving each cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors read a tumor's genome to identify the broken pathways and guide more targeted treatment choices.
How similar studies have gone: Previous genomic studies have cataloged breakpoint patterns and fragile sites, but using lab models to predict which pathways are disrupted from those patterns is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
San Diego Biomedical Research Institute
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gilbert, David M — San Diego Biomedical Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Gilbert, David M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.