Presentation
Organizer: IRB BioMed Seminars
Date / Time: Thursday, October 8th at 3PM
Place: Fèlix Serratosa
Speaker: Peter Ly, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Children’s Research Institute - UT Southwestern Medical Center -Dallas, Texas | cri.utsw.edu | thelylab.org
Host: Marco Milán, Ph.D. - Programme Chair - Group Leader, IRB Barcelona - Mechanisms of Disease Programme.
Abstract:
Most cancers harbor complex genomes with numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities. My laboratory investigates the mechanisms that shape the chaotic mutational landscape of cancer genomes. We are particularly interested in a class of complex genome rearrangements generated by the catastrophic shattering of individual chromosomes. This process – termed chromothripsis – is initiated by mitotic errors that entrap mis-segregated chromosomes within aberrant nuclear structures called micronuclei. DNA damage and DNA replication defects within micronuclei trigger shattering of the mis-segregated chromosome into tens to hundreds of fragments. Reassembly of these fragments by error-prone DNA repair pathways generates highly rearranged chromosomes with extensive DNA copy-number alterations. Chromothripsis exemplifies a rapid mutational process in which numerous genetic lesions can be acquired within a few cell cycles, ranging from the simultaneous inactivation of multiple tumor suppressor genes to the production of extrachromosomal DNA carrying amplified oncogenes. Our long-term goal is to understand how mitotic errors, micronuclei, and chromothripsis contribute to cancer genome instability, tumorigenesis, and resistance to anti-cancer therapeutics. In this seminar, I will present our latest findings on how chromothripsis arises and how genomic instability can propagated between neighboring cells.
IMPORTANT: For attendees outside the PCB community you must register at least 24h before the seminar
The weekly seminars at IRB Barcelona are scientific events primarily addressed to the Institute’s research community and professionals in the biomedical field. Attendance is intended exclusively for individuals with a genuine and justified scientific interest in the seminar content. Registration should not be used to request supporting documents for visa or immigration purposes. For participants residing outside Spain, in-person attendance requires a formal invitation issued by an IRB Barcelona research group or department. Without such an invitation, access to the institute cannot be guaranteed. IRB Barcelona reserves the right to review and verify all seminar registrations.