Genes Webinar | Genomics and Precision Health
Meet Our Speakers
Prof. Dr. Selvarangan Ponnazhagan
Experimental Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA;
Dr. Ponnazhagan is a trained molecular geneticist with a focus on cancer. He is currently a Full Professor and holds an Endowed Professorship in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics. The major research areas of Dr. Ponnazhagan’s lab are experimental cancer therapeutics, including stem cell and gene therapy using adeno-associated virus (AAV), tumor microenvironment (TME), and cancer bone metastasis. In reference to cancer-bone interaction, Dr. Ponnazhagan’s lab models breast cancer to adopt strategies that target tumor cells, immune suppression, and aggressive osteoclast functions. To overcome limitations in current therapies, his lab developed novel molecular tools and targeted delivery mechanisms, utilizing mesenchymal stem cells as effective therapeutic vehicles for bone remodeling in breast cancer osteolytic pathology. Towards targeting receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) activation using osteoprotegerin (OPG), a decoy receptor for RANKL, without interfering in tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-mediated apoptosis of tumor cells, his lab developed an OPG mutant by structural protein engineering that lacks TRAIL binding affinity and validated in vivo in a disseminated osteolytic malignancy model. His group is the first one to identify a subset of immature myeloid cells, known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells, in the TME within the bone, directly undergo osteoclast differentiation and serve as osteoclast progenitors to enhance bone damage. Recent studies from his lab established the role of RANKL in activating M2 macrophages in breast cancer microenvironment and that dampening the effects of elevated RANKL using the OPG mutant resulted in a shift in the immune milieu favoring an anti-tumor cytokines and chemokine response.
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Organizer
On Thursday, 6 October 2022, MDPI and the Genes Journal organized the 2nd Genes webinar, entitled "Genomics and Precision Health".
The introduction was held by the Chair of the webinar, Prof. Dr. Selvarangan Ponnazhagan, a trained molecular geneticist with a focus on cancer. He is currently a Full Professor and holds an Endowed Professorship in Experimental Cancer Therapeutics.
The first speaker was Dr. Olaf Bodamer with his presentation "The Promise of Pediatric Precision Health". He was recruited to Boston Children’s Hospital in 2015 as Associate Chief for Genetics and Genomics, where he also has an established translational research laboratory. Since 2021 he directs the NORD center of excellence for rare diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The second presentation was held by Dr. Elisa J.F. Houwink with her presentation "Implementing (Pharmaco) Genetics Through Bioinformatics in Daily Primary Care Practice". After obtaining her medical degree in 2003, she started working as a resident at the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology both in Amsterdam and in Heerlen.
The presentations were followed by a Q&A and a discussion, moderated by the Chair Prof. Dr. Selvarangan Ponnazhagan. The webinar was offered via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found here on Sciforum website. In order to stay updated on the next webinars on Genes be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking on “Subscribe” at the top of the page.