[Island Outreach Foundation Innovator of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award]
Cancer is thought to arise through a series of genetic mutations in the DNA sequence. Depending on the location of these errors and the genes that are affected, these mutations lead to the many different features that characterize cancer cells such as uncontrolled proliferation, escape from cell death and metastasis.
Dr. Mayr proposes the existence of a new type of anomaly that can lead to cancer: non-genetic aberrations induced by modifications of RNAs, which have so far been excluded from large-scale cancer genomics efforts. She has developed a new method to identify this type of aberration in different cancers and will investigate its frequency and functional consequences for tumor growth. Her studies will help to broaden the understanding of cancers and may also help in the design of new therapeutics.
