CCR Grand Rounds

Dr. Sharan obtained his B.Sc. in botany and M.Sc. ingenetics from Delhi University, Delhi. In 1994, he obtained his Ph.D. ingenetics under Dr. Terry Magnuson at Case Western Reserve University. He thenjoined Dr. Allan Bradley's laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine as a HowardHughes Medical Institute Associate. In 1998, Dr. Sharan established theGenetics of Cancer Susceptibility Group in the ABL-Basic Research Program. In1999, Dr. Sharan joined the Center for Cancer Research, NCI. In 2008, Dr.Sharan received the NCI Director's Intramural Innovation Award and in 2009 hereceived the NIH merit award and the Arthur Flemming Award for his work onfunctional analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Dr. Sharan is currently a Senior Investigator at theNational Cancer Institute at Frederick and Head of the Genetics of CancerSusceptibility Section. The long-term objectives of his group are tocomprehensively delineate the biological function of BRCA1 and BRCA2 usingknockout and transgenic mouse models. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes play an important role in thedevelopment of familial breast and ovarian cancer. He and his colleagues are engaged ingenerating an array of mutations identified in human breast cancer patientsusing humanized mouse models to understand how these mutations result intumorigenesis. They have developed a mouse embryonic stem cell based functionalassay to examine the functional consequences of variants identified in BRCA1and BRCA2. The human mutations are generated in a bacterial artificialchromosome (BAC) containing full-length human BRCA2 genes. His laboratory has also developed arecombineering-based technology for manipulating BACs. They have now undertaken genetic screens toidentify genes that functionally interact with BRCA2 and contribute totumorigenesis.

NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Grand Rounds is a weekly lecture series addressing current research in clinical and molecular oncology. Speakers are leading national and international researchers and clinicians.