Erin Strome: 2015 NIH Grant Recipient

(2015) Dr. Strome was awarded a 3-year, $326,959 NIH grant for her project titled “Investigation of Candidate Modifier Loci for Cancer Susceptibility.” As the field of cancer genetics has progressed, the focus of research has shifted from identifying highly penetrant rare mutations that convey high cancer risks to identifying mutations and/or polymorphisms that convey lower (albeit significant) cancer risks. Using the yeast model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dr. Strome's research group has identified a group of candidate genes, whose heterozygous mutation, results in chromosome loss events. The aim is to identify the molecular pathways by which mutations in these novel loci result in the cancer-associated phenotype of aneuploidy.