K-T Varley

Genomic technology has revolutionized our ability to study the molecular defects that occur in cancer. We use next-generation sequencing assays and computational analysis to study the gene expression, transcription factor binding and DNA methylation patterns in breast cancer. Our goals are to answer fundamental questions about how epigenetic gene regulation is disrupted in cancer cells, and to discover pathways and biomarkers that have a more immediate impact on breast cancer treatment. Our projects involve the development of new molecular methods and bioinformatics approaches to explore the cancer genome and translate our discoveries into clinical tools that improve patient care. 

Specific projects in the lab include:

1. Exploring the role of transcription factors in driving the gene expression programs that cause cancer and metastasis. These studies include identifying transcription factors responsible for the gene expression signatures that we observe in cancer, and performing functional assays to determine if inhibiting these factors stops tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion.
2. Developing non-invasive biomarker tests to detect circulating tumor DNA in patients’ blood plasma, and determining how sensitive and specific these tests are for detecting resistance to therapy and disease progression in patients.
3. Analyzing genomic data collected from patients enrolled in clinical drug trials to identify genomic signatures in their tumors that predict response to therapy. This project includes the development of clinical-scale biomarker tests that can be used to selectively enroll patients in subsequent trials who are most likely to respond to therapy.