2012 Free to Breathe Young Investigator Research Grant
Narendra Wajapeyee, PhD
Yale University School of Medicine
Research Project:
p53 Mutations and Controlling Cell Growth
Summary:
This research project seeks to build understanding of a genetic problem that drives lung cancer growth in approximately 50% of lung cancer patients. When the gene p53 is mutated, part of the system that controls cell growth and division becomes broken, allowing cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. Dr. Wajapeyee is working on ways to fix this system by using other genes to control cell growth, which could lead to new, effective treatments for patients whose tumors have a p53 mutation.