Dr. Daniel Durocher — The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

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Dr. Daniel Durocher
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Daniel Durocher has focused his considerable talent on investigating how normal cells become cancer cells. His research is an example of the potential that drives fundamental research: that a new understanding of the basic cellular mechanisms involved in cancer – all cancers – will revolutionize prevention and treatment of the disease.

In particular, Dr. Durocher is looking at how healthy cells detect and repair damage to their DNA. DNA damage to cells can occur through environmental exposure to sunlight or smoking, but also occurs regularly through normal metabolic processes like aging. We know that in healthy cells, this damage is detected and repaired naturally, but that in cancer this DNA damage response has failed.

Understanding how healthy cells detect and repair damage to their DNA will reveal important insights into what goes wrong in cells that become cancerous. Moreover, discoveries related to DNA damage will open the door to new, more sophisticated treatments for the disease: rendering cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy for example, or developing drugs that can more selectively target cancerous cells.

Samuel Lunenfeld
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
600 University Avenue
Toronto Ontario M5G 1X5

Tel: 416-586-4800 ext.2544
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Jul 15, 2009 05:15 PM

At a Glance

Investigates how normal cells become cancerous cells – and how healthy cells detect and repair damage to their DNA. (In cancer, this DNA damage response has failed.)
Also studies telomeres – the ends of chromosomes that are broken. There is a connection between aging and shortening telomeres.
Dr. Durocher is the Tom Kierans Research Chair in Mechanisms of Cancer Development.
Holds the Canada Research Chair in Proteomics, Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics.
Awarded the prestigious Maud Menten New Principal Investigator Prize from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in 2006, and an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation in 2007
Winner of the 2009 Lloyd Fogler Award of Excellence
Named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 in 2010

Major Research Activities

The major goal of Dr. Durocher´s lab is to understand how normal cells can become cancerous. Since genome instability is a hallmark of the cancer phenotype, his lab is studying DNA repair, DNA replication and cell cycle checkpoints, the gate keepers of the genome. Recently, Dr. Durocher took advantage of an exciting initiative in functional genomics to discover novel genes that enforce genome integrity.

Recent Publications

Stewart GS, Panier S, Townsend K, Al-Hakim AK, Kolas NK, Miller ES, Nakada S, Ylanko J, Olivarius S, Mendez M, Oldreive C, Wildenhain J, Tagliaferro A, Pelletier L, Taubenheim N, Durandy A, Byrd PJ, Stankovic T, Taylor AM, Durocher D.
The RIDDLE syndrome protein mediates a ubiquitin-dependent signaling cascade at sites of DNA damage.
Cell. 2009 Feb 6;136(3):420-34.

Mao DY, Neculai D, Downey M, Orlicky S, Haffani YZ, Ceccarelli DF, Ho JS, Szilard RK, Zhang W, Ho CS, Wan L, Fares C, Rumpel S, Kurinov I, Arrowsmith CH, Durocher D, Sicheri F.
Atomic structure of the KEOPS complex: an ancient protein kinase-containing molecular machine.
Mol Cell. 2008 Oct 24;32(2):259-75.

Kolas NK, Chapman JR , Nakada S, Ylanko Y, Chahwan R, Sweeney FD, Panier S, Mendez M, Wildenhain J, Thomson TM, Pelletier L, Jackson SP, Durocher D.
Orchestration of the DNA-Damage Response by the RNF8 Ubiquitin Ligase.
Science 2007 Dec 7;318(5856):1637-40

► Lunenfeld Research Repository

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