Norwegian Cancer Society's "research project of the month" to Silje H. Nordgard
The Norwegian Cancer Society's "Research project of the month" for August went to Silje H. Nordgard from the Group of Cancer Genome Variation at the Department of Genetics at the Institute for Cancer Research.
The selected project of Nordgard et al. - entitled "Genetics of gene expression in breast carcinomas" - examined to what extent genetic variation influence expression levels in breast carcinomas.
About the project:
Genetic components ranging from genome wide germline variation to copy number alterations of the tumors and allelic specific aberrations (derived by applying the novel tool ASCAT) were analyzed for their association with gene expression in breast carcinomas. The results point to the existence of a selection in breast tumors with respect to what allele is amplified or deleted, and the resulting variation in expression level may be the driving force behind this selection. These results imply that the germline genetic background may play a significant role in the expression pattern observed in the tumor, as may both total copy number and allele specific aberrations of the tumor.
Links:
The project presented at "forskning.no" - a large national web portal of popular science (in Norwegian)
Article about the project from the Norwegian Cancer Society (in Norwegian): Sporadisk brystkreft kan også arves
Overview - "Research projects of the month" from Norwegian Cancer Society (in Norwegian)
Silje H. Nordgard
Group of Cancer Genome Variation (headed by Vessela N. Kristensen)
Department of Genetics
Insitute for Cancer Research