Discovering novel mechanisms of breast cancer brain metastasis using high throughput mass spectrometry-based technology

Emily Chen

: J Comput Sci Syst Biol

Abstract :

Dr. Weljie is currently the co-Director of the Metabolomics Research Centre at the University of Calgary, where his primary focus is developing a program in cancer metabolism using a combination of highly sensitive mass spectrometry methods and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition to methods development, projects in Dr. Weljie?s group are focused on i) elucidating the connection between energy and lipid metabolism and cancer, and ii) the impact of environmental toxicants on carcinogenesis and cellular proliferation. Dr. Weljie?s group is also involved in several multidisciplinary clinical collaborations focusing on serum metabolomics in cancer. This program builds on his previous expertise in nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics, which has been productive in both methods development and elucidating biological phenomena both at the University of Calgary, with Chenomx Inc, and at the University of Cambridge in the lab of Dr. Jules Griffin.

Biography :

Dr. Chen received her Ph.D. degree from the Department of Molecular Pathology at the University of California, San Diego in 2002. Then, she pursued her postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute in Dr. John Yates? laboratory. Currently, she is a faculty member in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences and the Scientific Director of the Proteomics Center at the Stony Brook University. Using the cutting-edge mass spectrometry-based proteomic techniques, her current research focuses on elucidating mechanisms of tissue-specific breast cancer metastasis and identifying protein targets to eradicate the growth of distal breast cancer metastasis. She is also developing new proteomics techniques to perform biomarker discovery using archived tissues from human patients.