The Cancer Biology and Biochemistry (CBB) Program is a collaborative group of scientific members of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. The members represent many Departments and Sections in Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the WFU Reynolda campus, and the VT-WFU School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering.
Scientific Focus
The Goals of the CBB Program are to understand how biochemistry shapes cancer cell origin and to translate these findings towards human interventions, in collaboration with the Clinical Research Program, by
- Determining how specific biochemical pathways affect tumor initiation and development
- Developing novel therapeutic strategies to improve cancer therapy
Our research is primarily funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Funding also comes from other Institutes within the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, and the National Science Foundation. The last source of funding is from individual donations.
There are three research themes within the Cancer Biology and Biochemistry Program:
The Redox Modulation group has a common goal of understanding redox regulation and the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer and its response to various therapeutic interventions.
Members in this thematic group work on:
- ROS-mediated signaling
- Redox proteomic profiling
- Impact of radiation on cells and tumors
- Structural biology
Collaborations include:
- Biologists
- Biochemists
- Chemists
- X-ray crystallographers
- Physicists
The DNA damage and Genomic Integrity group has a common goal of understanding the metabolism of DNA and how the processes maintain genomic integrity.
Members in this thematic group work on:
- Nucleotide metabolism
- RNA and DNA enzymatic metabolism
- Nanodetection of genome scale changes.
Specific expertise includes:
- Damage and repair pathways in cancer
- DNA processing by exonucleases
- Development of novel genotoxic agents
Collaborations include:
- Biologists
- X-ray crystallographers
- Physicists
- Chemists
The Cellular Metabolism group is focused on understanding how diverse metabolic pathways contribute to the control of tumor growth.
Members of this thematic group studies:
- Complex processes of fatty acid and lipid metabolism
- NAD+ metabolism
- Glucose metabolism and nanotechnology
- Glycolytic regulation
Collaborations include:
- Biologists
- X-ray crystallographers
- Geneticists
- Biochemists
