Alan D'Andrea
Encyclopedia
Dr. Alan D. D'Andrea, MD is an American cancer researcher and the Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller American Cancer Society Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School
. Dr. D'Andrea's research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute focuses on chromosome instability and cancer susceptibility. He is currently the director of the DFCI Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory and the Director of the Clinical Gene Therapy Center at Children's Hospital Boston.
As a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute
of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. D'Andrea cloned the erythropoietin receptor
, a protein
known to rescue red blood cell
progenitors from apoptosis
.
and other cancers. His laboratory examines molecular signaling pathways and the resulting DNA damage response in mammalian cells. These pathways are often disrupted in cancer cells, accounting for chromosome instability and increased gene mutation frequency in human tumors. Dr. D'Andrea and his colleagues have identified and cloned a family of cytokine-inducible deubiquitinating enzymes that regulate hematopoietic cell growth by controlling the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis
of intracellular growth regulatory proteins.
The practical application of Dr. D'Andrea's research includes genetic diseases in humans. His primary focus is the molecular pathogenesis of human chromosome instability syndromes: Fanconi anemia
(FA), ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), and Bloom syndrome
(BS). Most notably, Fanconi anemia is an autosomal-recessive cancer susceptibility disorder characterized by developmental defects and increased cellular sensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents.
, residency training in pediatric at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
, and fellowship training in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston. He completed a research fellowship at the Whitehead Institute
of Biomedical Research and joined the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in 1990.
in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and Harvard University
. He lives in Winchester, Massachusetts with his wife, two children, and two dogs. He is the brother of Laura Tyson, an American economist and former Chair of the US President's Council of Economic Advisers
during the Clinton Administration.
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. Dr. D'Andrea's research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute focuses on chromosome instability and cancer susceptibility. He is currently the director of the DFCI Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory and the Director of the Clinical Gene Therapy Center at Children's Hospital Boston.
As a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute
Founded in 1982, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research and teaching institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA....
of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. D'Andrea cloned the erythropoietin receptor
Erythropoietin receptor
The erythropoietin receptor is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EPOR gene. EpoR is a 59 kDa peptide and is a member of the cytokine receptor family. EpoR pre-exists as dimers...
, a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
known to rescue red blood cell
Red blood cell
Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...
progenitors from apoptosis
Apoptosis
Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...
.
Research
The D’Andrea laboratory at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute is interested in the molecular events involved in normal blood cell formation and in the molecular cause of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
and other cancers. His laboratory examines molecular signaling pathways and the resulting DNA damage response in mammalian cells. These pathways are often disrupted in cancer cells, accounting for chromosome instability and increased gene mutation frequency in human tumors. Dr. D'Andrea and his colleagues have identified and cloned a family of cytokine-inducible deubiquitinating enzymes that regulate hematopoietic cell growth by controlling the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis
Proteolysis
Proteolysis is the directed degradation of proteins by cellular enzymes called proteases or by intramolecular digestion.-Purposes:Proteolysis is used by the cell for several purposes...
of intracellular growth regulatory proteins.
The practical application of Dr. D'Andrea's research includes genetic diseases in humans. His primary focus is the molecular pathogenesis of human chromosome instability syndromes: Fanconi anemia
Fanconi anemia
Fanconi anemia is a genetic disease with an incidence of 1 per 350,000 births, with a higher frequency in Ashkenazi Jews and Afrikaners in South Africa.FA is the result of a genetic defect in a cluster of proteins responsible for DNA repair...
(FA), ataxia-telangiectasia (AT), and Bloom syndrome
Bloom syndrome
Bloom's syndrome , also known as Bloom–Torre–Machacek syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive chromosomal disorder characterized by a high frequency of breaks and rearrangements in an affected person's chromosomes. The condition was discovered and first described by dermatologist Dr...
(BS). Most notably, Fanconi anemia is an autosomal-recessive cancer susceptibility disorder characterized by developmental defects and increased cellular sensitivity to DNA crosslinking agents.
Background
Dr. D’Andrea received his MD in 1983 from Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, residency training in pediatric at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. CHOP has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Parents Magazine in recent years. As of 2008, it was ranked #1 in the nation for...
, and fellowship training in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston. He completed a research fellowship at the Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute
Founded in 1982, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research and teaching institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA....
of Biomedical Research and joined the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in 1990.
Personal
Dr. D'Andrea attended the Lawrenceville SchoolLawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He lives in Winchester, Massachusetts with his wife, two children, and two dogs. He is the brother of Laura Tyson, an American economist and former Chair of the US President's Council of Economic Advisers
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic Advisers is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy...
during the Clinton Administration.
External links
- http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/BBS/fac/dandrea.php
- http://www.childrenshospital.org/cfapps/research/data_admin/Site307/mainpageS307P0.html
- http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/membership/profile/member/702/0/
- http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/virology/fac/dandrea.php
- http://www.ddcf.org/Medical-Research/Program-Strategies/Clinical-Research/Distinguished-Clinical-Scientist-Award/2000-DCSA-Grantees/Alan-D-DAndrea-MD/
- http://www.triconference.com/PharmaWeek_Article.aspx?id=85518&LangType=1033