Ohio State professors Dr. Ruben Petreaca and Dr. Renee Bouley were recently awarded a $157,500 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their research grant proposal entitled, “TIP60-chromatin remodeling complex roles in chromosome break repair.”
Bouley, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Petreaca, an associate professor of molecular genetics both teach at The Ohio State University at Marion and have collaborated on previous cancer research grants.
We aim to map mutations in this chromosome remodeling complex and understand their incidence in cancer cells as well as their contribution to cancer. In lay terms, the basic aim of the research is to uncover mutation patterns and functions of genes, said Petreaca.
“In addition to mutations in several cell division regulating genes, cancer cells are also characterized by re-arrangements of larger chromosomal regions which arise from improper DNA damage repair. Both mutations and re-arrangements drive cancer progression,” he said.
According to Petreaca, the most critical elements that contributed to the success of the NIH grant application were aggressive grant writing and peer reviewed publications involving undergraduate students.
Although the two scientists don’t see this research leading directly to cancer therapies, it could help advance future therapeutic efforts, he explained.
“We will not be generating or outlining any therapies or diagnostics. However, the data could be used down the road by clinical scientists to inform therapeutic strategies,” said Petreaca.
The collaboration of the research duo’s expertise provides a complement between Petreaca, a geneticist, and Bouley, a protein structural biochemist, he said. “Our expertise complements because analyzing these data requires annotation of DNA sequence as well as understanding how mutations affect 3-dimensional protein folding,” said Petreaca.
This grant is another opportunity for undergraduate students in good academic standing at Ohio State Marion to get involved on the ground level in a funded research project, which enriches the portfolio for students who want to attend graduate school or work in a scientific field that requires research experience.
Petreaca and Bouley believe their recent grant could be a steppingstone to larger-scale research or future grant opportunities.
“The goal is to produce preliminary data for a larger National Cancer Institute grant,” Petreaca said, with the intent to submit more grants using data generated from their proposal.