Dr. Xie focuses on uncovering mutation-independent mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer. The prevalence of drug resistance in tumors – and collateral damage to healthy tissues – have been major roadblocks to improving the efficacy of chemotherapy. While current research has been focused on identifying mutations that confer cancer drug resistance, an emerging paradigm is that mutation-independent changes in the chromatin or proteins could be a hidden force that promotes the development of drug resistance. Her goal is to identify and characterize the heritable “molecular memories” that can confer a fitness advantage during future exposure to chemotherapeutics and other stresses.
Content courtesy of Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
published research
Xie JL, Jarosz DF. Mutations, protein homeostasis, and epigenetic control of genome integrity. DNA Repair. 2018.