Beating Cancer

The problem with cancer is that it’s actually not one disease, it’s many different diseases,” says molecular biologist Bob Tjian. “That means you have to approach it from a variety of different directions. You can get a handle on cancer only if you work together.”

Tjian’s own research plays a key role in Berkeley’s fight against cancer. He studies genes and how they influence cell behavior, seeking answers to why some cells multiply out of control.

Molecular biologist Eva Nogales takes a different, but complementary, tack. She builds three-dimensional molecular models that biochemists use to design drugs targeted at a specific tumor’s weaknesses.

Their data—and that of other Berkeley cancer researchers in fields from public health to combinatorial chemistry—are crucial to their colleagues. Together they are making a difference:

Immunologist Jim Allison has discovered a prostate cancer antigen that could lead the way to a vaccine. Biochemist Mike Botchan studies the virus that causes cervical cancer in search of ways to shut it down. Public health expert Patricia Buffler has established that for many different types of childhood leukemia the triggering events occur in utero.

“For years, the disease has been winning,” says Tjian. “But in the not-so-distant future, the fight is going to turn, and we’re planning the victory party here at Berkeley.”

Related Links

• Robert Tjian Faculty Profile
• UC Berkeley Center for Integrative Genomics
• Eva Nogales Faculty Profile
• The Nogales Lab
• James Allison Faculty Profile
• The Allison Lab
• Michael Botchan Faculty Profile
• The Botchan Lab

Robert Tjian, PhD, is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

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