Cancer is a leading cause of death and morbidity in the United States and this problem is expected to grow as our life expectancy increases. We have focused on the genetics of cancer with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer. We have previously identified genetic mutations responsible for the majority of inherited and sporadic forms of colorectal cancer.

Future studies are aimed at further characterizing these mutated pathways using genetic manipulation of human cancer cells and powerful methods for gene expression analyses. In addition, we have major translational efforts intended improve the clinical management of cancer.

These efforts include novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches based on the knowledge of the genetic alterations that occur in cancer. A variety of novel approaches have been developed and employed to achieve the goals described above including, SAGE, Digital Karyotyping, Conversion, BEAMing and human somatic cell knockouts.