Junya Tomida, Ph.D.

My current research is biomedical science, specifically cancer. My laboratory focuses on defining mechanisms of chemoresistance in prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers using approaches in biochemistry, protein complex, cell and molecular biology, supplemented by newly available genome sequencing data (e.g. TCGA and ONCOMINE). In particular, we are interested in DNA repair pathways since cancer often results from genomic instability in somatic cells and/or acquired mutations in DNA repair genes. The DNA repair pathway is exceptionally important to prevent DNA breaks during normal replication and to remove DNA lesions after damage has occurred. Defects in combinations of DNA repair genes represent a double-edged sword that either enhances cell sensitivity or generates resistance to DNA damage agents, as in some cancers. Herein is the problem of chemoresistance, when cancer cells become refractory to drugs that may have previously demonstrated a beneficial effect.