Oren Parnas, PhD

Oren Parnas, PhD, of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is now in his third and final year of the ICRF’s Barbara S. Goodman Endowed RCDA in Pancreatic Cancer. Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage, after it has already spread to other organs; but, it actually develops over many years, starting from small changes that form pre-malignant lesions, eventually giving rise to the tumor. The Parnas lab is examining the role of 2 transcription factors (proteins involved in the process of converting, or transcribing, DNA into RNA) and how they change the behavior of normal cells to induce cancerous transformation. Their ultimate goal is to be able to detect secreted proteins that are regulated by these transcription factors in the blood of pancreatic cancer patients before the disease has spread. By shedding light on the basic processes that support pancreatic cancer development, their work has the potential to reveal new biomarkers for early detection of pancreatic cancer.

In case you missed it, view our Brilliant Minds webinar “Novel Treatments and Diagnostics for Pancreatic Cancer” featuring Professor Parnas.

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