Date & Time: Thursday December 10, 2009 – 7:30 PM
Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )
Speaker: Dr. Hassan Ashktorab
Synopsis:
Finding better therapies for the treatment of many tumors including colorectal cancer (CRC) is hampered by the lack of consistently obtained molecular data in a large sample set and the ability to integrate biomedical data from disparate sources enabling translation of therapies from bench to bedside. Hence, a critical factor in the advancement of biomedical research and clinical translation is the ease with which data can be integrated, redistributed, and analyzed both within and across functional domains. Novel biomedical informatics infrastructure and tools are essential for developing individualized patient treatment based on the specific genomic signatures in each patient’s tumor. Here, I present and explain the molecular biology of gene (oncogene and tumor suppressor genes), and implication of personalized medicine in colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of death in the USA.
Dr. Hassan Ashktorab is a professor in the Department of Medicine and an adjunct professor in the Department of Genetics and Human Genetics. The focus of Dr. Ashktorab’s research is epigenetics and the genetics of gastrointestinal cancers especially colon cancer. His long term goals include the identification and characterization of factors that play a direct role in the initiation and progression of cancer, specifically colon cancer. Dr. Ashktorab is hopeful that his work can contribute to the reduction of cancer health disparities through his NIH funded research focusing on investigating the genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to the development of adenomas (polyps) and colon cancer especially in African Americans.
Dr. Ashktorab received his undergraduate degree in medical technology from Shiraz University in Iran. In 1984 he moved to the United States to attend Utah State University where he received a Masters degree in molecular biology and went on to get a PhD in Molecular Biology. He did two post-doc training, one at Indiana university and the other at University of Florida. In, 2004, Dr. Ashktorab became the first holder of the Fulbright Scholarship from Howard University. He is currently a Fulbright Ambassador in the Washington DC metropolitan area and also serves on the Board of Directors of Ibn Sina Health Foundation of North America (ISHFINA), a non-profit organization that provides help to uninsured people in the DC Metro area.
Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public