George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center researcher Katherine Chiappinelli, PhD, was awarded a prestigious grant from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation. The research project, “Epigenetic Modification and Expression of Retroelements in Cancer Development,” is funded by a two-year, $300,000 grant.
Chiappinelli, an assistant professor of microbiology, immunology, and tropical medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, through the project, will define epigenetic determinants of repetitive elements’ (“junk DNA”) control during tumor progression and lay the groundwork for understanding interactions between these elements and the host immune system.
The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation’s mission is to advance knowledge in the life sciences by sponsoring scientific research and applying learnings and discoveries to benefit humankind. The award includes a subcontract with Kathleen Helen Burns, MD, PhD, professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
