Page 16 - Hormel Institute Annual Report 2021-22
P. 16

 Ann M. Bode, PhD
 “Identifying cancer biomarkers is key
to overcoming drug resistance to better
control and manage cancer.”
Ann M. Bode
 Lab research activities:
https://www.hi.umn.edu/research/research- sections/cellular-and-molecular-biology/
ORCID iD:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7432-082X
 16 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE // Cellular & Molecular Biology
PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
The Bode lab’s research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cancer development, especially skin and
gastrointestinal cancers.
Our primary project focuses on solar UV-induced skin cancer. This project is co-led with Dr. Tianshun Zhang and is part of a NIH funded Program Project with the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the world and in America 1 in 5 will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. The annual cost of treating skin cancer in the U.S. is estimated at $8.1 billion for non-melanoma skin cancers not counting the cosmetic, psycholog- ical, and emotional burdens. Most of non-mela- noma skin cancers (NMSCs) are caused by solar ultraviolet radiation or sunlight. TOPK (lympho- kine-activated killer T-cell-originated protein kinase) is a novel mitotic protein kinase that is highly expressed in several different cancers and its expression correlates with the malignant potential of these tumors. PRPK (p53-related protein kinase) is downstream and is activated and phosphorylated at Ser250 by TOPK. Our overall goal is to establish the TOPK/PRPK
      signaling pathway as one of the most critical signaling pathways mediating solar UV (sUV)- induced skin carcinogenesis and in preventing sUV-induced skin cancer. We are determining the role of TOPK and PRPK in solar UV-induced skin carcinogenesis and identifying their molec- ular downstream target(s) in skin inflammation
  


















































































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