Ronald Anthony DePinho

Uses genetically engineered mouse models of human cancers to examine role of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and telomerase in a variety of cancer types. Focuses on fundamental biological processes in tumor formation such as genome stability, cell cycle and cell death, differentiation, and angiogenesis. Demonstrated that genome instability induced by telomere dysfunction in mouse models recapitulates that of human tumors. Findings show advancing age to be the most potent risk factor for developing human epithelial cancers. Received the Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Prize (2009) and American Italian Cancer Foundation Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine (2012) and named National Academy of Sciences member (2012) and American Association for Cancer Research Academy fellow (2015).