Scott William Lowe

Dr. Scott Lowe is a Member and Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and an Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Lowe is a leader in the biology of tumor suppressor genes, and has described the action of tumor suppressor gene networks in multi-step carcinogenesis, cellular senescence, therapy response, and tumor maintenance. He identified an essential role for p53 in apoptosis triggered by oncogenes and anticancer agents, providing the first example of how cancer genotypes can impact therapy response. Lowe also discovered the phenomenon of oncogene-induced senescence, later establishing its role as a potent barrier to tumorigenesis and identifying key mechanisms underlying this effect. He has developed innovative tools for probing cancer biology, including a high throughput transgenics approach that uses RNA interference (RNAi) to regulate endogenous gene expression in tissue-specific and reversible ways. He developed a novel approach to identify and characterize human-relevant cancer genes by integrating cancer genomics, mouse models, and RNAi, and also uses similar methods to identify and validate new therapeutic targets. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the American Association for Cancer Research Outstanding Investigator Award, the Paul Marks Prize, the Colin Thomson Memorial Medal, the Kunio Yagi Medal, and the Alfred G. Kudsen Award. His articles appear in many prominent journals including Cell and Nature.