2013 Mentored Investigator Grant Recipient — Ronald Chandler, PhD

Ronald Chandler, PhD

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

A Genetically Relevant Mutant Mouse Model of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Project Summary

Ovarian clear-cell and endometrioid carcinomas are among the endometriosis-associated epithelial tumor subtypes with the lowest survival rate. Many of these tumors harbor mutations in ARID1A, an essential protein subunit within the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. The goals of this research are to improve our understanding of the functional impact of ARID1A mutations in the cellular and molecular events leading to ovarian cancer through the use of genetically engineered mouse ovarian tumor models. These models will not only further our understanding of the causal relationship that exists between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, but also provide clinicians with a genetically relevant “test bed” for future preclinical drug testing.

Bio

Dr. Chandler received his Ph.D. in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics from Vanderbilt University. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Cancer Society to pursue postdoctoral research in the Laboratory of Dr. Terry Magnuson and Department of Genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also previous recipient of an Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award from the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Dr. Chandler is currently an Assistant Professor in Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Michigan State University. His research interests include SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling-PI3-Kinase pathway crosstalk mechanisms and the role of epigenetics in ovarian cancer.