Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) member Huanyu Qiao, an associate professor in the departments of comparative biosciences and bioengineering, has received a CCIL Seed Grant to drive advancements in precision cancer medicine through the study of DNA repair pathways across various cancer types. This project leverages third-generation sequencing to explore how different cancers—such as breast, liver, and colon cancer—navigate DNA repair, providing insights critical for enhancing diagnostics and tailoring treatments.
Written by Javeria Malik
Huanyu Qiao
A groundbreaking research project led by Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) member Huanyu Qiao, associate professor in the department of comparative biosciences and the department of bioengineering, secured a CCIL Seed Grant. Seed grants provide funding that enables faculty teams to develop noble cancer research ideas, collect preliminary data and attract external funding.
The project aims to make innovative discoveries in precision medicine by studying the DNA repair pathways across different cancer types. Hence, this research unlocks new possibilities in enhancing cancer diagnostics and advancing personalized cancer treatments.
“Different cancers, such as breast, liver, or colon cancer, can follow varied DNA repair pathways, even under the same treatment protocol. Understanding these pathways allows us to identify biomarkers that predict patient outcomes. This is critical for developing individualized cancer therapy and precise treatments tailored to individual cases,” Qiao said.
The research project “Sister-Pore-Repair Dissects DNA Repair Pathways and Hotspot Distribution Among Different Cancers and Treatments” focuses on homologous recombination which is a process where damaged DNA strands are repaired using sister chromatids that are formed during the DNA replication process. This is achieved using third-generation sequencing technology, which is a relatively new and innovative method that brings groundbreaking advancements to the field.
“The first time we detected DNA repair intermediates using sequencing was exciting. It was a fundamental discovery—from zero to one. It was a revolutionary discovery, as previously, no one had used this sequencing method to detect the intermediates or final product of the DNA repair pathways,” said Qiao.
However, the team also faces challenges with the speed of the technology. As Qiao explained, “Currently, detecting DNA duplexes is not as efficient, though new advancements in nanopore technology are emerging to be more advanced. In the future, it will be easier to achieve this task.”
The major impact of this project lies in treatment strategies and cancer diagnosis. Through this technology and research, doctors will be able to identify DNA repair pathways across different types of cancers to choose the most effective therapy for their patients.
Since the journey for this project started two years ago, the team has already made significant strides including the discovery of DNA repair intermediates through sequencing and using preliminary data to develop bioinformatics methods for downstream analysis. With the CCIL seed funding, the team aims to use the groundbreaking sequencing technology to make discoveries in mapping of DNA repair mechanisms and identifying hotspot distribution across different cancers. This research will ultimately benefit the researchers and bring hope to future cancer patients and healthcare providers.
Editor’s notes:
Huanyu (Joe) Qiao is an associate professor of comparative biosciences and bioengineering. He can be reached at hqiao@illinois.edu.