Dr. Daniel Peeper, staff member at the Division of Molecular Genetics at the NKI-AVL, has been appointed as professor of Functional Oncogenomics at the VU university medical center (VUmc) Amsterdam, on behalf of the Association of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, effective October 1.
Functional oncogenomics
By using a variety of molecular biological approaches, including genome-wide genetic screens in mammalian cells, Peeper’s laboratory focuses on resolving cancer cell networks and identifying cancer drug targets. For example, his group, in collaboration with professor Wolter Mooi (VUmc), discovered that the outgrowth of benign nevi (moles) into malignant melanoma is prevented by a process called ‘oncogene-induced senescence’. Furthermore, his laboratory identified the neurotrophic kinase receptor TrkB as a strong promotor of tumor cell metastasis. Most recently, his group discovered an important role for inflammatory proteins in suppressing colon cancer.
CV
Peeper received his PhD in the laboratory of professor Alex van der Eb at the University of Leiden (The Netherlands, 1994), for his work on adenoviral oncoproteins and cell cycle-regulatory proteins. He received his first postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Mark Ewen (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA), where he discovered a functional connection between the Ras signaling protein and the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein. During a second postdoctoral period in the laboratory of professor René Bernards (Netherlands Cancer Institute), he studied cellular protection against oncogenic transformation, using function-based genome-wide screens. He received a senior research position at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in 2000. Since 2002 as a principal investigator and since 2005 as Associated Professor he has been running his own laboratory at this institute, in the Division of Molecular Genetics.
Read more about Peeper’s research group.