Katherine A. Hoadley

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Katherine A. Hoadley
Katie Hoadley (cropped).jpg
Born
Academic background
EducationBA, BS, Chemistry and Biology, 2001, West Virginia Wesleyan College
PhD, 2006, Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Thesis Development of biologically based therapies for basal-like breast tumors (2006)
Academic work
Institutions UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Katherine A. Hoadley is an American breast cancer researcher. As of 2017, she has served as the Associate Director of Cancer Genomics for the High-Throughput Sequencing Facility at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research is focused on understanding the biology of cancer through gene expression analyses and integrative genomic approaches.

Contents

Early life and education

Hoadley was born and raised in Shepherdstown, West Virginia [1] to a toxicologist father. Her first job was at the United States Department of Agriculture at the age of 16 doing plant research. [2] Hoadley earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree from the West Virginia Wesleyan College [2] where she also competed in track and field. [3] She later earned her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). [2]

Career

Upon completing her PhD, Hoadley continued to study the complexity of breast cancer as a Research Assistant Professor at UNC. [2] While serving in this role, she worked alongside D. Neil Hayes to document four molecular subtypes of squamous cell cancer for the first time. [4] In 2011, she was the inaugural co-recipient of the new Weatherspoon Family Brain Tumor Research Award for her contributions to the analysis of glioblastomas. [1] The following year, Hoadley co-led a clinical trial testing a combination therapy for basal-like breast cancer which found that a combination of two drugs with promising preclinical results was not as effective as previously believed. [5]

A few years later, Hoadley was a lead researcher at The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) which analyzed over 3,500 tumors across 12 different tissue types to see how they compared to one another. The results of the study found that one in ten cancers analyzed would be classified differently using their new approach. [6] In 2015, she helped identify a group of women with HER2 positive breast cancer who could benefit from less intensive targeted treatment using molecular profiling of patients’ breast cancer tumors. Upon publishing the results, researchers said the findings "could spare unnecessary treatment for those patients and help save health care dollars". [7] Hoadley also found that 51 percent of patients had high expression levels of genes predominately expressed by immune cell subsets. [8]

In 2016, Hoadley co-identified a particular gene expression pattern in normal-appearing breast tissue around tumors that was linked to lower survival rates for women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. [9] As a result of her research, she received a grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization "to study the genetic and immune cell features of basal-like breast cancer, a poorly understood subtype of breast cancer." [10] The following year, Hoadley was appointed Associate Director of Cancer Genomics for the High-Throughput Sequencing Facility and eventually named an assistant professor in UNC's Department of Genetics. [11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Hoadley was the recipient of the Marion R. Wright Award for Scientific Excellence as "an exemplary researcher within the field of metastatic breast cancer within their first three years on faculty." [12] Her work was also listed among the most influential scientific papers on Clarivate’s 2020 Highly Cited Researchers list. [13]

Related Research Articles

MammaPrint is a prognostic and predictive diagnostic test for early stage breast cancer patients that assess the risk that a tumor will metastasize to other parts of the body. It gives a binary result, high-risk or low-risk classification, and helps physicians determine whether or not a patient will benefit from chemotherapy. Women with a low risk result can safely forego chemotherapy without decreasing likelihood of disease free survival. MammaPrint is part of the personalized medicine portfolio marketed by Agendia.

The Cancer Genome Project is part of the cancer, aging, and somatic mutation research based at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in The United Kingdom. It aims to identify sequence variants/mutations critical in the development of human cancers. Like The Cancer Genome Atlas project within the United States, the Cancer Genome Project represents an effort in the War on Cancer to improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention through a better understanding of the molecular basis of the disease. The Cancer Genome Project was launched by Michael Stratton in 2000, and Peter Campbell is now the group leader of the project. The project works to combine knowledge of the human genome sequence with high throughput mutation detection techniques.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a project, begun in 2005, to catalogue genetic mutations responsible for cancer, using genome sequencing and bioinformatics. TCGA applies high-throughput genome analysis techniques to improve the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer through a better understanding of the genetic basis of this disease.

Triple-negative breast cancer is any breast cancer that does not express the genes for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu. This makes it more difficult to treat since most hormone therapies target one of the three receptors, so triple-negative cancers often require combination therapies. Triple negative is sometimes used as a surrogate term for basal-like; however, more detailed classification may provide better guidance for treatment and better estimates for prognosis.

The basal-like carcinoma is a recently proposed subtype of breast cancer defined by its gene expression and protein expression profile.

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) is a voluntary scientific organization that provides a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers. The ICGC was launched in 2008 to coordinate large-scale cancer genome studies in tumours from 50 cancer types and/or subtypes that are of main importance across the globe.

Breast cancer classification divides breast cancer into categories according to different schemes criteria and serving a different purpose. The major categories are the histopathological type, the grade of the tumor, the stage of the tumor, and the expression of proteins and genes. As knowledge of cancer cell biology develops these classifications are updated.

Edison Liu

Edison T. Liu, M.D., is the president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory, and was the president of Human Genome Organization, HUGO from 2007-2013.

Cancer is a category of disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and proliferation. For cancer to develop, genes regulating cell growth and differentiation must be altered; these mutations are then maintained through subsequent cell divisions and are thus present in all cancerous cells. Gene expression profiling is a technique used in molecular biology to query the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. In the context of cancer, gene expression profiling has been used to more accurately classify tumors. The information derived from gene expression profiling often helps in predicting the patient’s clinical outcome.

Cancer genome sequencing is the whole genome sequencing of a single, homogeneous or heterogeneous group of cancer cells. It is a biochemical laboratory method for the characterization and identification of the DNA or RNA sequences of cancer cell(s).

The term radiogenomics is used in two contexts: either to refer to the study of genetic variation associated with response to radiation or to refer to the correlation between cancer imaging features and gene expression.

Targeted molecular therapy for neuroblastoma involves treatment aimed at molecular targets that have a unique expression in this form of cancer. Neuroblastoma, the second most common pediatric malignant tumor, often involves treatment through intensive chemotherapy. A number of molecular targets have been identified for the treatment of high-risk forms of this disease. Aiming treatment in this way provides a more selective way to treat the disease, decreasing the risk for toxicities that are associated with the typical treatment regimen. Treatment using these targets can supplement or replace some of the intensive chemotherapy that is used for neuroblastoma. These molecular targets of this disease include GD2, ALK, and CD133. GD2 is a target of immunotherapy, and is the most fully developed of these treatment methods, but is also associated with toxicities. ALK has more recently been discovered, and drugs in development for this target are proving to be successful in neuroblastoma treatment. The role of CD133 in neuroblastoma has also been more recently discovered and is an effective target for treatment of this disease.

Molecular diagnostics

Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyse biological markers in the genome and proteome—the individual's genetic code and how their cells express their genes as proteins—by applying molecular biology to medical testing. The technique is used to diagnose and monitor disease, detect risk, and decide which therapies will work best for individual patients.

Edith A. Perez, M.D., is a world-renowned American translational researcher and cancer specialist, known equally for her impact in designing innovative clinical trials and for her patient-centered humanitarian passion.

Norman Sharpless

Norman Edward "Ned" Sharpless is the current Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Previously, Sharpless was Professor of Medicine and Genetics Chair, Director of University of North Carolina UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Molecular Therapeutics, Wellcome Distinguished Professorship in Cancer Research.

Benita S. Katzenellenbogen née Schulman is an American physiologist and cell biologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has studied cancer, endocrinology, and women's health, focusing on nuclear receptors and on improving the effectiveness of endocrine therapies in breast cancer.

Personalized onco-genomics is a growing area of interest in the field of oncology and genomics that is focused on utilizing whole genome analysis to make rational clinical treatment decisions for each individual patient. The idea for this program was devised at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre and is currently being led by Dr. Marco Marra and Dr. Janessa Laskin. Genome instability has been identified as one of the underlying hallmarks of cancer. The genetic diversity of cancer cells promotes multiple other cancer hallmark functions that help them survive in their microenvironment and eventually metastasise. The pronounced genomic heterogeneity of tumours has led researchers to develop an approach that assesses each individual's cancer to identify targeted therapies that can halt cancer growth. Identification of these “drivers” and corresponding medications used to possibly halt these pathways are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of cancer.

Thea D. Tlsty is an American pathologist and professor of pathology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is known for her research in cancer biology and her involvement in the discovery of cells that may be at the origin of metaplastic cancer, an invasive form of breast cancer.

Montserrat García-Closas Spanish academic and researcher

Montserrat García-Closas, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., is a Spanish researcher and academic who is best known for her works on identifying cancer biomarkers and genetic susceptibility to cancer. Dr. García-Closas serves as the deputy director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics (DCEG) of the National Cancer Institute, as well as the Acting Chief of the Integrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch of the DCEG.

David "Neil" Hayes is an American oncologist and physician-scientist. He is the Van Vleet Endowed Professor in Medical Oncology and the division chief of haematology and oncology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. As a result of his research, Hayes was elected a Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

References

  1. 1 2 Hughes, Tom (February 9, 2011). "Carey Anders, Katherine Hoadley are first recipients of new brain tumor research award". healthtalk.unchealthcare.org. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Katherine Hoadley: Face of Breast Cancer Researcher". komennctc.org. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. "GOLDEN EAGLE OPEN TRACK MEET". www.runwv.com. April 14, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  4. "UNC Scientists Confirm Four Molecular Subtypes for Most Common Lung Cancer". unclineberger.org. September 30, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  5. "Combination therapy for triple-negative breast cancer disappointing". unclineberger.org. June 12, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  6. "Largest cancer genetic analysis reveals new way of classifying cancer". unclineberger.org. August 7, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. "Subgroup of women with HER-2-positive breast cancer highly sensitive to treatments, study finds". unclineberger.org. November 5, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  8. "UNC Lineberger researchers help map genetic mutations in skin cancer". unclineberger.org. June 18, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  9. "Researchers link gene expression patterns of normal tissue to breast cancer prognosis". unclineberger.org. May 26, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  10. "Breast cancer researchers receive $2.5 million in Susan G. Komen grants". unclineberger.org. September 19, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  11. "Katherine Hoadley, PhD Appointed Assistant Professor in Department of Genetics". med.unc.edu. February 8, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  12. "Breast Cancer Research Foundation honors Hoadley with the Marion R. Wright Award for Scientific Excellence". unclineberger.org. August 31, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  13. "UNC Lineberger faculty among the most highly cited scientists worldwide". unclineberger.org. November 20, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.