Daniel A. Haber

Last updated
Daniel A. Haber
Nationality French
Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University
Known for Cancer Genetics
Scientific career
Fields Genetics
Institutions Harvard University
Doctoral advisor Robert T. Schimke
Other academic advisors David E. Housman

Daniel A. Haber is the director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, a professor of oncology at Harvard Medical School, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

Contents

Career

Haber earned his B.S. in life sciences and M.S. in toxicology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in biophysics from Stanford University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Robert T. Schimke. [1] He did his postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with David E. Housman. [2]

As a postdoc, he started to study Wilms' tumor and characterized the tumor suppressor gene WT1 and WTX. [3] [4] In 2003, he recognized that certain patients with lung cancer responded well to the drug Iressa where few other patients showed effect. Sequencing the patient's cancers, they identified specific mutation in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that resulted in sensitivity to certain drugs. [5] [6] By linking mutations to drug sensitivity, they were able to propose new mechanisms for targeted therapies by examining the accumulation of certain mutations in cancer cells. [1] His lab is now focused on studying the genetics of cancer particularly in circulating tumor cells with Mehmet Toner.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He is an editor of Cell and Cancer Cell. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrosine kinase</span> Class hi residues

A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell. It functions as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions.

Autocrine signaling is a form of cell signaling in which a cell secretes a hormone or chemical messenger that binds to autocrine receptors on that same cell, leading to changes in the cell. This can be contrasted with paracrine signaling, intracrine signaling, or classical endocrine signaling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gefitinib</span> Drug used in fighting breast, lung, and other cancers

Gefitinib, sold under the brand name Iressa, is a medication used for certain breast, lung and other cancers. Gefitinib is an EGFR inhibitor, like erlotinib, which interrupts signaling through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in target cells. Therefore, it is only effective in cancers with mutated and overactive EGFR, but resistances to gefitinib can arise through other mutations. It is marketed by AstraZeneca and Teva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epidermal growth factor receptor</span> Transmembrane protein

The epidermal growth factor receptor is a transmembrane protein that is a receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family of extracellular protein ligands.

Quinazoline is an organic compound with the formula C8H6N2. It is an aromatic heterocycle with a bicyclic structure consisting of two fused six-membered aromatic rings, a benzene ring and a pyrimidine ring. It is a light yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in water. Also known as 1,3-diazanaphthalene, quinazoline received its name from being an aza derivative of quinoline. Though the parent quinazoline molecule is rarely mentioned by itself in technical literature, substituted derivatives have been synthesized for medicinal purposes such as antimalarial and anticancer agents. Quinazoline is a planar molecule. It is isomeric with the other diazanaphthalenes of the benzodiazine subgroup: cinnoline, quinoxaline, and phthalazine. Over 200 biologically active quinazoline and quinoline alkaloids are identified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erlotinib</span> EGFR inhibitor for treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer

Erlotinib, sold under the brand name Tarceva among others, is a medication used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic cancer. Specifically it is used for NSCLC with mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) — either an exon 19 deletion (del19) or exon 21 (L858R) substitution mutation — which has spread to other parts of the body. It is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Targeted therapy</span> Type of therapy

Targeted therapy or molecularly targeted therapy is one of the major modalities of medical treatment (pharmacotherapy) for cancer, others being hormonal therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. As a form of molecular medicine, targeted therapy blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted molecules needed for carcinogenesis and tumor growth, rather than by simply interfering with all rapidly dividing cells. Because most agents for targeted therapy are biopharmaceuticals, the term biologic therapy is sometimes synonymous with targeted therapy when used in the context of cancer therapy. However, the modalities can be combined; antibody-drug conjugates combine biologic and cytotoxic mechanisms into one targeted therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRAS</span> Protein-coding gene in humans

KRAS is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called K-Ras, a part of the RAS/MAPK pathway. The protein relays signals from outside the cell to the cell's nucleus. These signals instruct the cell to grow and divide (proliferate) or to mature and take on specialized functions (differentiate). It is called KRAS because it was first identified as a viral oncogene in the KirstenRAt Sarcoma virus. The oncogene identified was derived from a cellular genome, so KRAS, when found in a cellular genome, is called a proto-oncogene.

Matuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cancer. It binds to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with high affinity. The mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb425) from which matuzumab was developed at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The ErbB family of proteins contains four receptor tyrosine kinases, structurally related to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), its first discovered member. In humans, the family includes Her1, Her2 (ErbB2), Her3 (ErbB3), and Her4 (ErbB4). The gene symbol, ErbB, is derived from the name of a viral oncogene to which these receptors are homologous: erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene. Insufficient ErbB signaling in humans is associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, while excessive ErbB signaling is associated with the development of a wide variety of types of solid tumor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afatinib</span> Chemical compound

Afatinib, sold under the brand name Gilotrif among others, is a medication which is used to treat non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). It belongs to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor family of medications. It is taken by mouth.

The Anti-apoptotic Ras signaling cascade is an intracellular signal transduction cascade that involves the Ras protein and inhibits apoptosis. It is the target of the cancer drug gefitinib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined small-cell lung carcinoma</span> Medical condition

Combined small cell lung carcinoma is a form of multiphasic lung cancer that is diagnosed by a pathologist when a malignant tumor, arising from transformed cells originating in lung tissue, contains a component of;small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), admixed with one components of any histological variant of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in any relative proportion.

Targeted therapy of lung cancer refers to using agents specifically designed to selectively target molecular pathways responsible for, or that substantially drive, the malignant phenotype of lung cancer cells, and as a consequence of this (relative) selectivity, cause fewer toxic effects on normal cells.

Growth factor receptor inhibitors are drugs that target the growth factor receptors of cells. They interfere with binding of the growth factor to the corresponding growth factor receptors, impeding cell growth and are used medically to treat cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icotinib</span> Chemical compound

Icotinib is a highly selective, first generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). Icotinib is approved for use in China as first-line monotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer with somatic EGFR mutations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dacomitinib</span> Drug for the treatment of lung carninoma

Dacomitinib, sold under the brand name Vizimpro, is a medication for the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). It is a selective and irreversible inhibitor of EGFR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osimertinib</span> Chemical compound, used as a medication to treat lung cancer

Osimertinib, sold under the brand name Tagrisso, is a medication used to treat non-small-cell lung carcinomas with specific mutations. It is a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

T790M, also known as Thr790Met, is a gatekeeper mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The mutation substitutes a threonine (T) with a methionine (M) at position 790 of exon 20, affecting the ATP binding pocket of the EGFR kinase domain. Threonine is a small polar amino acid; methionine is a larger nonpolar amino acid. Rather than directly blocking inhibitor binding to the active site, T790M increases the affinity for ATP so that the inhibitors are outcompeted; irreversible covalent inhibitors such as neratinib can overcome this resistance.

Roy S. Herbst is an American oncologist who is the Ensign Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pharmacology, Chief of Medical Oncology, and Associate Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

References

  1. 1 2 "Daniel A. Haber". HHMI. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Daniel Haber, M.D., Ph.D." Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  3. Haber, DA; Buckler, AJ; Glaser, T; Call, KM; Pelletier, J; Sohn, RL; Douglass, EC; Housman, DE (Jun 29, 1990). "An internal deletion within an 11p13 zinc finger gene contributes to the development of Wilms' tumor". Cell. 61 (7): 1257–69. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(90)90690-g. PMID   2163761. S2CID   11931372.
  4. "MERIT Award Recipient: Daniel A. Haber, M.D., Ph.D." Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. Lynch, Thomas J.; Bell, Daphne W.; Sordella, Raffaella; Gurubhagavatula, Sarada; Okimoto, Ross A.; Brannigan, Brian W.; Harris, Patricia L.; Haserlat, Sara M.; Supko, Jeffrey G.; Haluska, Frank G.; Louis, David N.; Christiani, David C.; Settleman, Jeff; Haber, Daniel A. (20 May 2004). "Activating Mutations in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Underlying Responsiveness of Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer to Gefitinib" (PDF). New England Journal of Medicine. 350 (21): 2129–2139. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa040938. PMID   15118073.
  6. Sordella, R; Bell, DW; Haber, DA; Settleman, J (Aug 20, 2004). "Gefitinib-sensitizing EGFR mutations in lung cancer activate anti-apoptotic pathways". Science. 305 (5687): 1163–7. Bibcode:2004Sci...305.1163S. doi:10.1126/science.1101637. PMID   15284455. S2CID   34389318.