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From a Sister's Illness... A Cancer Crusadeby Laura Madden-Fuentes 
Dr. Joan Brugge While in college, Dr. Joan Brugge, BCM Graduate School Class of 1975, suffered a devastating diagnosis, though not her own. Brugge's sister, only a year older, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. A math major at the time, Brugge began reading scientific papers to find out everything she could about the deadly disease. "I became completely fascinated by cancer itself and the mechanisms that are responsible for the production of tumors," she said. "It has been a passion my whole life." Brugge switched her major to biology, graduated with honors and headed to Houston to study tumor viruses at Baylor College of Medicine. While here, she studied under Dr. Janet Butel, now professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Virology & Microbiology at BCM. Brugge investigated the DNA tumor virus, SV40, but was frustrated by the long time period required for transformation of normal cells into tumor cells. After completing her thesis, Brugge chose to pursue studies of RNA tumor viruses as a post-doctoral student at the University of Colorado, specifically the Rous sarcoma Virus, which was known to have a single gene, the src gene, able to transform normal cells into tumor cells in mere days. "It was very exciting at the time," said Brugge. "The src gene was found to be a normal cellular gene that was captured by the virus and transformed it into a potent cancer-causing virus." With her curiosity piqued, she studied the normal cellular src gene to discover its function and better understand how alterations could lead to cancer. She found that it, in fact, had many functions, most of which had nothing to do with the proliferation of cells and formation of cancer. Wishing to focus her studies on cellular pathways that regulate disease processes, she left academia for a few years to help form a new biotech company, ARIAD, that hoped to take advantage of the structure of protein components of intracellular pathways that control cancer and other diseases. Once the company moved away from research and towards drug development, she decided to go back to academics. "I missed research tremendously," said Brugge. "That's when I had the opportunity that most people don't get in mid-career—to start from scratch and ask, what are the most important questions to address in cancer based on our current understanding of the disease?" She settled on epithelial tumors, tumors that arise from epithelial cells that form the skin and the lining inside the mouth and body cavities. Though 90 percent of tumors are epithelial, fibroblast tumors, which only account for about 5 percent of all tumors, are the most commonly studied in cell culture. Fibroblast tumors arise from fibroblast cells which give structure to many tissues and are the most common cells in connective tissue. The breast was the most accessible organ in which to study epithelial cancer. For Brugge, it was again personal. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the midst of her research. Currently, Brugge's lab at Harvard Medical School's Department of Cell Biology, which she chairs, is using an in vitro model in which breast cells can organize into three-dimensional structures. "The context is much more relevant to the context of the breast cells in the real gland," said Brugge. "This has been incredibly fascinating. It still keeps me awake at night." Of her days at BCM, Brugge remembers the supportive environment and meeting her husband, a BCM medical school student at the time. She recalls her apprenticeship under Butel. "She was happily married and had kids, yet she was able to handle being a lab director," said Brugge. "I saw that it was feasible to do it all and do it well." |
Patient CarePutting the Pieces Together: Megan's Story When Baby Heart Patients Grow Up Saying Goodnight to Sleeping Pills ResearchFrom a Sister's Illness... A Cancer Crusade EducationCommunity ServiceAlumni & DevelopmentBRASS Connections Help Students Soar College NewsPhysician Hall of Fame: College Receives One-of-a-Kind Signature Collection
People Working Together to Achieve Greatness
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Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2007 |
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