 |
|
|
Patrick O. BrownAcademic Appointments
Appointment
Organization
Professor
Member
|
Curriculum Vitae PDF
Honors & Awards
Title
Organization
Date(s)
Medal of Honor
American Cancer Society
2006
Curt Stern Award
American Society for Human Genetics
2005
Rave Award
WIRED Magazine
2004
ASM-Promega Biotechnology Award
American Society for Microbiology
2003
Biotech Helsinki Prize
Finnish National Fund for Research and Development
2003
11 honors and awards: view full list
Administrative Appointments
Title
Organization
Start Year
End Year
Scientific Advisory Board
Canary Fund
2004
-
Scientific Advisory Board
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2000
-
Board of Directors, Co-founder
Public Library of Science
2001
-
Professional Education
Degree
Awarding Institution
Field of Study
Year of Graduation
MD
University of Chicago
1982
PhD
University of Chicago
Biochemistry
1980
BA
University of Chicago
Chemistry
1976
Postdoctoral Advisees
Jamie Bates,
Jason Casolari,
Julia Salzman
Web Site Links
Research/Lab website:
Pat Brown's lab web site
Research Interests
A DNA microarray can be used as a new kind of microscope that allows us to observe a genome’s gene expression program. Each cell in our bodies expresses a specific set of genes according to a precisely controlled genetic script that gives that cell its distinctive design and functional capabilities. The gene expression program that unfolds during a developmental or physiological or pathological process can be read as a kind of a script for that process.
Much of our research is directed at defining the gene expression script of the yeast genome and understanding its logic and the molecular mechanisms that control it – how the global gene expression program responds to the diverse challenges yeast encounter in nature. One important kind of information we can get from these studies is a detailed picture of the rules that govern expression of each gene. Because the expression pattern of a gene is closely tied to its biological role, systematic studies of global gene expression provide clues to the functions of thousands of genes. We are also developing new genetic and biochemical approaches, using DNA microarrays to systematically map out the regulatory circuitry that controls that synthesis, processing, localization, translation and degradation of each gene’s transcripts. Our results thus far provide compelling evidence that post-transcriptional control plays a much richer and more important role in biological regulation than previously suspected.
We use DNA microarrays representing the complete set of known human genes to survey the gene expression patterns in thousands of samples of human cells and tissues under diverse conditions. These studies are providing detailed molecular pictures of the programmed responses of the human genome to diverse physiological and pathological conditions, and they are yielding clues to the mechanisms by which these processes are deranged in cancer and other diseases. We are currently focusing most of this effort in two areas: understanding how the molecular microenvironment influences the survival, proliferation, differentiation and physiology of normal and cancer cells and identifying patterns of gene expression that can be used to detect and precisely identify human cancers and predict their potential for progression or response to specific therapies.
In collaboration with David Relman, we are investigating the microbial communities that inhibit the diverse ecosystems of the human body. We hope to understand not only the detailed composition and population structure of these microbial ecosystems, but also how each individual's genotype and the diverse variables in our life histories influence what microbes live in and on our bodies. We are investigating the possibility that these microbial ecosystems might play important unrecognized roles in many aspects of human health and physiology.
We are actively involved in a multifaceted, collaborative effort to develop strategies and technologies for early detection of cancer.
Much of our research is directed at defining the gene expression script of the yeast genome and understanding its logic and the molecular mechanisms that control it – how the global gene expression program responds to the diverse challenges yeast encounter in nature. One important kind of information we can get from these studies is a detailed picture of the rules that govern expression of each gene. Because the expression pattern of a gene is closely tied to its biological role, systematic studies of global gene expression provide clues to the functions of thousands of genes. We are also developing new genetic and biochemical approaches, using DNA microarrays to systematically map out the regulatory circuitry that controls that synthesis, processing, localization, translation and degradation of each gene’s transcripts. Our results thus far provide compelling evidence that post-transcriptional control plays a much richer and more important role in biological regulation than previously suspected.
We use DNA microarrays representing the complete set of known human genes to survey the gene expression patterns in thousands of samples of human cells and tissues under diverse conditions. These studies are providing detailed molecular pictures of the programmed responses of the human genome to diverse physiological and pathological conditions, and they are yielding clues to the mechanisms by which these processes are deranged in cancer and other diseases. We are currently focusing most of this effort in two areas: understanding how the molecular microenvironment influences the survival, proliferation, differentiation and physiology of normal and cancer cells and identifying patterns of gene expression that can be used to detect and precisely identify human cancers and predict their potential for progression or response to specific therapies.
In collaboration with David Relman, we are investigating the microbial communities that inhibit the diverse ecosystems of the human body. We hope to understand not only the detailed composition and population structure of these microbial ecosystems, but also how each individual's genotype and the diverse variables in our life histories influence what microbes live in and on our bodies. We are investigating the possibility that these microbial ecosystems might play important unrecognized roles in many aspects of human health and physiology.
We are actively involved in a multifaceted, collaborative effort to develop strategies and technologies for early detection of cancer.
Community and International Work
- Public Library of Science, San Francisco & Cambridge England More »
Publications
- Lowe AW, Olsen M, Hao Y, Lee SP, Taek Lee K, Chen X, van de Rijn M, Brown PO "Gene expression patterns in pancreatic tumors, cells and tissues." PLoS ONE 2007; 2: e323 More »
- Halbleib JM, Sääf AM, Brown PO, Nelson WJ "Transcriptional Modulation of Genes Encoding Structural Characteristics of Differentiating Enterocytes During Development of a Polarized Epithelium In Vitro." Mol Biol Cell 2007; More »
- Sääf AM, Halbleib JM, Chen X, Tsan Yuen S, Yi Leung S, Nelson WJ, Brown PO "Parallels between Global Transcriptional Programs of Polarizing Caco-2 Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro and Gene Expression Programs in Normal and Colon Cancer." Mol Biol Cell 2007; More »
- Rubins KH, Hensley LE, Wahl-Jensen V, Daddario Dicaprio KM, Young H, Reed DS, Jahrling PB, Brown PO, Relman DA, Geisbert TW "The temporal program of peripheral blood gene expression in the response of non-human primates to Ebola hemorrhagic fever." Genome Biol 2007; 8: 8: R174 More »
- Buess M, Nuyten DS, Hastie T, Nielsen T, Pesich R, Brown PO "Characterization of heterotypic interaction effects in vitro to deconvolute global gene expression profiles in cancer." Genome Biol 2007; 8: 9: R191 More »
211 publications: view full list
