CRISPR-Cas9 Technology and Genetic Engineering

Biography

Having had the good fortune to be involved in the development of the mouse genetic engineering field, Dr. Doetschman has used that technology over the past 25 years to discover the in vivo functions of the three TGFb ligands and the high and low molecular weight isoforms of FGF2. The resulting mouse strains have led to a wide-ranging set of investigations from heart, bone and palate development, to adult heart disease, autoimmune disease and colon cancer. Dr. Doetschman's current research program focuses on modeling a human TGFβ3 SNP that leads to connective tissue disorders; and on TGFβ1 and SMAD3 function in T-cell homeostasis and colon cancer. He has established and directed genetically engineered mouse core facilities at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Arizona, was consultant for the establishment of mouse genetic engineering at the Institute of of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore, and was the scientific advisor for development of the NCI-Frederick’s Mouse Models of Human Cancer Repository. Dr. Doetschman has been Co-Director of the Experimental Mouse Shared Resource since 2008.

Research Interest

TGFβ signaling is disrupted in up to a quarter of all human colon cancer, and inflammation often accompanies human colon cancer. We are using next generation sequencing to investigate the changes in colon mucosa/microbiome interactions that occur in a TGFβ-signaling-deficient mouse model of inflammation-associated colon cancer. Another study utilizes a nuclear green fluorescent protein indicator mouse for isolation and whole exome analysis of singe nuclei from cells at the initiating stages of mouse prostate and pancreatic cancer. This indicator mouse has applicability to a wide range of cancer models.