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Tumor Biology Lab (Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer)
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A lab that explores how the genes responsible for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer function.
AboutAbout the lab
Aiming at cancer diagnosis and treatment through functional analysis of BRCA1
The Tumor Biology lab focuses its research on the function of BRCA1, the product of the gene responsible for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome.
Among BRCA1's functions, the lab studies in particular its roles in centrosome regulation and in homologous recombination repair, which fixes DNA damage.
The lab aims to develop cancer treatments that target the centrosome and to apply measurement of homologous recombination repair to diagnosis.
The lab's PhD students belong to the Graduate School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Life Sciences.
Key terms
- BRCA1
- A protein produced from the gene responsible for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. It is involved in a variety of mechanisms in the cell
- Centrosome
- A structure in the cell that functions during cell division. BRCA1 regulates it to keep its number normal
- Homologous recombination repair
- One of the mechanisms that repair DNA damage. The lab has developed a method to measure its activity
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies BRCA1, the product of the gene responsible for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, focusing in particular on its roles in centrosome regulation and homologous recombination repair. It aims to connect this research to cancer diagnosis and the development of treatments.
*Illustrative imageCentrosome regulation by Aurora A
The lab showed that Aurora A attaches ubiquitin to OLA1 that has been phosphorylated by NEK2, leading to its degradation. As a result, centrosome maturation proceeds in the G2 phase, before cell division.
*Illustrative imageThe centrosome's response to DNA damage
The lab showed that in cells with DNA damage, BRCA1 carries the damage signal to the centrosome and increases the number of centrosomes. Cells with extra centrosomes often die during mitosis, which is thought to act as a mechanism that suppresses cells becoming cancerous.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Tumor Biology lab are faculty, PhD and master's students, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorNatsuko Chiba
- Assistant ProfessorZhenzho Fang
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Bacterial cell culture on agar plate ( DNA double helix conformation)” Syed Sajidul Islam / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Centrosome regulation by Aurora A: “Embryo in flower” AudeNommick / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- The centrosome's response to DNA damage: “Fluorescence microscopy of the DNA of the oral cancer cells” Korinna / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Oncology Lab (Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer)): “Olympus-BX61-fluorescence microscope” Masur / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Medical Zoology Lab): “Lab mice 436262” Understanding Animal Research / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Neurosurgery Lab): “Operating-room 1” 연세건우병원 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Medical Biochemistry Lab): “Biochemistry laboratory MPI-CBG-panorama” Masur / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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