Ishak Laboratory
Charles A. Ishak, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Areas of Research
- Epigenetics
- Chromatin
- Premalignancy
- p53
- Ovarian Cancer
- Molecular Carcinogenesis
Research in the Ishak laboratory explores the contributions of repetitive DNA elements in cancer initiation, progression and therapeutic response with the goal of both improving cancer immunotherapies and developing novel approaches for cancer interception and immunoprevention.
Repetitive DNA sequences comprise nearly half of the human genome. Originally considered “junk DNA,” certain classes of repetitive DNA elements have more recently been associated with cancer development and as effectors of epigenetic therapies that augment cancer immunotherapy (Cancer Discovery, 2021). However, how repetitive DNA elements function in cancer initiation and cancer immunotherapy response is not only controversial but also paradoxical (Annual Review of Cancer Biology, 2020).