Congratulations to John P. Morris IV for receiving this award!
John P. Morris IV, Assistant Professor in the Pharmacology Department and a member of the Lineberger Cancer Center, has been awarded a 2021 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award in memory of Skip Viragh. The goal of his proposal is to use novel mouse models that permit stepwise characterization and perturbation of evolutionary routes that recapitulate the diversity of the human disease to define targetable aspects of pancreatic cancer heterogeneity.
The title of the project is: Dissecting Malignant Evolution Unleashed by p53 Inactivation in PDAC. The award is for $200,000 award and will support his research for 2 years.
What this research aims to discover
“Dr. Morris and his team will determine how specific genomic and gene expression changes enabled by the selective inactivation of p53 establish diverse malignant identities and are functionally linked to lethal aspects of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Together, this work will define hallmarks underlying distinct evolutionary paths to pancreatic cancer unleashed by core genetic drivers of the disease. This insight will inform efforts to better stratify and treat pancreatic cancers by addressing their specific heterogeneity and natural histories.” (~excerpt from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network award announcement website.)
Visit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Award announcement page to learn more about Dr. Morris’ previous work in this field and more about the research this award will support.