Woojin An, Ph.D.
Research performed at: USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Specialty/Research Area: General Cancer, DNA Process in Cells
Career Summary: Dr. An is Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Keck School of Medicine. Through molecular modeling of genes, he is researching how malignant cells grow in an effort to find ways of slowing and halting the disease. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1998 from Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR) and did postdoctoral research until 2004 at The Rockefeller University (New York, NY), then joined the staff at USC. Besides his 2005
RCDA award from STOP CANCER, in 2006 Dr. An received a grant from the Margaret E. Early Medical Research Trust to fund his work on
histones. In 2008 he received a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, also for his work on
histones. And in 2009 the Department of Defense funded his inquiry into the regulation of estrogen
receptor-mediated
transcription.
Year STOP CANCER Award was received: 2005
RCDA
Description of research performed: Dr. An's research studies the processes of gene regulation and
transcription, cancer cell biology,
signal transduction, protein chemistry and
enzymology, and
epigenetics. His objective is to discover how to reprogram cellular processes, including malignant growth.
Results of research: Dr. An and his colleagues have established powerful methods of closely examining histone cellular function. He is deriving ways of controlling the genetic machinery at the site of transcription, with a view toward reprogramming the genetics of cancerous cells to slow or halt their growth.