Channing Joseph Der is an American scientist and educator, and Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Der is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, He is recognized for his work with the Ras oncoprotein and its role in human oncogenesis.

Education

Der earned his B.S. in biology from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, and his Ph.D. in microbiology from the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

. He completed post-doctoral work at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Research

Der has made contributions to the fields of molecular

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

and cancer cell biology. One early discovery was the presence of activated Ras oncogenes in human cancers in 1982, marking the identification of the very first cancer genes. RAS genes comprise the most frequently mutated oncogene family in human cancers. The pursuit of anti-RAS therapeutic strategies has been a major focus of his research studies. A second was that RAS oncoprotein function is dependent on modification by a farnesyl isoprenoid lipid group. This discovery prompted intense pharmaceutical industry pursuit of inhibitors of the farnesyltransferase enzyme that catalyzes this lipid modification on RAS and other proteins. This has led to a current Phase 2 clinical trial using farnesyltransferase inhibitors to inhibit HRAS-driven head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. In collaborative studies with

Francis Collins Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-scientist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ...

, MD (former Director,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

), he also demonstrated that these inhibitors corrected the protein defect that causes

progeria Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or Hutchinson–Gilford progeroid syndrome (HGPS). A single gene mutation is responsible for causing progeria. The affected gene, known as lamin A ( ...

, a disease of “rapid aging”. This discovery set the stage for the recent FDA approval of farnesyltransferase inhibitors as the only treatment for this rare childhood disease. A third finding is the discovery of a therapeutic approach that ERK inhibition increases pancreatic cancer addiction to

autophagy Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Greek language, Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-depe ...

. Autophagy, derived from the Greek meaning “eating of self”, is a process whereby cancer cells acquire the energy needed to maintain their high growth capacity. This autophagy connection led Der to initiate, together with clinicians at the

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center and autonomous university of the University of Texas System in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the wo ...

, a new clinical trial evaluating the combination of the MEK inhibitor

binimetinib Binimetinib, sold under the brand name Mektovi, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat various cancers. Binimetinib is a selective inhibitor of MEK, a central kinase in the tumor-promoting MAPK pathway. Inappropriate activation of the path ...

with the autophagy inhibitor

hydroxychloroquine Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...

in pancreatic cancer (NCT04132505).

Awards and recognition

Der is a Fellow of the

, a recipient of the NCI Outstanding Investigator Award, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Mentor Award, the Hyman L. Battle Distinguished Cancer Research Award, and the University of California, Irvine Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also recipient of an Einstein BIH Visiting Fellow Award.

References

External links

Der Lab website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Der, Channing Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Irvine alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty American microbiologists American cancer researchers