Transcriptional regulation in disease: opportunities, challenges, and the future

Cigall Kadoch, associate professor and HHMI Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and scientific founder of Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), interviews Rick Young, professor of biology at MIT and member of the Whitehead Institute about the latest research and knowledge of how transcriptional regulation can be harnessed and targeted in drug development.

The Experts

Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., is an academic investigator as well as entrepreneur in the biomedical sciences. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Institute Member and Co-Director of the Epigenomics Program at the Broad Institute, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Dr. Kadoch established her independent laboratory in 2014, immediately following completion of her Ph.D. studies at Stanford University, making her one of the youngest scientists ever appointed to the Harvard Medical School faculty. She is a leading expert in chromatin and gene regulation and is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking studies in these areas and their now their clinical translation. Specifically, her laboratory studies the structure and function of nuclear protein complexes called chromatin remodeling complexes that govern DNA architecture and gene expression, perturbations in which are implicated in over 50% of human cancers. Based on her seminal work, Dr. Kadoch is also the Scientific Founder of Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), a company advancing a new class of medicines in oncology and beyond.

Richard Young, Ph.D., studies gene regulation in health and disease. Therapeutic concepts from these studies have led to development of multiple drugs that are currently in clinical trials. Dr. Young has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health and numerous scientific societies and journals. His honors include Membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, and Scientific American has recognized him as one of the top 50 leaders in science, technology and business. Young has trained over 120 predoctoral and postdoctoral students, many of whom play prominent roles in academic and commercial settings.  He has founded and advised companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, and currently serves on the boards of Syros Pharmaceuticals, CAMP4 Therapeutics, Omega Therapeutics, Dewpoint Therapeutics, Paratus Sciences and Precede Biosciences. Dr. Young is also an aviator and holds a commercial pilot license.