Biography:Patricia Steeg
Patricia Steeg | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Maryland |
| Known for | Discovering the NME1 gene |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Breast cancer research |
| Institutions | Center for Cancer Research National Institute of Dental Research National Cancer Institute |
Patricia Steeg is a cancer researcher working in the field of breast cancer metastasis, and was the first person to discover the NME1 gene, which spreads breast cancer to other parts of the body.[1][2][3]
Education
Steeg attended the University of Maryland, which is where she got her PhD in 1982.[1]
Career
Steeg had been the Deputy Chief of the Women’s Malignancies Branch since 2014 at the Center for Cancer Research[1] as well as being the co-director of the Office of Translational Resources for the Center.[1] Steeg was also a recipient of the Jane Coffin Child Memorial Fund for Medical Research Fellowship in the Laboratory of Departmental Biology and Anomalies,[1] as well as the National Institute of Dental Research, and the Laboratory of Pathology at the National Cancer Institute.[1] In 1992, Steeg was also given tenure at the Laboratory of Pathology.[1]
Research
Steeg discovered the NME1 gene by realizing that breast cancer was less likely to spread to other parts of the body in people who had this gene.[4] When the NME1 gene is introduced in highly metastatic breast cancer line it decreased the potential for the cancer to spread anywhere from 50 to 90 percent.[5] The NME1 gene reduces the likelihood of cancer spreading by producing a protein referred to as NME1 protein.[5] This means that cancerous cells will lack this protein, so Steeg and her team synthesized a drug called nitidine analog that will locate cancerous cells and destroy them based on the amount of proteins the cell contains.[6] This drug is less cancerous than chemotherapy, and has shown promise in working against melanoma, colon cancer, and small-cell lung cancer.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Patricia S. Steeg, Ph.D. |" (in en). Federal government of the United States. https://irp.nih.gov/.
- ↑ "Patricia S. Steeg, Ph.D." (in en). National Cancer Institute. 2014-08-12. https://ccr.cancer.gov/womens-malignancies-branch/patricia-s-steeg.
- ↑ "Patricia S. Steeg's research works: National Institutes of Health, MD (NIH) and other places" (in en). https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/39731448_Patricia_S_Steeg.
- ↑ Knox, Richard (29 March 1990). "Genes that curb cancer reported findings may help dictate therapy". Boston Globe. ProQuest 294518865.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Robert Cooke, STAFF WRITER. "Identifying Cancer's Deadly Emissaries Scientists Try to Crack Secrets of Metastasis: NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]." Newsday, Sep 21, 1993, Combined editions. ProQuest 278701316.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sternberg, Steve. "Drug found to Target Remote Cancer Cells: FINAL Edition]." Usa Today, Nov 03, 1997. ProQuest 408789598.
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