David A. Largaespada, PhD
We are excited to host David Largaespada, PhD as one of our two keynote speakers for the 2016 Washington University NF Center Symposium to be held on April 1, 2016 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical School Campus.
Dr. Largaespada received his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and his PhD degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following his doctoral work, he obtained post-doctoral research training with Drs. Neal Copeland and Nancy Jenkins at the National Cancer Institute. He was then recruited as faculty to the University of Minnesota, where he is a member of the Departments of Genetics and Cell Biology & Development. Dr. Largaespada is the director of the Mouse Genetics Laboratory, which creates genetically-modified mice for investigators and directs the Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Program. He joined the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and currently holds the Margaret and Harvey Schering Land Grant Chair in Cancer Genetics.
Dr. Largaespada directs a basic research laboratory that employs novel methods to discover new cancer genes and perform high-level functional genomics in the mouse. He has pioneered the use of a method called Sleeping Beauty (SB) insertional mutagenesis to create new mouse models, identify new tumor-associated genetic events, and optimize gene therapy approaches. In addition to using this powerful approach to identify and characterize genes important for leukemia progression in mouse models of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), he has also employed SB to find new cancer genes involved in NF1-related cancers, like malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). To accelerate the application of this approach to other malignancies, Dr. Largaespada founded Discovery Genetics.
Dr. Largaespada is a leading authority on mouse genetic engineering, and his cutting-edge work has provided critical new insights into the genetics of numerous human cancers. We are delighted to have Dr. Largaespada speak about his exciting studies on the genetic basis for NF1-MPNST development and progression.