Milestones

Cloned t(6;14) translocation resulting in hyperactivation of Cyclin D3 (Shaughnessy et al., Blood 2001)

Use of Spectral karyotyping to identify recurrent translocations in MM (Sawyer et al., 2001)

Identified the molecular differences between normal and malignant plasma cells (Zhan et al., 2002)

First to show that t(4;14) translocations Maintain MMSET while loosing FGFR3 expression (Santra et al., 2004, Blood)

Determined that lytic bone disease is caused DKK1 a potent inhibitor of osteoblasts or bone forming cells secreted by myelomatous plasma cells (Tian et al., NEJM 2003)

Suppression of DKK1 can inhibit bone loss and tumor growth in a mouse model of primary myeloma (Yaccoby et al., ASMBR 2005)

Utilized aCGH and microarrays to identify recurrent DNA copy number gains and Losses and related gene expression signatures in myeloma (Carrasco et al., Cancer Cell, 2006)

Showed that deregulated expression of on of the three cyclin D genes is a universal initiating event in myeloma (Bergsagel et al., 2005 Blood)

Determined that myeloma consists of seven discrete molecular entities (Zhan et al., 2006 Blood)

High risk myeloma can be defined by altered expression of 70 genes many mapping to chromosome 1 (Shaughnessy, Hematology, 2005)

Gains of chromosome 1q21 is an important event in myeloma progression (Hanamura et al., 2006, Blood)

Elucidated the molecular differences between MGUS and myeloma (Zhan et al., Blood  In press