Prominent researcher Gerald Denis explains the tight relationship between medical research and progress in medical care. Recent abrupt cuts to research funding and science agencies such as NIH have disrupted research labs, frequently ending carefully designed studies and upending the training of future scientists. We learn how medical discoveries are developed and tested, how research leads to medical advances and dispels false beliefs, and how young scientists’ lab experience prepares them for their careers. Medical research is absolutely necessary for the protection of our health.
Gerald Denis, Ph.D., is a molecular oncologist at Boston Medical Center. He is Co-director of the BU BMC Cancer Center and is a charter member of the Tumor Microenvironment Study Section at NIH. Much of his research is focused on how metabolic conditions like obesity and diabetes can influence whether someone develops cancer. Dr. Denis is distinguished especially for his pioneering studies of the Bromodomain and ExtraTerminal (BET) protein family that is important for cellular growth in leukemia, and metastasis of breast and prostate cancers.
