Cigall Kadoch

Cigall Kadoch (born 1985) is an American biochemist and cancer biologist who is Associate Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research is focused in chromatin regulation and how changes in cellular structure can lead to human diseases, such as Cancer, Neurodevelopmental disorders, and others. She is internationally recognized for her work on the mammalian SWI/SNF complex, a large molecular machine known as a Chromatin remodeling complex. She was named as one of the world's leading scientists by MIT Technology Review, 35 Under 35 and Forbes 30 Under 30, and a Finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. In 2019, she received the Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in 2020, the American Association for Cancer Research Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research Award.

Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D.
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
Stanford University School of Medicine (PhD)
Scientific career
InstitutionsHarvard Medical School
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
Broad Institute
ThesisATP-dependent chromatin remodeling in human malignancy : identification and characterization of novel subunits of the mSWI/SNF-like BAF complex (2012)
WebsiteKadoch Lab

Early life and education

Kadoch was born and raised in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.[1] As a teenager, she lost a close family friend to late-stage breast cancer, which inspired her to learn more about the disease.[1] Kadoch eventually studied molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley. She moved to Stanford University as a graduate student, where she specialized in cancer biology under the supervision of developmental biologist Gerald Crabtree. Her doctoral research considered chromatin remodeling in human malignancy.[1][2] Whilst completing her doctorate, she identified a relationship between the SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodeling protein complex and synovial sarcoma. After completing her doctorate at Stanford University she transitioned directly to faculty at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.[1]

Research and career

In 2014, at the age of 28, Kadoch established her independent laboratory at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, as an Assistant Professor. She was one of the youngest faculty members to achieve such status.[3] She has since studied mammalian SWI/SNF complexes in an effort to develop new therapeutic strategies.[1][4]

The SWI/SNF complexes serve to open and close DNA, altering which genes are expressed at particular times.[5] Kadoch's work showed that mutations in the SWI/SNF (BAF) protein complex are involved in over 20% of human cancers. Further, Kadoch identified that 100% of synovial sarcoma tumors have defects in one particular subunit of SWI/SNF complex, which drives disease pathogenesis.[6] The fusion oncoprotein subunit, SS18-SSX, appears to break the guidance system of SWI/SNF (BAF), targeting it aberrantly on chromatin and activating genes that support cancer development.[7] In lab-based experiments, Kadoch showed that it was possible to use healthy subunits to repair the complex and kill the cancerous cells.[6]

In 2016, Kadoch's research resulted in the formation of Foghorn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that seeks to build novel therapeutic strategies based on the chromatin regulatory system.[8][9][10] The spin-out company launched on the Nasdaq in 2020, with a $120 million initial public offering.[11]

Awards and honors
  • NIH Director's New Innovator Award[12]
  • Pew Scholar Award[4]
  • American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award[13]
  • American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Marin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Prize[14][15]
  • American Association for Cancer Research Outstanding Achievement Award[13]
  • American Society for Cell Biology Early Career Life Scientist Award[16]
  • Forbes 30 under 30 List[17]
  • MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35[18]
  • Popular Science Brilliant 10[19]
  • Business Insider Top 30 Young leaders in Biopharma[20]
  • Blavatnik National Awards Finalist[21]

Selected publications

References
  1. "Cigall Kadoch Unravels Chromatin's Role in Cancer". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  2. Kadoch, Cigall (2012). ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling in human malignancy: identification and characterization of novel subunits of the mSWI/SNF-like BAF complex (Thesis). OCLC 1020003886.
  3. "Cigall Kadoch". Broad Institute. 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  4. "Cigall Kadoch, PhD - Dana–Farber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA". www.dana-farber.org. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  5. Mashtalir, Nazar; Dao, Hai T.; Sankar, Akshay; Liu, Hengyuan; Corin, Aaron J.; Bagert, John D.; Ge, Eva J.; D’Avino, Andrew R.; Filipovski, Martin; Michel, Brittany C.; Dann, Geoffrey P. (2021-07-16). "Chromatin landscape signals differentially dictate the activities of mSWI/SNF family complexes". Science. 373 (6552): 306–315. Bibcode:2021Sci...373..306M. doi:10.1126/science.abf8705. PMC 8390793. PMID 34437148.
  6. "Cigall Kadoch | Innovators Under 35". www.innovatorsunder35.com. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  7. "The Woman Who Targets Cancer-Causing Mechanisms". Popular Science. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  8. "Foghorn Therapeutics Launches with $50 Million". BioSpace. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  9. "Q&A: Foghorn SVP Expounds on "Tremendous Opportunity" in Chromatin Remodeling". BioSpace. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  10. Herper, Matthew. "32-Year-Old Professor Raises $50 Million To Make Drugs To Control Genes". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  11. "Foghorn Booms onto Nasdaq with $120M IPO". BioSpace. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  12. "NIH Director's New Innovator Award Program - 2014 Award Recipients". commonfund.nih.gov. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  13. "AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research | AACR | News Releases". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  14. "Cigall Kadoch, PhD, Chosen for 2019 Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Prize - The ASCO Post". ascopost.com. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  15. "Awards & Recognitions: March 2019". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  16. "2019 Early Career Life Scientist Award goes to Cigall Kadoch". ASCB. 2019-10-14. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  17. "30 Under 30 2017: Science". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  18. "Meet the Innovators Under 35: Cigall Kadoch, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  19. admin (2016-12-24). "Popular Science's 'The Brilliant 10 of 2016' Part 1". The Lab World Group. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  20. Pflanzer, Lydia Ramsey. "Meet the 30 biotech leaders under 40 who are searching for breakthrough treatments and shaping the future of medicine". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  21. "Announcing the Finalists of the 2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists | Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists". blavatnikawards.org. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
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