研究員 / 本院生醫所

EDUCATION AND POSITIONS HELD:

• B.S., Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (1979-1983)
• M.P.H., Epidemiology/Occupational Health/Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (1985-1987)
• Ph.D., Epidemiology/Cancer/Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. (1987-1992)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, (1992-1994)
• Assistant Research Fellow/Associate Professor, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, (1994-1995)
• Assistant Research Fellow/Associate Professor, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, (1995-2000)
• Associate Research Fellow/Professor, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, (2000-present)

HONORS:

• Research Award, National Science Council, Taiwan, 1993-2000
• Young Investigator Research Award, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 2001
• Outstanding Research Award, National Science Council, Taiwan, 2001-2004

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Molecular Epidemiology and Cancer Genetics of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is an issue of particular public health importance in Taiwan, and it has ranked one of the most common cancers affecting Taiwanese women for years. To understand molecular mechanisms underlying breast cancer development, our laboratory has adopted the candidate genes/mechanisms strategy to identify putative　 tumorigenic genes and pathways, and then applies both molecular epidemiological study and in vitro/in vivo experiments to examine their breast tumorigenic contribution. These genes are mainly involved in maintaining genomic stability, repairing DNA damages, regulating cell cycle and inactivating carcinogenic estrogen metabolites. Molecular epidemiological study is conducted by exploring possible differences of genotypic polymorphisms between breast cancer patients and healthy women, and in vitro/in vivo experiments aim at defining molecular interactions between breast cancer susceptibility genes and the other genes involved in DNA repair or estrogen receptor- associated signaling. Our study results would not only yield crucial insight to know how breast cancer develops, but they might also result in new cancer prevention strategy and new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.

乳癌是台灣地區女性最好發的癌症之一，是非常重要的公共衛生問題，所以我們近年的研究重心都是放在探討乳癌發生的分子機轉。我們研究的策略是依據癌症發生過程中所必要經過的分子機制（例如基因體不穩定、修補基因的異常、細胞分裂週期的失控，或荷爾蒙去活化的效率不足等），選定關鍵性的基因或機轉，然後分別以(1)流行病學相關研究及(2)細胞及分子生物學實驗的方式，來驗證這一些基因或分子機制是否會對婦女得癌的危險性及特定細胞分子功能產生影響，並且進一步了解此一基因或分子機制和乳癌生成的相關。我們研究的結果除了有助於了解乳癌發生的原因之外，也可以為可能的預防或治療乳癌的策略提供關鍵線索。