A. Hunter Shain, PhD
Assistant Professor in Residence, Dept. of Dermatology, UCSF
Assistant Professor in Residence, Dept. of Dermatology, UCSF
The goal of my laboratory is to better understand the biology of skin cancer. We employ a variety of -omic approaches, including the use of DNA-sequencing, RNA-sequencing, and single-cell sequencing technologies. Our main focus is on melanoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Previously, we have defined the driver genes and the mutational processes that were operative in these types of cancer. We are also interested in their precursor lesions (common nevi and actinic keratoses) as well as their cells of origin (melanocytes and keratinocytes). By studying the early stages of tumorigenesis in addition to fully-evolved tumors, we have delineated the critical events involved in the progression of skin cancers from individual cells, to benign neoplasms, to invasive cancers, and eventually to metastases. Collectively, our work has improved the diagnosis and staging of skin cancers and offered important guidance for prevention campaigns.
University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign, IL, BS, 05/2006, Biochemistry
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA PhD 04/2012 Cancer Biology
University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, Postdoctoral Fellow, 09/2017