SEMINAR: The Rise of the Nucleolus as a Target for the Treatment of Cancer: �mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Ribosoma�

Professor Ross Hannan is a head of the Oncogenic Signaling and Growth Control Program in the Division of Research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia. The focus of his research is to understand at the molecular level how ribosome biogenesis and nucleolar function are dysregulated during cancer. Recent studies from his laboratory have described the epigenetic mechanisms by which mammalian cells regulate the number of active ribosomal genes, the rate-limiting step for proliferative growth. Ongoing studies using a range of mammalian and Drosophila models combined with classic biochemistry, functional genomic screens, RNA, DNA and ChIP seq are focused on elucidating how dysregulation of nucleolar function contributes to cell transformation. Most recently he has collaborated with the pharmaceutical industry to develop “first in class” small molecule inhibitors of RNA Polymerase I transcription which are currently in clinical trials for cancer therapy.