Angela Burleigh (nee Beckett) - Research Home Page [Molecular Oncology and Breast Cancer Program : BC Cancer Research Centre]

Molecular Oncology and Breast Cancer Program

Angela Burleigh (nee Beckett)

Angela plays the bagpipes in the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and has previously won two World Pipe Band Championships with her former band (the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band).

abeckett@bccrc.ca

Department:	Molecular Oncology and Breast Cancer Program (@ the BCCRC since 2004)
Research Role:	Graduate Student
Degree Sought:	PhD, Medicine, UBC
Thesis Topic:	Mammary epithelial stem cell proliferation and differentiation
Advisor:	Sam Aparicio
Education:	BSc (Microbiology and Immunology), University of British Columbia, Canada, 2005
Birthplace:	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Phone:	604-675-8000 ext.7558
Fax:	675 8218

Research Interests:

Mammary epithelial stem cell proliferation and differentiation

A stem cell can divide to form either additional stem cells that are identical to itself (self-renewal), or more specialised mature cells that make up the various tissues of the body (differentiation). In early 2006, stem cells were identified in the mouse mammary gland. These breast stem cells can be transplanted into a mouse mammary fat pad that has been cleared of all other epithelial cells, where they will divide and differentiate into the mature cells that make up the branching epithelial structures found in the breast. Moreover, stem cells from these regenerated epithelial structures can be isolated again and re-transplanted into new mammary fat pads with the same result.

There is obviously no human equivalent of the above described transplantation assay. However, we do have an assay that detects very primitive human mammary cells, termed progenitor cells, which can differentiate to form more than one cell type in culture. These cells only differentiate when grown at very low densities and in the presence of fibroblasts (skin cells). We want to evaluate the factors required for progenitor cell growth and survival within this culture system. To do so, we will systematically eliminate the expression of every protein present on the surface of and secreted by the fibroblasts. When eliminating a protein blocks progenitor cell growth or differentiation, we will take it to mean that it is crucial in these processes, and we will go on to validate the effect of this molecule in animal models.

While these extrinsic factors are important to progenitor cell survival and differentiation, intrinsic factors within the mammary cells are also important. We believe that transcription factors are central to these processes as they are the molecules that control the regulation and expression of all other genes within the cell. To determine which transcription factors are important in progenitor cell status, we will systematically abolish the expression of every transcription factor within the human genome and assess the effects on progenitor cell growth and survival. Again, candidate transcription factors with substantial effects on growth and survival will be carried forward into animal studies. Obtaining this basic information on stem cell regulation is a mandatory first stem in designing novel therapeutic approaches to their malignant counterparts, breast cancer stem cells.