Bert Vogelstein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bert Vogelstein
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| Born | June 2, 1949 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| Education | University of Pennsylvania Johns Hopkins School of Medicine |
| Known for | p53, Vogelgram, somatic evolution in cancer |
| Spouse(s) | Ilene Vogelstein |
| Children | R. Jacob Vogelstein, Joshua T. Vogelstein, and one more, Grandchildren: 5 |
| Awards | Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013) Warren Triennial Prize (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Oncology, Pathology |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins School of Medicine |
| Doctoral students |
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Bert Vogelstein, born in 1949, is a very important scientist. He works at the Johns Hopkins Medical School. He is a leader in studying cancer using genetics. His research helped us understand how cancers, especially colon cancer, grow. He showed that cancer happens when small changes, called mutations, build up in our genes over time. This idea changed how scientists study cancer today.
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How Dr. Vogelstein Studies Cancer
In the 1980s, Dr. Vogelstein created new ways to study human cancers. He looked at different stages of colon cancer. In 1988, he suggested that cancer is caused by a series of changes in special genes. These genes are called oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Oncogenes can make cells grow out of control. Tumor suppressor genes normally stop cancer from growing.
The Discovery of p53
The first gene that proved his idea was p53. Other scientists had found the p53 protein earlier. But no one knew how important it was in human cancers. Many even thought the p53 gene (called TP53) caused cancer.
In 1989, Dr. Vogelstein and his team made a big discovery. They found that TP53 was not only important in cancer, but it was changed in most human cancers. He then figured out how p53 stops cancer from growing. Before his work, scientists only knew p53 stuck to other proteins. Dr. Vogelstein showed that p53 had a more specific job. It could attach to DNA in a special way.
His team found the exact DNA sequence p53 recognized. They showed that almost all p53 changes in tumors stopped it from working right. They later found other genes that p53 directly turns on. These genes help control when cells grow and when they die. More recent studies by his group looked at all human genes. They found that the TP53 gene is changed more often in cancers than any other gene.
Finding Other Important Genes
In 1991, Dr. Vogelstein and his long-time friend Kenneth W. Kinzler worked with Yusuke Nakamura. They found another gene that helps stop tumors, called APC. This gene causes a condition called Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). People with FAP get many small, harmless growths (polyps). Some of these polyps can turn into cancer. Another group also found this gene around the same time.
Dr. Vogelstein and Kinzler later showed that changes in the APC gene start most colon and rectal cancers. These changes happen during a person's life, not inherited from parents. They also showed how APC works. It controls a protein called beta-catenin, helping to get rid of it when it's not needed.
Dr. Vogelstein and Kinzler also worked with Albert de la Chapelle and Lauri Aaltonen. They looked for genes that cause Hereditary NonPolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC). This is another main type of inherited colon cancer. They were the first to find one of the main genes on a specific chromosome. This discovery helped them and other groups find repair genes like MSH2 and MLH1. These genes cause most cases of HNPCC.
Mapping Cancer Genes
In the early 2000s, Dr. Vogelstein and Kinzler started big experiments. They worked with Victor Velculescu and others in their group. They wanted to find changes throughout the entire human genome. They were among the first to do "exome sequencing." This means they found the sequence of every gene that makes proteins in human DNA.
They first studied cancers of the colon, breast, pancreas, and brain. These studies showed the "landscape" of human cancer genes. Later, many labs around the world confirmed these findings. While studying all the protein-making genes in cancers, Dr. Vogelstein's team found several new genes. These genes play important roles in cancer, like PIK3CA, IDH1, and ARID1A.
Liquid Biopsies and New Technologies
Dr. Vogelstein had a new idea: that changes in cancer genes could be unique markers for the disease. This led to a new field called "liquid biopsies." In the early 1990s, he worked with David Sidransky. They showed that these cancer gene changes could be found in the stool of colon cancer patients. They also found them in the urine of bladder cancer patients.
To do this, they created "Digital PCR." This method looks at DNA molecules one by one. It checks if they are normal or changed. One technique they invented for Digital PCR is called "BEAMing." This method does PCR on tiny magnetic beads in oil and water. BEAMing is now a key technology in some advanced DNA sequencing machines.
More recently, they developed another Digital PCR method called SafeSeqS. With SafeSeqS, every DNA molecule has a unique barcode. This makes it much easier to find rare changes in DNA. It can find changes even when only 1 out of 10,000 DNA molecules is different.
Understanding Drug Resistance
In 2019, Dr. Vogelstein began working with Martin Nowak's group at Harvard University. Together, they created math models. These models helped explain how cancers become resistant to targeted medicines. They showed that giving different targeted drugs one after another might not cure cancer. This is true even if there are no changes that make the cancer resistant to both drugs at once. So, giving several targeted drugs at the same time is a better plan. This way, there is a chance for a cure.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Bert Vogelstein has received many important awards for his groundbreaking work. These awards recognize his huge impact on cancer research. Some of his notable awards include:
- 1990 – The Bristol Myers Squibb Award for "Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research"
- 1992 – The Gairdner Foundation International Award in Science
- 1992 – The American Cancer Society Medal of Honor
- 1993 – The Pezcoller Foundation Award from the American Association for Cancer Research
- 1993 – The Richard Lounsbery Award from the National Academy of Sciences
- 1994 – The Ernst Schering Prize
- 1995 – The Clowes Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer Research
- 1998 – The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
- 1998 – The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
- 2000 – The Charles S. Mott Prize
- 2004 – The Prince of Asturias Awards in Science
- 2013 – Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
- 2014 – Warren Triennial Prize
- 2015 – Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
- 2018 – The Dan David Prize for Personalized Medicine
- 2019 – Gruber Prize in Genetics
- 2019 – Albany Medical Center Prize
- 2021 – Japan Prize
See also
In Spanish: Bert Vogelstein para niños
