Gregory Hannon facts for kids

Gregory James Hannon FRS FMedSci (born 1964) is a leading scientist. He is a professor of molecular cancer biology. He works at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge.

He is also a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Professor Hannon helps lead cancer genomics at the New York Genome Center. He is also an adjunct professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Career and Research

Understanding How Cells Work

Professor Hannon is well-known for his discoveries about small RNA. These are tiny molecules that help control our genes. He also studies cancer and how our genes work, which is called genomics.

Early in his career, he helped find special genes called oncogenes. These genes can cause cancer when they don't work correctly. He also found links between certain molecules, called CDK inhibitors, and cancer.

RNA and Gene Control

More recently, Professor Hannon has focused on small RNA. His work helped us understand how RNA interference (RNAi) works. RNAi is a natural process that cells use to turn genes off.

He has created useful tools to change how genes behave in cells and animals. He also made special libraries of short hairpin RNA (shRNA). These libraries help cancer researchers study genes across the whole genome.

Professor Hannon was one of the first to show that microRNAs play a role in cancer. His lab also found the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway. This pathway helps protect our genetic material from harmful elements called transposons. These transposons can jump around in our DNA. The piRNA pathway protects the genes in our germ cells, which are cells that pass on genetic information.

He also helped develop new ways to study specific parts of our DNA. This method is often called exome capture.

Mapping Cancer in 3D

In 2017, Professor Hannon received a big award of £20 million. This award was for a project called Cancer Grand Challenges. He leads the IMAXT team, which includes experts from many countries. These experts study cancer, but also astronomy and even VR video game design.

The team's goal is to create an interactive 3D map of cancer. You could explore this map using virtual reality. This project could change how scientists study cancer. It would show how individual cells are arranged. It would also show how they interact to help a tumor grow.

New Discoveries in Cancer

In 2018, it was announced that Professor Hannon would guide the Functional Genomics Centre. This center is a partnership between Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca. It is located inside the Milner Therapeutics Institute.

The center aims to be a hub for genetic screens. These screens help find genes that are important for cancer. It also works on cancer models and designing CRISPR tools. CRISPR is a powerful tool for editing genes. The center uses computer methods to analyze big data from genetic changes in cancer. This helps them find new targets for cancer drugs.

Awards and Honours

Professor Hannon has received many important awards for his work:

• Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, 1997
• Rita Allen Scholar, 2000
• US Army Breast Cancer Research Programme Innovator Award, 2002
• AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research, 2005
• National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, 2007
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, 2007
• National Academy of Sciences Member, 2012
• Royal Society Wolfson Professorship, 2015
• Academy of Medical Sciences member, 2017
• EMBO member, 2018
• The Royal Society Fellow, 2018
• European Academy of Cancer Sciences Fellow, 2019
• Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, 2020