Dr. Jeffrey Bryan-Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) of Golden Retrievers Has a Unique DNA Methylation Signature That Yields Biomarkers of Disease

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Presentation Abstract

DNA methylation changes are the earliest and most persistent epigenetic mechanism to control gene expression. DNA hypermethylation changes can be reversed, often occur before genetic mutations, and can be more consistent and numerous than mutations in carcinogenesis. The aims of this study were to define the DNA methylation signature of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) that distinguishes it from normal lymphocytes to develop biomarkers of disease for diagnosis and risk prediction. DLBCL has distinct changes of the methylome from normal B lymphocytes. The methylome in DLBCL is a tumor landscape to be mined for novel early detection biomarkers, therapeutic drug targets and additional depth to our understanding of carcinogenesis.

CHF Grant 1918-G: Discovery of Biomarkers to Detect Lymphoma Risk, Classify for Treatment, and Predict Outcome in Golden Retrievers

CHF Clinician-Scientist Fellowship – Mentee: Shirley Chu, DVM

Biography

Dr. Jeffrey Bryan’s research focuses on comparative examination of cancers in companion animals to better understand cancers in all species. Bryan is an associate professor of veterinary oncology and director of the Comparative Oncology and Epigenetics Laboratory. His particular areas of interest are targeted imaging and therapy and epigenetics of cancer. Targeted imaging and therapy agents take advantage of particular properties of cancer to deliver an imaging or therapy payload to tumors. Bryan is leading research projects studying an immunotherapy agent targeted to the low-oxygen environment of cancer, an herbal derivative that targets iron in tumors, and a nanoparticle chemotherapy targeted to the lymphatic drainage of cancer. The agents under evaluation are destined for use in both dogs and humans to treat lymphomas as well as solid tumors like sarcomas, head and neck cancer, and breast cancer. Each of these trials is designed to develop an approach that is less toxic and more effective than our current cancer treatments.

Dr. Bryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in veterinary science from the University of California - Davis in 1991. He received his DVM. from the University of California - Davis in 1993. He then worked as an Associate Veterinarian from 1993-1995, and then served as Medical Director of the Irving Street Veterinary Hospital in San Francisco, CA from 1995-2002. Bryan then completed a medical oncology residency, a Masters of Biomedical Sciences, and a PhD in Pathobiology at the University of Missouri. He received certification by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Oncology 2005.  He has been a research assistant professor at the University of Missouri and an assistant professor of Oncology at Washington State University prior to his current post at the University of Missouri.