David Largaespada Ph.D.

American Cancer Society Research Professor

Department of Pediatrics

Masonic Cancer Center

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA

Biography
Professor David Largaespada, is a Full Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, Cell Biology and Development and the Associate Director for Basic Research in the Masonic Cancer Center at the Unicersity of Minnesota. He is an authority on mouse genetics, gene modification and cancer genes. He received his B.S. in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of WinsonsinMadison in 1992. Professor David Largaespada currently holds the Hedberg Family/ Children’s Cancer Research Fund Chair in Brain Tumor Research. He was awarded the American Cancer Society (ACS) Research Professor Award in 2013, the higheset award given by the ACS.

Professor Largaespada’s laboratory is working to exploit insertional mutagenesis and other functional genomics methods to identify and understand genes and pathways that govern cancer cell behavior. The Largaespada lab pioneered the use of a vertebrate-active trasposon system, called Sleeping Beauty (SB), for insertional metagenesis in mouse somatic cells. SB is being used as a tool for forward genetic screens for cancer genes involved in sarcoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and mammary, gastro-intestinal tract and NF1 syndromeassociated nervous system cancers. A special emphasis of this work is on genes that promote metastasis or govern treatment sensitivity.