Victor Velculescu

American cancer researcher

Victor E. Velculescu is a prominent American cancer researcher known for his pioneering work in the field of genomics and cancer biology. He is a professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a co-director of the Cancer Biology Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Early life and education

Victor Velculescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and immigrated to the United States with his family at a young age. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences. Velculescu then attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in human genetics.

Career

Dr. Victor Velculescu in his lab

Victor Velculescu is renowned for his contributions to the understanding of the genetic basis of cancer. He was instrumental in the development of the concept of "genomic instability" in cancer, which refers to the high frequency of mutations within the genome of cancer cells. This work has provided significant insights into how cancers develop and evolve.

Velculescu's research has focused on the use of next-generation sequencing technologies to identify genetic alterations in cancer. He has been a leader in the field of "liquid biopsy", a non-invasive method for detecting cancer by analyzing circulating tumor DNA in the blood. This approach has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and monitoring by providing a less invasive alternative to traditional tissue biopsies.

Contributions to cancer genomics

One of Velculescu's major contributions to cancer research is the development of the "digital karyotyping" technique, which allows for the precise measurement of copy number variations in the genome. This technique has been used to identify novel genetic alterations in various types of cancer, including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer.

Velculescu has also been involved in large-scale cancer genomics projects, such as the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which aims to catalog genetic mutations responsible for cancer. His work has helped to identify key driver mutations and pathways involved in cancer progression, providing new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Awards and honors

Victor Velculescu has received numerous awards for his contributions to cancer research, including the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research and the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. He is a member of several prestigious scientific organizations, including the American Association for Cancer Research and the National Academy of Sciences.

Related pages

• Cancer research
• Genomics
• Liquid biopsy
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine