Ciccia Lab
Principal Investigator: Alberto Ciccia
Institution: Columbia University (New York, NY)
Primary Subfield: Genetics/Genomics
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY The Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is involved in several key processes required to maintain genome stability. It promotes the repair of DNA lesions, such as inter-strand crosslinks (ICLs) and DNA double strand breaks. It is also involved in protecting nascent DNA from degradation and preventing the accumulation of single-strand DNA (ssDNA) gaps during DNA replication. FA pathway proteins also favor the resolution of RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops), which form as a result of transcription. Mutations in FA pathway genes cause Fanconi anemia, a genetic disorder associated with bone marrow failure, developmental abnormalities, and an increased risk of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. Mutations in FA pathway genes also predispose to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, and they have been observed in more than a third of somatic tumors. Current treatments for cancers with FA pathway defects often involve the use of DNA crosslinking agents or PARP inhibitors. However, these treatments can lose effectiveness over time as cancer cells develop resistance. To improve therapeutic outcomes, it is therefore critical to systematically define factors required for the survival…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R01CA315098-01: Characterizing genetic dependencies induced by Fanconi anemia pathway loss (2026)
- 1R01CA304254-01A1: Characterization of the functions of the DNA translocase SMARCAL1 in anti-tumor immunity (2026)
- 2R01CA197774-11A1: Mechanisms of replication stress in cancer (2026)
- 5R01CA197774-10: Regulation of DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage (2025)
- 5R01CA197774-09: Regulation of DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage (2024)
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