John Chadwick Brenner

About John Chadwick Brenner

More than 50% of prostate cancers have a common underlying rearrangement of genes that leads to the abnormal fusion of two genes, TMPRSS2 and ERG and the overexpression of ERG. ERG belongs to a family of proteins called oncogenes that activate several genes to drive the progression of cancer. Therefore, inhibiting ERG activity has far-reaching implications for the discovery of new prostate cancer therapeutics. Unfortunately, oncogenes such as ERG are generally thought to be ‘undruggable’, being difficult to inhibit with medicinal compounds. Brenner’s work will add understanding of how TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusions promote prostate cancer which will form the basis of a new anti-neoplastic drug discovery program.