Proteomics and transcriptomics. Biomarkers. Immune cells. Epigenetic versus biological age. Endocrine therapy. Health disparities.
In research labs around the world, scientists are making exciting breakthroughs in our understanding of breast cancer oncogenesis. And it is happening with samples of normal, healthy breast tissue donated by thousands of volunteers through the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The science of NORMAL
Research breakthrough: A single-cell atlas of healthy breast tissue
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is an evolving technology used to explain the cellular architecture of adult organs. Previous scRNA-seq on breast tissue utilized reduction mammoplasty samples, which are often histologically abnormal.
Investigators from across Indiana University found a rapid tissue collection/processing protocol to perform scRNA-seq of breast biopsies of healthy women and identified 23 clinically relevant breast epithelial cell clusters.
Researcher Spotlights: Jenny Cui
Since 2007, the Komen Tissue Bank has collected donors’ self-reported medical history and data generated from research performed with samples donated by more than 9,000 women. Jenny Cui, the KTB’s data analyst, can wrangle all that information into accessible, eye-opening reports.
This example shows the mutations carried by our KTB donors’ (such as BRCA 1, BRCA 2, or CHEK2) and the donors’ self-reported race as compared to the results of the genetic testing of their samples:
Jenny and her dedication to increasing KTB data visualization have brought an entirely new understanding of our data and its importance.
Team Science: KTB’s Research Leadership
