University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine Molecular Medicine and Genetics
.
.

Faculty

Eric Fearon, M.D.. Ph.D.
Emanuel N. Maisel Professor of Oncology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Human Genetics
Professor of Pathology
Associate Director for Basic Science, U of M Cancer Center

fearon@umich.edu
734/764-1549

   

Research Interests

The research in Dr Fearon's laboratory seeks to address the means by which specific oncogene and tumor suppressor gene defects contribute to the pathogenesis of colon and other cancers. Present areas of emphasis include studies of the APC/fl-catenin/Tcf, CDX2, and E-cadherin pathways, as well as gene expression profiling of colorectal cancers.

Education

1975-1979 Mount Blue High School, Farmington, Maine

1979-1983 The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; B.A. (Biophysics)

1983-1990The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; M.D.

1985-1990 The Johns Hopkins University; Ph.D. (Biology/Program in Human Genetics; mentor - Dr. Bert Vogelstein)

Postdoctoral Training

1990-1992 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Hematology Division, Dept. of Medicine & the Oncology Center (mentor - Dr. Chi Van Dang)

Honors and Awards

1983 Phi Beta Kappa ( Johns Hopkins University)

1983 Martin G. Larrabee undergraduate prize for research in biophysics, Johns Hopkins University

1990 Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society ( Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

1990 David Israel Macht Prize for Basic Science Research ( Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

1990 Wilson S. Stone Award, UT, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

1992-1995† McDonnell Fellow in Molecular Medicine in Cancer Research, James S. McDonnell Fund

1994 Ruppert B. Turnbull Memorial Lectureship, Visiting Professor, Dept. of Surgery, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis and Washington University School of Medicine

1996 Louis J. Cole Lecture, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

1998 American Society of Clinical Investigation

2000 Lynch Lectureship, University of Notre Dame, Department of Biology, Molecular Biosciences Program

2001 Vice Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Cancer ( Newport, RI)

2002 Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Cancer ( Newport, RI)

2003 Association of American Physicians

Recent Publications

Schwartz DR, Kardia SLR, Shedden KA, Kuick R, Michailidis G, Taylor JMG, Misek DE, Wu R, Zhai Y, Darrah DM, Reed H, Ellenson LH, Giordano TJ, Fearon ER, Hanash SM, Cho KR.† Gene expression in ovarian cancer reflects both morphology and biological behavior, distinguishing clear cell from other poor-prognosis ovarian carcinomas. Cancer Res 2002, 62:4722-4729.

Hinoi T, Lucas P, Kuick R, Hanash S, Cho KR, Fearon ER.† CDX2 regulates liver intestine-cadherin expression in normal and malignant colon epithelium and intestinal metaplasia in the stomach.† Gastroenterology 2002, 123:1565-1577.

Wu R, Lin L, Beer DG, Ellenson LH, Lamb BJ, Rouillard JM, Kuick R, Hanash S, Fearon ER, Cho KR. Amplification and overexpression of the L-MYC proto-oncogene in ovarian carcinomas. Am J Pathol 2003, 162:1603-1610.

Van Mater D, Kolligs FT, Dlugosz A, Fearon ER. Transient activation of b-catenin signaling in cutaneous keratinocytes is sufficient to trigger the active growth phase of the hair cycle in mice. Genes Dev 2003, 17:1219-1224.

Schwartz DR, Wu R, Kardia SLR, Levin AM, Huang CC, Shedden KA, Kuick R, Misek DE, Hanash SM, Taylor JMG, Read H, Hendrix N, Zhai Y, Fearon ER, Cho KR. Novel candidate targets of b-catenin/TCF signaling identified by gene expression profiling of ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas. Cancer Res 2003, 63:2913-2922.

Kim PJ, Plescia J, Clevers H, Fearon ER, Altieri DC. The TCF/b-catenin pathway imparts resistance to apoptosis via transcriptional activation of survin. Lancet 2003, 362:205-9.

Shedden KA, Taylor, JMG, Giordano TJ, Kuick R, Misek DE, Rennert G, Schwartz DR, Gruber SB, Logsdon C, Simeone D, Kardia SLR, Greenson JK, Cho KR, Beer DG, Fearon ER, Hanash S.† Accurate molecular classification of human cancers based on gene expression using a simple classifier with a pathologic tree-based framework. Am J Pathol 2003, 163:1985-95.

Hinoi T, Loda M, Fearon ER. Silencing of CDX2 expression in colon cancer via a dominant repression pathway. J Biol Chem 2003, 278:44608-16.

Feng Y, Lee N, Fearon ER. TIP49 regulates b-catenin-mediated neoplastic transformation and TCF-target gene induction via effects on chromatin remodeling. Cancer Res 2003, 63:8726-34.

Lab Projects

CVís from interested candidates may be forwarded to fearon@umich.edu

Additional Lab Links

Department of Pathology

Department of Human Genetics

Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cellular and Molecular Biology Program

Lab Members

Lab Manager:

Maranne Green

Post-Doctoral Fellows:

Pallavi Chaturvedi

Ying Feng

Undergraduate Student

Robert Love