Our genomes are our most precious possessions. They are made up of long molecules of DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid) that contain the genetic blueprint that tells every part of our body how to function. Unfortunately our DNA is continually being damaged, for example in skin cells - by sunlight, in our intestinal cells - by carcinogens in food, and in all our cells - simply by existing at body temperature. Luckily our cells contain sophisticated mechanisms for repairing this damage and thereby protecting our genomes.
It is these protective processes that are the focus of the work of the Centre for Genome Damage and Stability at Sussex. Part of our research is the study into several genetic diseases in which one of these repair systems is faulty. This results in the affected individuals having very high incidences of cancer, more than 1000 times higher than in the general population. By discovering the nature of the defects in people with these disorders, we are able not only to help diagnose and cure these conditions, but also to gain general insights into how cancers can arise and develop. This will hasten the day when cures for this major killer will be found.
The Centre enables scientists of different disciplines to be housed in one building and benefit from mutual interests. Our work ranges from studies on the protein molecules that repair DNA inside cells, to the genes that are altered or mutated in cancer cells, through to investigations on cancer-prone people to identify other useful targets in the war against cancer.