Matthew Leventhal has been awarded a Quantitative Biology Fellowship from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Established to encourage scientists with backgrounds in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering to pursue careers in cancer research, the fellowship highlights the importance of these specially trained scientists in the era of precision medicine.
Matthew trains under the joint mentorship of David Pellman, the HMS Margaret M. Dyson Professor of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber and professor of cell biology at HMS, and Cheng-Zhong Zhang, HMS assistant professor of pathology at Dana-Farber.
Leventhal will investigate how the X chromosome contributes to cancer development in women. He plans to develop a new computational tool to determine which copy of the X chromosome is active in tumor cells and analyze more than 8,000 tumors across 31 cancer types. By identifying genetic changes that occur on the active X chromosome, Leventhal hopes to uncover new cancer-causing genes and weaknesses that could be targeted with future treatments. He will also examine whether these changes arise early in cancer development, potentially opening the door to earlier intervention.