The American Cancer Society has recently awarded Dr. Dean Tantin a 4-year grant to fund the continuation of their research on Oct1. Oct1 is a transcription factor (a protein product of a gene), whose function is to regulate other genes by either turning them on or off. 
   
Previous research regarding Oct1, and what they have been funded to continue, has been focused primarily on the ability of the protein to regulate both the onset and progression of cancer.  Since receiving the grant, they have shown that Oct1 is a metabolic regulator, and can therefore control metabolism in such a way as to subsequently control tumorigenesis.
   
In the future, Dr. Tantin plans to identify the mechanisms by which Oct1 is itself controlled and the gene targets of Oct1 important for carcinogenesis.  Currently they know that over-expression of Oct1 promotes cancer, and under-expression inhibits cancer. The goal now is to “connect the dots.”  Specifically, the researchers are going to look at signals upstream from Oct1 to see how it is controlled.  By learning how it binds DNA and regulates its targets, figuring out what the specific targets are, and how they interact to form the metabolic phenomenon that then controls carcinogenesis, they will be able to fill in some of the blanks they are now facing. They know that there is much to be done, but are hopeful about the future of their research on Oct1 as well as related proteins such as Oct4.

We congratulate Dr. Tantin on his fantastic research and the reception of the ACS grant and we look forward to new developments.