Baltimore

About

Research in the Ludwig Center at Johns Hopkins University is founded on the tenet that cancer arises from defects in a cell’s genetic instructions. We have therefore focused our efforts on the identification of genes specifically mutated in human cancer. Ours was the first group to sequence the full spectrum of genes expressed (the exome) in any human cancer, and we went on to sequence 98 of the first 104 cancer exomes sequenced worldwide.

Our Center was a leader in defining many major cancer genes, including APC/β-catenin, FBXW, PIK3CA, IDH1/2, ARID1A/2, ATRX/DAXX and CIC/FUBP1. The identification of these mutated cancer genes provided important insights into the biology of cancer, suggested new therapeutic approaches and identified molecular markers for cancer, many of which are proving useful to the development of novel, minimally invasive and blood-based cancer diagnostics.

Our Center was the first to demonstrate that the detection of mutated cancer genes in stool, plasma and other clinical samples could be used to monitor disease and detect human tumors at a stage when they were still curable. Our ultimate goal is to develop diagnostics that can be routinely used to detect cancer at early, curable stages, and perhaps even help to prevent its development. To help achieve this goal, we continue to develop innovative assays for detecting cancer genes in clinical samples, and are participating in a cancer prevention initiative launched jointly by Ludwig and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The Ludwig Center located at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

The Ludwig Center is located at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Johns Hopkins University also hosts the laboratory of the Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Chi Van Dang.