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Inside PMHF Stories
Dr. Peter Cheung - Cancer Biologist
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Dr. Peter Cheung in his lab studying
how cells grow. |
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In Dr. Peter Cheung’s lab, the cancer biologist is researching a signaling process that tells cells to grow or die. He works with proteins called histones around which DNA, the building block of life, is wrapped like a ball of string. These proteins have chemical tails that affect the ways cells behave.
By untangling the “string” and by manipulating the “tails”, Dr. Cheung and his team will be able to determine where the key switches are that signal cells to act in certain ways.
“These proteins are the gatekeepers that control access to DNA, and they help maintain the exquisite balance between cell growth and cell death. It’s a central process at the very foundation of biology,” he says, “and the more knowledge we acquire, the more we can collaborate with other cancer researchers to advance their work, too.
”Dr. Cheung is one of more than 1,000 scientists, staff and trainees working to conquer cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital’s research arm, the Ontario Cancer Institute.
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