Hunter Shain, PhD

Associate Professor
Dermatology
[email protected]
Research Overview: 

We use a variety of -omic approaches to delineate the genetic and transcriptomic alterations in normal and tumorigenic skin cells, including single-cell RNA- and DNA-sequencing, bulk-cell RNA- and DNA- sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics. Our laboratory studies the genomic landscape and evolution of skin cancer. We use bulk-cell and single-cell DNA/RNA sequencing as well as spatial transcriptomics to track tumor evolution. We lead one of the research centers in the Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN). We are interested in the genetic and non-genetic factors driving cancer progression. We are always interested in adopting the latest -omic technologies.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Our overarching goal is to understand the biology of skin cancer with an emphasis on melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Websites

Featured Publications: 

The Genetic Evolution of Melanoma from Precursor Lesions.

The New England journal of medicine

Shain AH, Yeh I, Kovalyshyn I, Sriharan A, Talevich E, Gagnon A, Dummer R, North J, Pincus L, Ruben B, Rickaby W, D'Arrigo C, Robson A, Bastian BC

The genetic evolution of metastatic uveal melanoma.

Nature genetics

Shain AH, Bagger MM, Yu R, Chang D, Liu S, Vemula S, Weier JF, Wadt K, Heegaard S, Bastian BC, Kiilgaard JF

Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Incremental Disruption of Key Signaling Pathways during Melanoma Evolution.

Cancer cell

Shain AH, Joseph NM, Yu R, Benhamida J, Liu S, Prow T, Ruben B, North J, Pincus L, Yeh I, Judson R, Bastian BC

Exome sequencing of desmoplastic melanoma identifies recurrent NFKBIE promoter mutations and diverse activating mutations in the MAPK pathway.

Nature genetics

Shain AH, Garrido M, Botton T, Talevich E, Yeh I, Sanborn JZ, Chung J, Wang NJ, Kakavand H, Mann GJ, Thompson JF, Wiesner T, Roy R, Olshen AB, Gagnon A, Gray JW, Huh N, Hur JS, Busam KJ, Scolyer RA, Cho RJ, Murali R, Bastian BC

From melanocytes to melanomas.

Nature reviews. Cancer

Shain AH, Bastian BC

Convergent structural alterations define SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeler as a central tumor suppressive complex in pancreatic cancer.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Shain AH, Giacomini CP, Matsukuma K, Karikari CA, Bashyam MD, Hidalgo M, Maitra A, Pollack JR