John Prensner, MD

In the Prensner lab, we aspire for a culture of respect, creativity, equality and collaboration. We believe that team members bring unique life experiences that enrich our work, and we recognize our own efforts and those of our collaborators and colleagues. As a mentor, I have worked to bring together a diverse group of scientists who both care for each other and promote each other as we grow together as a team. 

1. Non-canonical translation in cancer
   We use functional genomics to characterize oncogenic non-canonical open reading frames, which may encode small “miniproteins” that are novel cancer targets
2. Translational dysregulation in cancer
   We use multi-omics approaches to elucidate patterns of translational regulation (or dysregulation) in cancer with an emphasis on pediatric brain cancers. 
3. RNA translation therapeutics in cancer
   We use pharmacologic approaches to inhibit various aspects of the RNA translation machinery and evaluate molecular determinants that predict response to these small molecule inhibitors.