The LCO conducts fundamental and applied research on the cellular and molecular basis of neoplasia. The LCO is composed of six interacting groups, headed by Drs. Douglas R. Lowy , John T. Schiller , Wayne C. Anderson , Linda Wolff , Jeffrey E. DeClue and Paul Randazzo . Their specific research programs are described on their respective pages. The research in the LCO focuses on normal and abnormal growth regulation, cell signaling, and papillomaviruses.
Fellows develop their own projects in discussion with the principal investigators.
There is a great deal of interaction within each research group and between the groups. Most investigations utilize a molecular genetic and biochemical genetic approach. They are hypothesis driven and mechanistically oriented. The projects vary from fundamental aspects of biology to applied clinical research. The papillomavirus research is concerned with mechanisms of virus assembly, cell transformation by the viral oncogenes and their protein products, the epidemiology and natural history of papillomavirus infection, and the development of a vaccine against genital papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer.