In addition, he is an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work cuts across the Cancer Genetics and Prostate Cancer Programs, and has contributed tremendously to the understanding of the DNA regions that do not code for genes (or proteins). Until recently, the study of cancer genetics mainly focused on the regions of DNA that code for genes. Newer studies point to the importance of these non-genic regions that were previously referred to as ‘junk DNA’. In fact, most of the DNA changes that increase the risk of cancer are located in these less-studied regions.