Nancy A. Jenkins, Ph.D.
Department of Genetics, Division of Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Nancy A. Jenkins
Dr. Nancy Jenkins received her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Indiana University. Following postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School she joined the staff of The Jackson Laboratory and then the National Cancer Institute-Frederick, where she was a Senior Investigator and Head of the Molecular Genetics of Development Section for 22 years. She moved to the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore in 2006, where she served as Deputy Director of the Genetics and Genomics Division for most of her stay. In 2011 she returned to the United States to serve as Co-Director of Houston Methodist Cancer Biology Program at Houston Methodist Research Institute. For more than 35 years she co-headed a laboratory with Neal Copeland, successfully modeling many different types of human disease in the mouse but focusing exclusively on cancer the last 11 years. They have co-authored more than 800 papers and are among the most cited biomedical research scientists in the world today. Jenkins has served on numerous scientific advisory and editorial boards and has consulted for several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Jenkins is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In 2017, Jenkins and Copeland closed their lab and moved to the Department of Genetics at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Mouse models of cancer Insertional mutagenesis/ Forward genetic screens/ High throughput sequencing/ Candidate cancer gene detection
Read about Dr. Jenkins in Cancerwise
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor of Practice, Department of Genetics, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1977 | Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA, PHD, Molecular and Cellular Biology |
| 1974 | Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA, MA, Microbiology |
| 1972 | Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA, USA, BA, Chemistry |
Postgraduate Training
| 1980-1981 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Mouse Genetics, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME |
| 1978-1980 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Viral Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA |
Honors & Awards
| 2022 | American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy |
| 2020 | Prince Hitachi Prize for Comparative Oncology |
| 2011 | Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Sciences of Texas |
| 2008 | National Academy of Sciences |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Vu HN, Valdimarsson MM, Sigurbjörnsdóttir S, Bergsteinsdóttir K, Debbache J, Bismuth K, Swing DA, Hallsson JH, Larue L, Arnheiter H, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Heidarsson PO, Steingrímsson E. Novel mechanisms of MITF regulation identified in a mouse suppressor screen. EMBO Rep. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39169200.
- Iida N, Muranaka Y, Park JW, Sekine S, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Shiraishi Y, Oshima M, Takeda H. Sleeping Beauty transposon mutagenesis in mouse intestinal organoids identifies genes involved in tumor progression and metastasis. Cancer Gene Ther. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38177308.
- Vu HN, Valdimarsson MM, Sigurbjörnsdóttir S, Bergsteinsdóttir K, Debbache J, Bismuth K, Swing DA, Hallsson JH, Larue L, Arnheiter H, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Heidarsson PO, Steingrímsson E. Novel mechanisms of MITF regulation and melanoma predisposition identified in a mouse suppressor screen. bioRxiv, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37786677.
- Kodama T, Kodama M, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Chen HJ, Wei Z. Ring Finger Protein 125 Is an Anti-Proliferative Tumor Suppressor in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 14(11), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35681566.
- Shiode Y, Kodama T, Shigeno S, Murai K, Tanaka S, Newberg JY, Kondo J, Kobayashi S, Yamada R, Hikita H, Sakamori R, Suemizu H, Tatsumi T, Eguchi H, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Takehara T. TNF receptor-related factor 3 inactivation promotes the development of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma through NF-κB-inducing kinase-mediated hepatocyte transdifferentiation. Hepatology. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34995376.
- Kodama M, Shimura H, Tien JC, Newberg JY, Kodama T, Wei Z, Rangel R, Yoshihara K, Kuruma A, Nakae A, Hashimoto K, Sawada K, Kimura T, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Sleeping Beauty transposon mutagenesis identifies genes driving the initiation and metastasis of uterine leiomyosarcoma. Cancer Res. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34475109.
- Aiderus A, Newberg JY, Guzman-Rojas L, Contreras-Sandoval AM, Meshey AL, Jones DJ, Amaya-Manzanares F, Rangel R, Ward JM, Lee SC, Ban KH, Rogers K, Rogers SM, Selvanesan L, McNoe LA, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Tsai KY, Black MA, Mann KM, Mann MB. Transposon mutagenesis identifies cooperating genetic drivers during keratinocyte transformation and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression. PLoS Genet 17(8):e1009094, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34398873.
- Takeda H, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Identification of cancer driver genes using Sleeping Beauty transposon mutagenesis. Cancer Sci. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33783919.
- Nakae A, Kodama M, Okamoto T, Tokunaga M, Shimura H, Hashimoto K, Sawada K, Kodama T, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Kimura T. Ubiquitin specific peptidase 32 acts as an oncogene in epithelial ovarian cancer by deubiquitylating farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 552:120-127. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33744759.
- Gudmundsson KO, Nguyen N, Oakley K, Han Y, Gudmundsdottir B, Liu P, Tessarollo L, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Du Y. Prdm16 is a critical regulator of adult long-term hematopoietic stem cell quiescence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33268499.
- Takeda H, Kataoka S, Nakayama M, Ali MAE, Oshima H, Yamamoto D, Park JW, Takegami Y, An T, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Oshima M. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene knockout in intestinal tumor organoids provides functional validation for colorectal cancer driver genes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116(31):15635-15644, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31300537.
- Levine AJ, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. The Roles of Initiating Truncal Mutations in Human Cancers: The Order of Mutations and Tumor Cell Type Matters. Cancer Cell 35(1):10-15, 2019. PMID: 30645969.
- Mann KM, Newberg JY, Black MA, Jones DJ, Amaya-Manzanares F, Guzman-Rojas L, Kodama T, Ward JM, Rust AG, van der Weyden L, Yew CC, Waters JL, Leung ML, Rogers K, Rogers SM, McNoe LA, Selvanesan L, Navin N, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Mann MB. Analyzing tumor heterogeneity and driver genes in single myeloid leukemia cells with SBCapSeq. Nat Biotechnol 34(9):962-72, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27479497.
- Takeda H, Wei Z, Koso H, Rust AG, Yew CC, Mann MB, Ward JM, Adams DJ, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Transposon mutagenesis identifies genes and evolutionary forces driving gastrointestinal tract tumor progression. Nat Genet 47(2):142-50, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25559195.
- Bard-Chapeau EA, Nguyen AT, Rust AG, Sayadi A, Lee P, Chua BQ, New LS, de Jong J, Ward JM, Chin CK, Chew V, Toh HC, Abastado JP, Benoukraf T, Soong R, Bard FA, Dupuy AJ, Johnson RL, Radda GK, Chan EC, Wessels LF, Adams DJ, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Transposon mutagenesis identifies genes driving hepatocellular carcinoma in a chronic hepatitis B mouse model. Nat Genet 46(1):24-32, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24316982.
- Dupuy AJ, Akagi K, Largaespada DA, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Mammalian mutagenesis using a highly mobile somatic Sleeping Beauty transposon system. Nature 436(7048):221-6, 2005. PMID: 16015321.
- Davé UP, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Gene therapy insertional mutagenesis insights. Science 303(5656):333, 2004. PMID: 14726584.
- Wu XS, Rao K, Zhang H, Wang F, Sellers JR, Matesic LE, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Hammer JA. Identification of an organelle receptor for myosin-Va. Nat Cell Biol 4(4):271-8, 2002. PMID: 11887186.
- Matesic LE, Yip R, Reuss AE, Swing DA, O'Sullivan TN, Fletcher CF, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Mutations in Mlph, encoding a member of the Rab effector family, cause the melanosome transport defects observed in leaden mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98(18):10238-43, 2001. e-Pub 2001. PMID: 11504925.
- Wilson SM, Yip R, Swing DA, O'Sullivan TN, Zhang Y, Novak EK, Swank RT, Russell LB, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. A mutation in Rab27a causes the vesicle transport defects observed in ashen mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97(14):7933-8, 2000. PMID: 10859366.
- Li J, Shen H, Himmel KL, Dupuy AJ, Largaespada DA, Nakamura T, Shaughnessy JD, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Leukaemia disease genes: large-scale cloning and pathway predictions. Nat Genet 23(3):348-53, 1999. PMID: 10610183.
- Perry WL, Hustad CM, Swing DA, O'Sullivan TN, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. The itchy locus encodes a novel ubiquitin protein ligase that is disrupted in a18H mice. Nat Genet 18(2):143-6, 1998. PMID: 9462742.
- Fletcher CF, Lutz CM, O'Sullivan TN, Shaughnessy JD, Hawkes R, Frankel WN, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Absence epilepsy in tottering mutant mice is associated with calcium channel defects. Cell 87(4):607-17, 1996. PMID: 8929530.
- Seperack PK, Mercer JA, Strobel MC, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Retroviral sequences located within an intron of the dilute gene alter dilute expression in a tissue-specific manner. EMBO J 14(10):2326-32, 1995. PMID: 7774591.
- Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Gilbert DJ, Eppig JT, Maltais LJ, Miller JC, Dietrich WF, Weaver A, Lincoln SE, Steen RG. A genetic linkage map of the mouse: current applications and future prospects. Science 262(5130):57-66, 1993. PMID: 8211130.
- Copeland NG, Gilbert DJ, Jenkins NA, Nadeau JH, Eppig JT, Maltais LJ, Miller JC, Dietrich WF, Steen RG, Lincoln SE. Genome maps IV 1993. Wall chart. Science 262(5130):67-82, 1993. PMID: 8211131.
- Hodgkinson CA, Moore KJ, Nakayama A, Steingrímsson E, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Arnheiter H. Mutations at the mouse microphthalmia locus are associated with defects in a gene encoding a novel basic-helix-loop-helix-zipper protein. Cell 74(2):395-404, 1993. PMID: 8343963.
- Kingsley DM, Bland AE, Grubber JM, Marker PC, Russell LB, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. The mouse short ear skeletal morphogenesis locus is associated with defects in a bone morphogenetic member of the TGF beta superfamily. Cell 71(3):399-410, 1992. PMID: 1339316.
- Watanabe-Fukunaga R, Brannan CI, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA, Nagata S. Lymphoproliferation disorder in mice explained by defects in Fas antigen that mediates apoptosis. Nature 356(6367):314-7, 1992. PMID: 1372394.
- Mercer JA, Seperack PK, Strobel MC, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA. Novel myosin heavy chain encoded by murine dilute coat colour locus. Nature 349(6311):709-13, 1991. PMID: 1996138.
- Copeland NG, Gilbert DJ, Cho BC, Donovan PJ, Jenkins NA, Cosman D, Anderson D, Lyman SD, Williams DE. Mast cell growth factor maps near the steel locus on mouse chromosome 10 and is deleted in a number of steel alleles. Cell 63(1):175-83, 1990. PMID: 1698554.
- Buchberg AM, Cleveland LS, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG. Sequence homology shared by neurofibromatosis type-1 gene and IRA-1 and IRA-2 negative regulators of the RAS cyclic AMP pathway. Nature 347(6290):291-4, 1990. PMID: 2169593.
- Morishita K, Parker DS, Mucenski ML, Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Ihle JN. Retroviral activation of a novel gene encoding a zinc finger protein in IL-3-dependent myeloid leukemia cell lines. Cell 54(6):831-40, 1988. PMID: 2842066.
- Copeland NG, Hutchison KW, Jenkins NA. Excision of the DBA ecotropic provirus in dilute coat-color revertants of mice occurs by homologous recombination involving the viral LTRs. Cell 33(2):379-87, 1983. PMID: 6305507.
- Jenkins NA, Copeland NG, Taylor BA, Lee BK. Dilute (d) coat colour mutation of DBA/2J mice is associated with the site of integration of an ecotropic MuLV genome. Nature 293(5831):370-4, 1981. PMID: 6268990.
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CV information above last modified September 04, 2024