Dr. Susan P. Lees-Miller

Professor of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and
Department of Oncology, University of Calgary

• Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute (SACRI) Researcher
• Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Medical Scientist
• Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Investigator
• Alberta Cancer Foundation/Engineered Air Chair in Cancer Research, University of Calgary

Dr. Susan Lees-Miller, a cancer researcher at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, is advancing scientific understanding of how cells detect and respond to DNA damaging agents, in particular, to ionizing radiation (IR) and certain chemotherapeutic drugs.

Dr. Lees-Miller attracted international attention when she discovered the protein, DNA-PK, which is now known to play a vital role in the repair of IR-induced DNA damage. This landmark discovery is pivotal to cancer research because every year oncologists use IR to treat hundreds of thousands of cancer patients for its ability to induce a specific form of DNA damage-a DNA double-strand break (DSB). IR kills cancer cells but the problem is it also kills healthy tissue surrounding the cancer cells. That's why we get unwanted side effects like hair loss and sickness with cancer treatments. Researchers in Dr. Lees-Miller's lab are delving deeper into the nature of these DSB-attuned proteins and their response to IR-induced DNA damage in order to develop less painful and less damaging cancer treatments for patients.

Dr. Lees-Miller's research team is also focusing its sights on another related protein, ATM. Like its sister protein, DNA-PK, ATM plays a major role in coordinating cellular responses to ionizing radiation (IR). It helps cells repair DNA damage by triggering a temporary halt in cell division or, when DNA damage proves too great, it actually creates pathways that lead to the cell's death. Both actions serve to terminate further cancer cell growth.

Dr. Lees-Miller's lab recently discovered that ATM interacts with another protein, PP2A, which keeps ATM inactive until DNA damage stimulates the release of PP2A, which then activates ATM. With this new discovery, Dr. Lees-Miller hopes to be able to harness the body's natural response to DNA damage in order to develop better treatments for breast and prostate cancer patients the world over.

For further information, please contact Dr. Susan P. Lees-Miller using the Email contact form