A top researcher in her field, Dr. Brenda Andrews has contributed greatly to our understanding of the cell cycle and its role in cancer. Yet, were it not for a late-coming epiphany in her final high school year, Andrews may have obtained an arts degree rather than studying sciences in university.

Andrews, who recently has been appointed director of the new Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research (CCBR), researches the cell cycle and the molecular mechanisms that regulate it, using yeast as a model system.

How does this research affect medical science? “Much work over the years has revealed that all cells use the same basic machinery to control their division,” said Andrews. “This machinery is universally perturbed in cancer cells, for example.”

In eukaryotic cells (including human cells), cell division is primarily controlled in the G1 phase of the cell cycle at a critical regulatory point called Start. Start, along with cell cycle progression in general, is controlled by cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks), and Andrews’ research has been instrumental in elucidating the action of one important Cdk, Pho85. Pho85 controls many cellular processes, including metabolism, division, and growth.

With greater insight into Cdks and cell cycle regulation, scientists hope to continue to unravel the mysteries of cancer.

After completing a PhD in Medical Biophysics, and some post-doctoral research work in yeast genetics.

Her recent research has shifted to take advantage of the tools of post-genome biology, also known as functional genomics.

In this field of study, scientists attempt to establish a link between gene expression and cell function and dysfunction. If mapping the human genome was akin to uncovering the pages of the human book of life, functional genomics tries to decipher and translate the book’s contents, to determine how one part relates to another.

Working with other colleagues in the Banting & Best Department, Andrews aims to build a yeast genetic interaction map and to systematically discover the functions for unknown genes. “Ultimately,” said Andrews, “we want to understand how genes work together in health and disease, and how we might influence cell function in an intelligent way with small molecules or drugs.”

Relocation to the CCBR has allowed Andrews’ research lab to interact with other biologists, biomedical engineers, computer scientists, chemists and others.

Said Andrews of her research lab, “We seek to understand how cell division is regulated because it has profound implications for human health. Proper cell division is required during development of all organisms, and if it goes awry, birth defects result; improper cell division leads to many human diseases, including cancer.”