Laurent Susini started at the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (
Fondation Jean Dausset-CEPH). He obtained his PhD in Human Genetics and Molecular Biology from University Paris VII -
Denis Diderot. He collaborated with research teams from
Caltech and the
Los Alamos National Lab. as a member of Pr 's team at
Genethon and at
Genset Corporation to contribute to the first physical map of the human genome. At the
Weizmann Institute of Science, in the Lab of Professor Moshe Oren, he demonstrated that
SIAH1 induces ubiquitin-mediated degradation of
NUMB (gene), a protein that influences cell fate decisions.
SIAH1 a
p53-inducible gene, plays a role in both cell death and tumor suppression by targeting specific proteins for proteasomal degradation via ubiquitination. Approaching cancer research with a different angle, not asking why the normal cells become malignant, but rather from the patients expectations: how do my tumor cells quit their malignant status, and thus, revert?, Laurent Susini joined
Molecular Engines Laboratories (M.E.L.), a biotech company with headquarters and laboratories located in Paris (France), in 2000, to develop a new generation of innovative drugs against cancer with Adam Telerman and Robert Amson. By analyzing
gene expression and using bio-informatics on cellular models of
tumor reversion, M.E.L. researchers identified over 200 genes involved in the process, including TCTP (
Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein /
Translationally Controlled Tumour Protein. This research has led to the potential development of drugs for cancer prevention and management by inhibiting tpt1/TCTP gene expression. Laurent Susini joined Oncology Clinical Research in 2007 to contribute to the early clinical development of anti-cancer drugs. He worked first with Quintiles and later joined the Translational Clinical Oncology department at the
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, where he designed and conducted phase I clinical trials primarily in
melanoma and hematology malignancies. == Research ==