Jenny Poynter
University of Minnesota, MN·Public Health & Epidemiology
Germ cell tumors are cancers that arise from the cells that normally become eggs or sperm. They are thought to start from events before birth.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Genetics
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
germ cell tumors
pediatric cancer
testicular cancer
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jan 2029
What they work on
- Identify tumor DNA methylation patterns, chemical marks that switch genes on or off, that predict relapse and death in pediatric germ cell tumors, using the Illumina EPIC array on 500 tumor samples.
- Discover single-letter DNA variants (SNPs) and copy number variants on the X and Y sex chromosomes that raise germ cell tumor risk in children and adolescents, using existing GWAS data from case-parent triads and state biobanks.
- Assess the contribution of rare genetic variants to germ cell tumor risk using aggregate burden tests on whole exome sequencing data from the Gabriella Miller Kids First program.
- Monitor cancer burden across Minnesota and identify opportunities to advance equity, using catchment-area surveillance focused on rural, older and immigrant populations.
More about the research
In the United States they affect about 600 children and adolescents each year. Most patients survive thanks to cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug. However, about 20% either do not respond or relapse, and current tools for predicting who is at high risk are crude. The research combines genetic epidemiology of these childhood cancers with statewide work on cancer burden and health equity in Minnesota.
Why it matters
Most children with germ cell tumors are cured, but the roughly one in five who relapse or resist chemotherapy need better identification. DNA methylation patterns could improve risk stratification so treatment can be tailored, and could suggest new treatment avenues. Genetic findings may explain why these cancers develop. Separately, the outreach work aims to reduce cancer burden and inequities across Minnesota's rural, older and immigrant communities.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Erin Peckham-Gregory
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Genetics
Analyze germline whole-genome sequencing data from 191 LCH case-parent trios in the Gabriella Miller Kids First program to define inheritance patterns and the role of de novo mutations in LCH risk.
Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway
University of Nebraska Medical Center, NE·Public Health & Epidemiology
Measure and monitor cancer incidence, mortality, risk factors, community needs and disparities across Nebraska's urban, rural and frontier counties over time.
Robert Klein
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY·Genetics
Identify genes whose inherited, genetically controlled expression changes alter the risk of dying from prostate cancer, using a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) with prostate-specific models.
The school
University of Minnesota: 88 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 722 research doctorates a year.
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