Dr Watson has a strong reputation in the field of Molecular Oncology where he investigates the role of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in neoplastic progression. Much of his work focuses on the Ets family of transcription factors. Dr Watson's publications demonstrate that mutations and aberrant expression of Ets family members results in the disruption of signal-transduction pathways that ensure proper cell growth and differentiation. Disruption in the normal functions of trans-acting factors can lead to abnormal development as well as cancer. Dr Watson earned his BS at the University of Southern California. After receiving his PhD in 1980 from the Johns Hopkins University, Dr Watson spent 12 years at the National Cancer Institute in the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology directed by Dr Takis S Papas. With Dr Papas, Dr Watson was among the discoverers of the Ets gene family. He was directly responsible for the isolation and characterization of Ets gene products and continues to define the functional role of the Ets family of transcription factors during cellular proliferation, differentiation and transformation. In addition, Dr Watson has identified new genes with altered expression during cancer progression and is actively investigating their function. Since 1993 he has been at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Senior Scientist in the Center for Molecular and Structural Biology. His research continues to demonstrate the functional significance of altered gene expression, and to identify novel molecular targets with therapeutic potential.

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Dr Arun Seth obtained his PhD degree in 1981 in Molecular Biology from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He performed post-doctoral research at National Cancer Institute, Maryland. His work on the mos oncogene contributed to the elucidation of the role of oncogenes in cancer. With Takis S Papas as Chief in the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, Dr Seth and his group established the importance of the ETS gene family in areas as diverse as oncogenesis and bone development. He developed Ets2 transgenic mice which exhibit Down's syndrome-like skeletal abnormalities due to inducible over-expression of the Ets2 gene. Currently, he is associate professor in Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto and investigating the role of Ets1, Ets2 and target genes during osteoblast maturation and bone development. After receiving tenure at the NIH in 1992 he conducted a major breast cancer project in the NCI's Laboratory of Molecular Oncology. This work led to the isolation of more than 30 novel breast cancer associated genes. In order to investigate their roles in breast cancer progression, in 1995 he established and is also head of the Laboratory of Molecular Pathology at Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Center in Toronto, Canada, where he is developing high throughput diagnostic tools for molecular staging of breast tumors.