73 KO. PR. 04 Cancer Biology Stem  cells  are  an  important  part  of  understanding  how  normal  tissues develop.  In  cancer  most  recent  research  reveal  that  cancer  stem cells  do  exist  and  contribute  to  the  development  of  cancer.  It  is  of interest  to  try  and  identify  cancer  stem  cells  and  understand  their  role in  the  pathogenesis  of  cancer  in  the  larger  sense  particularly  in ovarian  and  testicular  cancer. Genetics  is  an  important  part  in  understanding  the  pathogenesis  of cancer.  Many  cancers  occur  at  a  much  earlier  age  in  India  and  are also  more  aggressive  compared  to  the  incidence  and  prevalence  in the  West.  It  is  of  interest  to  try  and  understand  the  reasons  behind this  by  studying  host  factors  primarily  genetic  analysis  of  tumours/ patients  to  understand  if  they  are  different  in  terms  of  profile  from cancer  seen  at  other  parts  of  the  world  . PI: Dr. T. S. Ganesan Sponsor:  Amrita Start  Date: April  2008 Dept./Center:  Molecular  Medicine KO. PR. 05 Protein Processing Protein  processing  is  an  important  aspect  of  how  proteins  are synthesized  and    degraded  in  the  cell.  This  has  broad  clinical applications  in  the  sense  proteosome  inhibitors  have  found  a clinical  role  in  the  management  of  malignancy.  Using  E.  coli  as  a model  we  try  to  understand  how  proteins  are  processed  in  the  cell. PI:  Dr.  Satish  Raina* Sponsor:  Amrita Start  Date: April  2008 Dept./Center:  Molecular  Medicine