René Bernards
勒内·贝尔纳茨
PhD
Professor of Molecular Carcinogenesis; Group Leader, Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis分子致癌学教授；分子致癌学研究组负责人
👥Biography 个人简介
René Bernards is a pioneer in using functional genomic screens to identify mechanisms of cancer drug resistance and synthetic lethal vulnerabilities. His laboratory developed the first large-scale RNAi screens in cancer, discovering resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies including EGFR inhibitors and MEK inhibitors, and identifying therapeutic combinations to overcome resistance.
🧪Research Fields 研究领域
🎓Key Contributions 主要贡献
RNAi Functional Genomic Screens for Drug Resistance
Developed the first large-scale shRNA library screens to systematically identify genes whose loss confers resistance to targeted cancer therapies, establishing a paradigm for unbiased resistance mechanism discovery.
Mechanisms of EGFR Inhibitor Resistance in Colorectal Cancer
Identified HER2 and HER3 amplification as mechanisms of cetuximab resistance in colorectal cancer through genome-wide RNAi screens, guiding combination therapy strategies now tested in clinical trials.
RAS Synthetic Lethality and Combination Therapy
Discovered synthetic lethal interactions with KRAS-mutant cancers using functional genomic approaches, identifying rational drug combinations including EGFR plus MEK inhibition in KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer.
Representative Works 代表性著作
A large-scale RNAi screen in human cells identifies new components of the p53 pathway
Nature (2004)
Pioneered large-scale RNAi screening in cancer cells to map p53 pathway regulators, establishing the methodology that transformed functional cancer genomics.
An shRNA barcode screen provides unbiased identification of genetic modifiers that target drug resistance
Nature Genetics (2006)
Developed barcoded shRNA pooled screen methodology to identify EGFR inhibitor resistance genes, creating a widely adopted platform for drug resistance gene discovery.
EGFR and HER2 inhibition to overcome resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors in colorectal cancer
Cancer Discovery (2012)
Demonstrated that feedback reactivation of EGFR/HER2 drives BRAF/MEK inhibitor resistance in colorectal cancer, providing mechanistic basis for vertical pathway inhibition strategies.
🏆Awards & Recognition 奖项与荣誉
📄Data Sources 数据来源
Last updated: 2026-01-15 | All information from publicly available academic sources
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Naiyer A. Rizvi
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留下邮箱，当我们发布与 René Bernards（Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AVL)）相关的新研究或访谈时，我们会通知你。
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