Professor Dr. Slobodan Beronja

Biography

Slobodan Beronja studies how skin develops to understand skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma. His research in the Beronja Lab focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms essential for tissue growth, development, and tumorigenesis. The goal is to identify genes and gene pathways used as targets for cancer therapy, with a focus on regulators that balance stem cell renewal and differentiation. The lab employs a mouse skin epidermis model to investigate epidermal squamous cell carcinoma and skin development. The skin’s well-defined physiological system allows for continuous cycles of progenitor cell self-renewal and differentiation, implicating significant outcomes for human health and understanding SCC, one of the most common cancers. Dr. Beronja utilizes a variety of methods, including transgenic animal creation and lentivirus-mediated gene function analysis, to explore gene interactions within skin morphogenesis and disease. His lab's research methods include RNAi screens and genome-wide gene function analysis, allowing them to uncover key regulators affecting epidermal tissue growth and cancer progression. Beronja aims to refine general models of epithelial growth and tumorigenesis, enhancing our understanding of similar carcinomas leading to high mortality rates globally.

Research Interests