The prize is awarded for decoding new mechanisms at the base of the emergence and development of the specific metabolism of malignant epithelial tumours.
Alexei Dmitriyev was born on November 18, 1985, in Moscow, has a PhD in biology, and is senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Engelgardt Institute of Molecular Biology.
Anna Kudryavtsevawas born on December 4, 1981, in Leningrad, has a PhD in biology, and is leading researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Engelgardt Institute of Molecular Biology.
Their work concentrates on identifying new onco-associated genes and establishing the mechanisms for disrupting their functioning in some of the most frequent types of malignant tumours, and also searching for common changes and individual peculiarities.
The researchers have identified more than 30 genes, for which they have for the first time shown involvement in one or several of the types of cancer studied (lung, breast, colon, prostate, cervical, kidney and ovarian cancer), and for 17 of these genes – involvement in oncogenesis in general. The data obtained made it possible to develop multifunctional sets of molecular markers for diagnosing and predicting the development of the types of cancer studied. These sets are currently being tested jointly with the country’s leading oncology centres.
The scholars have also identified the key mechanisms responsible for cells acquiring the particular metabolism typical of cancer cells, which has great importance for developing new anti-tumour medicines.
The results obtained by Alexei Dmitriyev and Anna Kudryavtsevamake a significant contribution to identifying the mechanisms of the emergence and development of malignant tumours and lay the foundation for the successful development of new methods for diagnosing and treating cancer in Russia.