Our Research

Welcome to the Grady Lab. Our research studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms that affect the initiation and progression of cancer in the gastrointestinal tract.  We assess the role of genomic and epigenomic alterations and tissue microenvironment alterations in gastrointestinal carcinogenesis, with a focus on esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), colorectal cancer (CRC), and hepatocellular carcinoma.  Projects involve the study of aging and cancer; cancer epigenetics; mechanisms that affect cancer risk; and the development of biomarkers, to aid in treatment and early diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers and cancer precursors. A long-standing translational research goal of the lab is the development of a non-invasive strategy for colon cancer and esophageal cancer detection, encouraging more patients to seek preventative care. With this goal in mind, the Grady Lab is heavily invested in studying the molecular pathogenesis of gastrointestinal cancer and Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) for more informative diagnosis and development of active methods to decrease cancer risks.