Stephen Francis, PhD

The goal for the Francis Lab is to contribute to understanding of the etiology and genetics of brain tumors and other cancers. To achieve that goal a combination of population-based epidemiology, molecular biology and computational biology are employed. Current active projects include examining exosomes as early biomarkers and prognostic indicators, germline risk of polymorphic retrotransposons, somatic variations and the general epidemiology of brain tumors. Core to our approach is an evolutionary lens where all systems are viewed as the consequence our of complex and delicate evolution that is driven by selection, especially infection. Our biology is the result of our evolution and our diseases are the consequence of that biology, this framework guides our investigations.