Victor Velculescu

Velculescu was born in Bucharest, Romania and moved with his family to Westlake Village, California at the age of seven.

{{cite web|url=https://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/1-decembrie/romanul-care-vrea-sa-puna-frana-celei-mai-grele-boli-a-omenirii-cancerul-decoperirea-sa-va-revoluc-iona-medicina.html|title=Românul care vrea să pună frână celei mai grele boli a omenirii: cancerul. Decoperirea sa va revoluționa medicina|website=Stirileprotv.ro |language=ro|date=December 1, 2017|access-date=January 1, 2020}} He began molecular biology research as an undergraduate at Stanford University, graduating with honors and distinction in biological sciences in 1992. Velculescu completed his M.D. degree, a Ph.D. in human genetics and molecular biology, and postdoctoral studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he remains on the faculty.{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencemag.org/site/feature/data/pharmacia/1999.xhtml |title=Pharmacia Prize|website=Science|access-date=2020-01-01|date=1999|issn=0036-8075}}

He is married to Delia Velculescu, an economist and the current IMF mission chief in Greece.{{cite web |url= http://www.cancan.ro/doamna-draculescu-tine-in-mana-destinele-greciei-vezi-cum-a-ajuns-o-romanca-de-succes-sefa-misiunii-de-salvare-a-greciei.html |title= "Doamna Drăculescu" ține în mână destinele Greciei! Vezi cum a ajuns o româncă de succes sefa misiunii FMI! | trans-title = "Mrs. Drăculescu" is holding Greece's destinies! See how a successful Romanian has become the head of the IMF mission! | language = ro | date= July 22, 2015|website=cancan.ro |access-date=January 1, 2020}}

Velculescu and members of his research group have pioneered approaches for discovering molecular alterations in human cancer and applying these discoveries to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

In 1995 Velculescu developed SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression), a gene expression technology for the global and quantitative measurement of gene activity.{{cite web |url= https://ftpwtn.b.civicrm.ca/2004/bio83.html |title=Background: Victor Velculescu |date=2005|website=The World Technology Network |access-date=2020-01-01}} The SAGE approach provided some of the first insights into gene expression patterns in eukaryotic cells and the identification of gene expression patterns in human cancer. These studies led Velculescu to coin the term transcriptome in a 1997 paper to describe the comprehensive gene expression patterns that could now be analyzed.{{cite journal | vauthors = Velculescu VE, Zhang L, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW | title = Serial analysis of gene expression | journal = Science | volume = 270 | issue = 5235 | pages = 484–7 | date = October 1995 | pmid = 7570003 | doi = 10.1126/science.270.5235.484 | bibcode = 1995Sci...270..484V | s2cid = 16281846 }} SAGE contributed to the development of next-generation sequencing methods used for genome-wide expression analyses.{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Velculescu VE, Zhang L, Zhou W, Vogelstein J, Basrai MA, Bassett DE, Hieter P, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW | title = Characterization of the yeast transcriptome | journal = Cell | volume = 88 | issue = 2 | pages = 243–51 | date = January 1997 | pmid = 9008165 | doi = 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81845-0 | s2cid = 11430660 | doi-access = free }}

In the early 2000s, Velculescu and members of his laboratory devised new technologies for characterizing the cancer genome. These included digital karyotyping, which allows for quantitative characterization of amplifications and deletions at the DNA level.{{cite journal | vauthors = Mardis ER | title = Next-generation DNA sequencing methods | journal = Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics | volume = 9 | pages = 387–402 | date = 2008 | pmid = 18576944 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.genom.9.081307.164359 | s2cid = 2484571 }} This approach provided the underlying methodology for next-generation sequencing analyses to detect chromosomal abnormalities in human cancer as well as in prenatal genetic testing.{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Wang TL, Maierhofer C, Speicher MR, Lengauer C, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE | title = Digital karyotyping | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 99 | issue = 25 | pages = 16156–61 | date = December 2002 | pmid = 12461184 | pmc = 138581 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.202610899 | bibcode = 2002PNAS...9916156W | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Ding L, Wendl MC, Koboldt DC, Mardis ER | title = Analysis of next-generation genomic data in cancer: accomplishments and challenges | journal = Human Molecular Genetics | volume = 19 | issue = R2 | pages = R188–96 | date = October 2010 | pmid = 20843826 | pmc = 2953747 | doi = 10.1093/hmg/ddq391 }}

In parallel, Velculescu was an early developer of methods for high-throughput sequencing of human cancer, which his group used to identify the PIK3CA gene as one of the most highly mutated cancer genes.{{cite journal | vauthors = Haber DA, Velculescu VE | title = Blood-based analyses of cancer: circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA | journal = Cancer Discovery | volume = 4 | issue = 6 | pages = 650–61 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24801577 | pmc = 4433544 | doi = 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-13-1014 }}

Starting in 2005, Velculescu extended these approaches, and together with Bert Vogelstein, Ken Kinzler and other colleagues at Johns Hopkins performed the first sequence analysis of the coding genome in human cancers, including breast, colorectal, brain, and pancreatic cancers.{{cite journal |display-authors=4 |author1-link=Alberto Bardelli | vauthors = Bardelli A, Parsons DW, Silliman N, Ptak J, Szabo S, Saha S, Markowitz S, Willson JK, Parmigiani G, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Velculescu VE | title = Mutational analysis of the tyrosine kinome in colorectal cancers | journal = Science | volume = 300 | issue = 5621 | pages = 949 | date = May 2003 | pmid = 12738854 | doi = 10.1126/science.1082596 | s2cid = 85934154 }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 |author1-link=Yardena Samuels | vauthors = Samuels Y, Wang Z, Bardelli A, Silliman N, Ptak J, Szabo S, Yan H, Gazdar A, Powell SM, Riggins GJ, Willson JK, Markowitz S, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Velculescu VE | title = High frequency of mutations of the PIK3CA gene in human cancers | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 304 | issue = 5670 | pages = 554 | date = April 2004 | pmid = 15016963 | doi = 10.1126/science.1096502 | s2cid = 10147415 }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Sjöblom T, Jones S, Wood LD, Parsons DW, Lin J, Barber TD, Mandelker D, Leary RJ, Ptak J, Silliman N, Szabo S, Buckhaults P, Farrell C, Meeh P, Markowitz SD, Willis J, Dawson D, Willson JK, Gazdar AF, Hartigan J, Wu L, Liu C, Parmigiani G, Park BH, Bachman KE, Papadopoulos N, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE | title = The consensus coding sequences of human breast and colorectal cancers | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 314 | issue = 5797 | pages = 268–74 | date = October 2006 | pmid = 16959974 | doi = 10.1126/science.1133427 | bibcode = 2006Sci...314..268S | s2cid = 15764172 }}{{cite news | title = Cancer genetics, Variations on a theme | newspaper = The Economist | date = September 7, 2006 | url = http://www.economist.com/node/7880052 }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Wood LD, Parsons DW, Jones S, Lin J, Sjöblom T, Leary RJ, Shen D, Boca SM, Barber T, Ptak J, Silliman N, Szabo S, Dezso Z, Ustyanksky V, Nikolskaya T, Nikolsky Y, Karchin R, Wilson PA, Kaminker JS, Zhang Z, Croshaw R, Willis J, Dawson D, Shipitsin M, Willson JK, Sukumar S, Polyak K, Park BH, Pethiyagoda CL, Pant PV, Ballinger DG, Sparks AB, Hartigan J, Smith DR, Suh E, Papadopoulos N, Buckhaults P, Markowitz SD, Parmigiani G, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE, Vogelstein B | title = The genomic landscapes of human breast and colorectal cancers | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 318 | issue = 5853 | pages = 1108–13 | date = November 2007 | pmid = 17932254 | doi = 10.1126/science.1145720 | bibcode = 2007Sci...318.1108W | s2cid = 7586573 }} His group also led the effort to sequence the first pediatric tumor genome for medulloblastoma. These studies defined the genomic landscapes of human cancers and identified alterations in a variety of genes and pathways not previously known to be involved in tumorigenesis, including the IDH1 and IDH2 genes in gliomas, and chromatin modifying genes MLL2/3 and ARID1 in medulloblastomas, neuroblastomas and other tumor types.{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Parsons DW, Jones S, Zhang X, Lin JC, Leary RJ, Angenendt P, Mankoo P, Carter H, Siu IM, Gallia GL, Olivi A, McLendon R, Rasheed BA, Keir S, Nikolskaya T, Nikolsky Y, Busam DA, Tekleab H, Diaz LA, Hartigan J, Smith DR, Strausberg RL, Marie SK, Shinjo SM, Yan H, Riggins GJ, Bigner DD, Karchin R, Papadopoulos N, Parmigiani G, Vogelstein B, Velculescu VE, Kinzler KW | title = An integrated genomic analysis of human glioblastoma multiforme | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 321 | issue = 5897 | pages = 1807–12 | date = September 2008 | pmid = 18772396 | pmc = 2820389 | doi = 10.1126/science.1164382 | bibcode = 2008Sci...321.1807P }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Jones S, Zhang X, Parsons DW, Lin JC, Leary RJ, Angenendt P, Mankoo P, Carter H, Kamiyama H, Jimeno A, Hong SM, Fu B, Lin MT, Calhoun ES, Kamiyama M, Walter K, Nikolskaya T, Nikolsky Y, Hartigan J, Smith DR, Hidalgo M, Leach SD, Klein AP, Jaffee EM, Goggins M, Maitra A, Iacobuzio-Donahue C, Eshleman JR, Kern SE, Hruban RH, Karchin R, Papadopoulos N, Parmigiani G, Vogelstein B, Velculescu VE, Kinzler KW | title = Core signaling pathways in human pancreatic cancers revealed by global genomic analyses | journal = Science | volume = 321 | issue = 5897 | pages = 1801–6 | date = September 2008 | pmid = 18772397 | pmc = 2848990 | doi = 10.1126/science.1164368 | bibcode = 2008Sci...321.1801J }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Parsons DW, Li M, Zhang X, Jones S, Leary RJ, Lin JC, Boca SM, Carter H, Samayoa J, Bettegowda C, Gallia GL, Jallo GI, Binder ZA, Nikolsky Y, Hartigan J, Smith DR, Gerhard DS, Fults DW, VandenBerg S, Berger MS, Marie SK, Shinjo SM, Clara C, Phillips PC, Minturn JE, Biegel JA, Judkins AR, Resnick AC, Storm PB, Curran T, He Y, Rasheed BA, Friedman HS, Keir ST, McLendon R, Northcott PA, Taylor MD, Burger PC, Riggins GJ, Karchin R, Parmigiani G, Bigner DD, Yan H, Papadopoulos N, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE | title = The genetic landscape of the childhood cancer medulloblastoma | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 331 | issue = 6016 | pages = 435–9 | date = January 2011 | pmid = 21163964 | pmc = 3110744 | doi = 10.1126/science.1198056 | bibcode = 2011Sci...331..435P }}

In 2010, Velculescu and his group developed the PARE (personalized analysis of rearranged ends) technology that can help detect genomic tumor biomarkers circulating in the blood to enable the monitoring and personalized treatment of human cancer.{{cite web | title =Gene Scan Shows Childhood Brain is Different | first = Maggie | last = Fox | name-list-style = vanc | work = Reuters | date = 16 December 2010 | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cancer-brain-children-idUSTRE6BF5RT20101216 }} Using this approach, his laboratory performed the first whole-genome analysis detecting chromosomal alterations in the blood of cancer patients.{{cite journal |display-authors=4 | vauthors = Sausen M, Leary RJ, Jones S, Wu J, Reynolds CP, Liu X, Blackford A, Parmigiani G, Diaz LA, Papadopoulos N, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE, Hogarty MD | title = Integrated genomic analyses identify ARID1A and ARID1B alterations in the childhood cancer neuroblastoma | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 45 | issue = 1 | pages = 12–7 | date = January 2013 | pmid = 23202128 | pmc = 3557959 | doi = 10.1038/ng.2493 }}

Velculescu co-founded the cancer genomics company Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) in 2010 to bring individualized cancer genome analyses to patients, physicians, researchers and drug developers. PGDx was the first clinical laboratory to provide whole-exome sequencing for cancer patients in 2011.

• Grand Prize Winner of the Amersham/Pharmacia & Science Young Scientist Prize (1999)
• “Brilliant Ten Young Scientists of the Year" from Popular Science (2003){{cite web | title = PopSci's 2nd Annual Brilliant 10 | url = http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2003-08/popscis-2nd-annual-brilliant-10?page=4%2C6 | date = August 4, 2003 | work = Popular Science }}
• Pew Scholar Award from The Pew Charitable Trusts (2004){{cite web | work = Pew's Scholars Directory | title = Victor E. Velculescu, M.D., Ph.D. | url = http://directory.pewscholars.org/scholars/2004-040/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120720060927/http://directory.pewscholars.org/scholars/2004-040/ | archive-date = 20 July 2012 | publisher = The Pew Charitable Trust }}
• Sir William Osler Young Investigator Award from the Interurban Clinical Club (2006){{cite web | title = The Sir William Osler Young Investigator Award | url = http://interurbanclinicalclub.org/awardees/ | work = Interurban Clinical Club }}
• European Association of Cancer Research and Carcinogenesis Young Investigator Award (2008){{cite web | title = Carcinogenesis Award Winners | url = http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/carcin/awardwinners.html | publisher = Oxford University Press }}
• The AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research (2009){{cite web | title = AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research Recipients | url = https://www.aacr.org/Research/Awards/PAGES/OUTSTANDING-ACHIEVEMENT-AWARD___8470D6.ASPX | publisher = American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) }}
• Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Patient-oriented Clinical Investigation (2007){{cite web | work = Judson Daland Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Patient-oriented Clinical Investigation | title = Victor Velculescu | url = http://www.amphilsoc.org/prizes/presentations/2007/Autumn-General-Meeting/Judson-Daland-Prize-for-Outstanding-Achievement-in-Clinical-Investigation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120720060927/http://directory.pewscholars.org/scholars/2004-040/ | archive-date = 20 July 2012 | publisher = The American Philosophical Society | date = 2007 }}
• The Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research (2011){{cite web | title = Paul Marks Prize Honors Young Investigators for Promising Cancer Research | date=March 2012 | url = https://www.mskcc.org/blog/paul-marks-prize-honors-young-investigators-promising-research?_subsite=research-ski& | publisher = Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center }}
• AACR Team Science Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research (2013){{cite web | title = AACR Team Science Award Recipients | url = http://www.aacr.org/home/scientists/scientific-achievement-awards/2009-award-recipients.aspx | publisher = American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) }}
• AACR Team Science Award for Malignant Brain Tumor Research (2014)

{{reflist}}

• Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/experts/Laboratory_Scientists/detail/C17729AAC4A69A8986903D66341C4FE8/Victor_Velculescu]
• Johns Hopkins University Institute of Genetic Medicine [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/experts/Laboratory_Scientists/detail/C17729AAC4A69A8986903D66341C4FE8/Victor_Velculescu]
• Johns Hopkins Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program [http://cmm.jhu.edu/index.php?title=Victor_Velculescu]
• Paul Marks Prize Lecture at Memorial Sloan Kettering [http://www.mskcc.org/multimedia/victor-velculescu-delivers-2011-paul-marks-prize-lecture]

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Category:American oncologists

Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty

Category:Stanford University alumni

Category:Living people

Category:1970 births

Category:People from Westlake Village, California

Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States