McDonald, chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Biology and head of the Ovarian Cancer Institute Laboratory, has been studying the elements of disease for many years and is now tapping into Tech’s interdisciplinary approach to try to find new ways to identify and treat cancer.

"One of the most surprising results coming out of the Human Genome Project is that the component of our genome that actually encodes for the proteins that make us what we are only comprises about 1 to 2 percent of our total complement of DNA. A majority of the human genome is comprised of viral-like sequences called retrotransposons," he says. "Initially this component of the genome was called ‘junk DNA,’ but I always felt it was playing a significant role and spent many years studying where these retrotransposons came from and how they were affecting our genes. We study these elements computationally by identifying all of the retrotransposons in the sequenced human genome using specially designed search algorithms. Once identified, we use molecular techniques to study how these elements influence gene expression."

This may lead to discovery of what genetic changes cause a normal ovarian cell to change into a cancer cell and thus to tests for early detection.

"If a blood test could be developed to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages, the tumor could be removed surgically before it spreads and the prognosis would be dramatically better, approximately 95 percent or more survivorship," he says. "Identifying subtypes of ovarian cancer would aid in selecting the correct treatment."

McDonald became involved with the Ovarian Cancer Institute when contacted in 2002 by Dr. Benedict Benigno, a highly respected Atlanta surgeon who launched the nonprofit institute in 1999 and asked him to establish a research arm.

McDonald says many of the modern technologies in molecular biology result in the acquisition of large amounts of data over short periods of time, making collaboration with computer scientists and statisticians a must. It’s an interdisciplinary approach ideally suited to Tech.

McDonald says moving to Atlanta made sense because he would be closer to Benigno and other OCI collaborators and because of the unique potential of Tech’s biology program.

"I was offered the position of chair of Tech’s School of Biology last year and I accepted because it provided me with the opportunity to help build the biology program at Tech into one of the top programs in the country," McDonald says. "I believe that the future of biology will be characterized by the integration of the traditional biological sciences with engineering and computer sciences and Tech seemed to me an ideal environment in which to build an integrated biology program."

©2005 Georgia Tech Alumni Association