{"id":35579,"date":"2025-06-27T13:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/?post_type=cri_scientists&#038;p=35579"},"modified":"2025-06-27T13:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:33:13","slug":"ondrej-belan-phd","status":"publish","type":"cri_scientists","link":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/es\/cri-funded-scientists\/ondrej-belan-phd","title":{"rendered":"Ondrej Belan, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Some viruses do more than make us sick: they can rewire our cells in ways that lead to cancer and, in some cases, shield cancer cells from the immune system. Dr. Ondrej Belan\u2019s project seeks to explore exactly how viruses do that in the context of the complex mammalian immune response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a groundbreaking genetic screening technology, Dr. Belan has tested genes from over 400 viruses in immune-competent mouse cancer models to identify which viral proteins promote tumor growth and immune escape. One standout was a gene called <em>NS5,<\/em> which is from the same viral family that includes the liver cancer-causing hepatitis C virus. NS5 drives cancer cells to produce Lect2, a molecule that shields them from immune detection. In this project, Dr. Belan will further explore how NS5 and Lect2 help cancer cells to evade the immune system and whether this viral program can be disrupted to stop liver tumor growth. \u201cThis work has the potential to guide future virus-associated cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies,\u00bb he states. Dr. Belan trained at The Francis Crick Institute, where he pioneered single-molecule imaging systems to monitor DNA repair, the process cells use to fix genetic damage. His work revealed how proteins like BRCA2 and RAD51 regulate repair pathways and how mutations in those genes can lead to cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer. Now, he\u2019s turning to viruses \u2013 not just as infectious agents, but as evolutionary experts in genetic manipulation \u2013 to uncover how cancer cells learn to hide from the immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sponsor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stephen Elledge, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research Focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis C virus, immune evasion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Projects and Grants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exploring novel mechanisms of tumor immune evasion using a synthetic virome library<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some viruses do more than make us sick: they can rewire our cells in ways that lead to cancer and, in some cases, shield cancer cells from the immune system. Dr. Ondrej [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35553,"template":"","tax_cancer_type":[455],"tax_grant_type":[486],"tax_award_year":[742],"tax_institutions":[649],"tax_location_states":[490],"class_list":["post-35579","cri_scientists","type-cri_scientists","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"scientist_subhead":"CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow","quote":"","scientist_last_name":"Belan","show_on_landing":true,"scientist_publish_until":"20280629"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ondrej Belan, PhD - Cancer Research Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/cri-funded-scientists\/ondrej-belan-phd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ondrej Belan, PhD - Cancer Research Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some viruses do more than make us sick: they can rewire our cells in ways that lead to cancer and, in some cases, shield cancer cells from the immune system. 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