Member SpotlightsExtracting Molecular Secrets: A Pioneer of Tissue Microarrays Stephen Merrill Hewitt, M.D., Ph.D. A Member Since January 2002  Classically trained in both medicine and genetics, Dr. Stephen Hewitt is well qualified to manage the National Cancer Institute's Tissue Array Research Program (TARP) Lab. However, what allows him to excel in this position is his ability to integrate his expertise in both biochemistry and pathology. While he receives immense gratification from helping patients in his clinical practice, Dr. Hewitt is a consummate scientist, able to thrive on the delayed gratification that tedious and time consuming experiments often impose. He ardently believes that long stretches of perseverance are more than made up for by the "thrill of discovery."Although interested in biology, Dr. Hewitt obtained an undergraduate degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He then enrolled in the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Texas, then entered a MD/PhD program co-sponsored by the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center. Eventually he earned both a Ph.D. in genetics and a M.D. Dr. Hewitt's graduate research was on the transcriptional regulation and function of the Wilms' tumor gene, WT1. He also worked on the transcriptional regulation of the proto-oncogene bcl-2 and had the opportunity to work in the clinics at MD Anderson where he focused on neurofibromatosis (NF-1 and NF-2). Dr. Hewitt's current research interests include the molecular profiling of cancer using tissue microarrays. The primary objective of the TARP Lab that he oversees is to develop and disseminate tissue microarray slides from a multitude of tumors along with supporting technology to cancer research investigators. The TARP lab creates tissue microarrays by arranging hundreds of minute tissue samples (i.e., cores) onto a glass slide. These arrays are designed to expedite the discovery of novel drug targets for cancer because they can be used in high throughput screening applications that utilize immunohistochemical, in situ and FISH analyses. Dr. Hewitt is developing innovative techniques to utilize paraffin-embedded tissues to create fully functional tissue microarrays. This is a technically challenging endeavor because the chemical fixation associated with the paraffin embedding process had been thought to interfere with the performance of some types of assays. In addition to creating tissue microarrays, Dr. Hewitt and his coworkers are involved in designing new methodologies for imaging these arrays. They have also helped in the fabrication of Beecher Instruments' ATA-27 automated arrayer. Although he devotes the majority of his time to research and has reduced his hours of patient care, Dr. Hewitt still is on call and is an attending physician at autopsies. His clinical interests have shifted from pediatric tumors to anatomical pathology. When not working in the lab or at the bedside, Dr. Hewitt caries his attention to visual detail over into his personal life by turning his attentions to photography. On weekends, he often can be found showing his Greater Swiss Mountain dogs. And on his frequent travels to the Southwest, Dr. Hewitt likes to collect Navajo rugs. Link to TARP Lab: http://cancer.gov/tarp ### << Previous Next >> [ View All Member Spotlights ] |
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