# mSphere of Influence: Retreading old ground—the beauty in multi-omic data sets

## TL;DR

This article discusses how multi-omic data sets have transformed understanding of HPV-related diseases and drug target discovery.

## Contribution

Highlights the influence of three key papers on advancing HPV research through multi-omic approaches.

## Key findings

- Multi-omic analyses reveal insights into the biology of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and cervical cancer.
- HPV E7 oncoprotein manipulates host DNA damage response, suggesting new therapeutic strategies.

## Abstract

Ethan L. Morgan works on human papillomaviruses (HPVs), with a specific interest in identifying how HPV induces tumor formation. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how three papers influenced him. “Comprehensive genomic characterization of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas” (The Cancer Genome Atlas Network, Nature 517:576–582, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14129) and “Integrated genomic and molecular characterization of cervical cancer” (The Cancer Genome Atlas Network, Nature 543: 378–384, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21386) showed him the power behind comprehensive multi-omic analyses to understand disease biology, while “Human papillomavirus E7 oncoprotein targets RNF168 to hijack the host DNA damage response” (J. Sitz et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116:19552–19562, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1906102116) reinforced how this can be used to undercover potential new drug targets in HPV-associated disease.