Dr. Grady's research has revealed the role of epigenetic and genetic alterations in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. He specifically has demonstrated that aberrant DNA methylation is involved in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer and that mutational inactivation of the gene for the type II TGF-beta receptor drives the progression of colon adenomas to cancer. He has further demonstrated that aberrantly methylated genes can be used as biomarkers for the detection of colorectal cancer and adenomas.