For cancer patients on chemotherapy, the "cure" can be as deadly as the disease itself. Adverse drug reactions are one of the leading causes of death among patients receiving cancer treatment.

Jackson Laboratory Professor Gary Churchill wants to change that. With a new two-year, $1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, Churchill is launching a radical new approach to testing three chemotherapeutic drugs for potential toxic effects.

Chemo drugs are supposed to be toxic - to cancer cells. But they're notorious for their unpredictable effectiveness and for causing systemic toxic reactions in patients.

"Adverse drug reactions can be difficult to study in humans," Churchill says. "Every individual is genetically unique and lives in an uncontrolled environment. That's why we need animal model systems to fully understand the genetic basis of drug response."

Testing chemo drugs in animal models is not new, but Churchill's approach is…