2022 Cancer Research Grant Recipients

Dr. Xiaoqun Dong
2022ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Armored TRUCK Runs Over Breast Cancer

Dr. Andrey Ivanov
2022EMORY UNIVERSITY
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOLOGY & CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
Targeting MKK3-MYC complex to reduce racial survival disparity in breast cancer

Dr. Marikki Laiho
2022PROFESSOR OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY & ONCOLOGY
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Rewiring of splicing programs in endometrial and ovarian cancers by new therapeutic agents

Dr. Samuel Bakhoum
2022ASSISTANT MEMBER, HUMAN ONCOLOGY & PATHOGENESIS PROGRAM; ASST. ATTENDING, DEPT. OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER
Examining the link between chromosomal instability and epigenetic alterations in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Krzysztof Geras
2022ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
NYU GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Artificial Intelligence for Multi-Modal Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Dr. Gail Matters
2022ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
PENN STATE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Detecting bone metastatic breast cancer by nanoparticle enhanced MRI

Dr. Gina Lee
2022ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MICROBIOLOGY & MOLECULAR GENETICS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Targeting estrogen-eIF4A intersection in women’s LAM tumors

Dr. Tiffany Seagroves
2022PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
Targeting Creatine Kinase Brain Isoform (CKB) to Improve Survival from Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis

Dr. Diego Castrillon
2022PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
Understanding the Initiation of Endometrial Cancer

Dr. Priyanka Verma
2022ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN ST. LOUIS
Inhibition of ALC1 ATPase activity as a new synthetic lethal strategy for BRCA-mutant cancers
2021 Cancer Research Grant Recipients

Dr. Liron Bar-Peled
2021Assistant Professor
The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital
Chemical Proteomic Identification of Druggable Vulnerabilities in Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Elliot Androphy
2021KAMPEN-NORINS PROFESSOR CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DERMATOLOGY
INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Pharmacology of human papillomavirus inhibitory compounds in mice

Dr. Itai Yanai
2021Professor
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Targeting treatment-resistant ovarian cancer cell states

Dr. Sandra Orsulic
2021Professor in Residence
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Implantable “Tumor Trap” for Metastatic Cancer Cells

Dr. Gerald Crabtree
2021Professor
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Hijacking the Estrogen Receptor to Activate Apoptotic Pathways in ER-Positive Breast Cancer

Dr. Karl Munger
2021PROFESSOR AND CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL, MOLECULAR AND CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
Tufts University School of Medicine
Towards Predictive Biomarkers in Cervical Cancer: Determining Carcinogenic Activities of E6 Oncogene Variants Detected in HPV16 Infected Women

Dr. Ozgur Sahin
2021Associate Professor
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA College of Pharmacy
Enhancing the efficacy of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapy in aggressive breast cancers

Dr. Beth Weaver
2021Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Medicine & Public Health
Chromosomal instability as a marker of paclitaxel response in breast cancer

Dr. Esra Akbay
2021Assistant Professor
UT SOUTHWESTERN Medical Center
Targeting telomerase to modulate tumor immune microenvironment in endometrial cancer

Dr. Dario Altieri
2021DIRECTOR, THE WISTAR INSTITUTE CANCER CENTER
THE WISTAR INSTITUTE
Therapeutic Targeting of ILK in Breast Cancer
2020 Cancer Research Grant Recipients

Dr. Hua Yu
2020ASSOCIATE CHAIR AND PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY
BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE CITY OF HOPE
The opposing roles of PARP and PARG inhibitors in regulating ovarian cancer immune responses.

Dr. Benjamin Neel
2020PROFESSOR, NYU GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE/DIRECTOR, PERLMUTTER CANCER CENTER
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER
Large-scale functional analysis of BRCA1/2 single nucleotide variants

Dr. Mark Pegram
2020SUSY YUAN-HUEY HUNG PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Mechanisms of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) tolerance in HER2+ breast cancer

Dr. Liza Makowski
2020PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
PKC agonism reprograms innate immune suppression in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Dr. Karl Willert
2020PROFESSOR, CELLULAR & MOLECULAR MEDICINE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO
Targeted Killing of FZD7-Positive Ovarian Tumors

Dr. Zhijie (Jason) Liu
2020ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MOLECULAR MEDICINE
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT SAN ANTONIO
Targeting a non-canonical role of YAP/TEAD for breast cancer therapy

Dr. Hui Zong
2020ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MICROBIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, & CANCER BIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Optimization of dosing regimen of PARP inhibitor for BRCA1-related breast cancer prevention.

Dr. Paul Lambert
2020HOWARD M. TEMIN PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF ONCOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Role of the Microbiome in Cervical Cancer

Dr. Richard Wang
2020ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DERMATOLOGY
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
Development of a novel marker for cervical and vulvar cancers using HPV circular RNA
International Postdoctoral Scholars in Cancer Research Fellowship

Dr. Hong-Yi Liu
ChinaDr. Liu’s research focuses on a novel class of small proteins called micropeptides in relation to Triple Negative Breast Cancer. She believes that incorrectly made micropeptides contribute to treatment resistance in some TNBCs. By comparing all of the micropeptides being made in treatment-resistant versus treatment-responding TNBC cells, Dr. Liu has identified several micropeptide candidates that may contribute to treatment resistance. When she interfered with one of those micropeptides, the treatment-resistant cancer cells were once again able to respond to a traditional chemotherapy drug used in TNBC. She is currently doing further experiments to validate these exciting findings.

Dr. Maria Del Rosario Chica Parrado
SpainDr. Chica Parrado’s research focuses on understanding how changes to a cellular signaling pathway contribute to resistance to standard therapies in ER+ metastatic breast cancer. This pathway seems to be overactive in treatment-resistant ER+ breast cancers. She is using tumor samples from patients with treatment-resistant ER+ breast cancer to create miniature 3D tumors in the lab, called organoids. These tumor organoids can be used to study the exact changes and mechanisms that led to drug resistance, as well as to identify therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance.

Dr. Dongqui Xie
ChinaDr. Xie received his doctorate from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China in 2021 and joined the lab of Beatriz Fontoura, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, in 2022. Dr. Xie’s research project aims to reveal the architecture of nuclear speckles and their functions in pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA nuclear export. The Fontoura laboratory has recently shown that a specific protein, TAO2 kinase, is a key regulator of nuclear speckle morphology and function in splicing and nuclear export of mRNA. One of the interacting partners of TAO2 kinase is the RNA binding proteins hnRNPH1&2 proteins. Dr. Xie has recently uncovered novel functions for the hnRNPH proteins as novel constituents of nuclear speckles that mediate pre-mRNA splicing and nuclear export of mRNAs to the cytoplasm. As the center of a splicing oncogenic switch, hnRNPH is upregulated in different cancer cells including gliomas, chronic myeloid leukemia, and in breast cancer cells. This upregulation is proposed to promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells. Revealing the molecular mechanism of how hnRNPH proteins regulate RNA splicing and nuclear export may provide insights into potential new therapeutic targets. In addition to his research, Dr. Xie has participated in multiple professional development workshops including a workshop on National Institutes of Health K99/R00 grant writing.

Dr. Pedro Nogueira
BrazilDr. Nogueira received his doctorate at State University of Campinas-UNICAMP in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2022 and joined the lab of Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology. Throughout his undergraduate and master’s studies, he directed his scientific efforts to the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurobiology in obesity, aiming at improving patient treatment. He investigated the role of hypothalamic astrocytes treated with saturated fatty acid in vitro and how hypothalamic astrocytes from diet-induced obese mice react to treatment with physical activity. During his Ph.D. training, he characterized new therapeutic targets for obesity treatment, based on G protein-coupled receptors in the hypothalamic melanocortin system, focusing on physiological effects and cellular metabolism. As a postdoctoral researcher at UT Southwestern, he plans on using mouse models to define how increased tryptophan uptake by cancer cells affects the levels of serotonin, a product of tryptophan, in the central nervous system. His long-term goal is to characterize the systemic effects of cancer in nutrient metabolism in different tissues, with the goal of developing new strategies to improve the quality of life of patients living with liver cancer. During his time at UT Southwestern he has already submitted a manuscript, which is under consideration at Nature Communications and is preparing to submit a second. He is also collaborating with another lab at UT Southwestern to develop a clear tissue immunofluorescence technique with the goal of gaining a better understanding of colocalization with structural proteins and cell types. Specifically, he is working on applying this technique to the liver of genetically engineered mice that have been modified to express the MYC oncogene.

Dr. Debora Andrade Silva
BrazilDr. Silva received her doctorate from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil in 2021 and will join the lab of Jennifer Kohler, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry in July 2023. Dr. Silva’s project will involve the role of hyposialytion in malignancies associated with RUNX1 expression. Hypersialyation occurs commonly in cancer and knowledge about the mechanisms of the changes in sialyation (the addition of sialic acid residues to glycoconjugates) and how to restore normal levels could be potential cancer therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Quan Wang
ChinaDr. Wang received his doctorate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China in 2023 and will join the lab of Jinming Gao, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology in August 2023. During his Ph.D. training, Dr. Wang’s research centered on nanomedicine for atherosclerosis/tumor therapy. He is interested in applying polymer science and bioengineering skills in tumor immunology for cancer immunotherapy. To date, he has published 13 papers in the Science Citation Index, including Biomaterials, Journal of Controlled Release, Advanced Healthcare Materials, and ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering as the first author. He hopes to make outstanding contributions in developing new technologies against many types of cancer (e.g., lung cancer and breast cancer) with his polymer therapeutics background under Dr. Gao’s supervision.