Research

We collaboratively work on two ongoing breast cancer projects : 

 

1) Exploit dimethyl fumarate to uncover druggable vulnerabilities and prevent recurrence of ER+ breast cancers. Tumor recurrence in ER+ breast cancer disease is the leading cause of breast cancer-related deaths. We found that the immune-modulatory drug dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera®, DMF) can be used to prevent tumor recurrence. Chemically, DMF will react with protein cysteines to form a stable covalent adduct known as succination. We will (i) determine the efficacy of DMF in vivo in clinically-relevant animal models of breast cancer, and (ii) use chemical biology and proteomics to identify critical drug targets driving recurrence. These aims are the basis of our funded DOD grant. Altogether, this work sets the stage for rapidly advancing DMF into the clinic as an effective therapy against lethal recurrent ER+ breast cancers.

 

2)  SELENOF is a determinant of breast cancer risk and outcome in African American women. Racial disparities in breast cancer are well documented– African American women die of breast cancer at a much higher rate than Caucasian women. Our hypothesis is that loss of SELENOF, a selenium-containing protein, plays an important role in this disparity. Using an ethnicity tumor tissue microarray we will determine whether differences in SELENOF levels between African Americans and Caucasian women are associated with poor disease outcome. Mechanistically, SELENOF’s effects on tumor initiation, overall tumor growth, and response to therapy will be investigated using clinically relevant xenografts models. This work would establish SELENOF as a biomarker of aggressive breast cancer disease that contributes to the disparity experienced by African American women.