Programs

Career Enhancement Program (CEP)

Year 1 CEP Projects:

Development of a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for ovarian cancer patients using tumor-recognizing CD4+ T cells. (Junko Matsuzaki, PhD)
Overcoming ovarian cancer-associated immunosuppression by regulating Th17/Treg plasticity. (Natasa Obermajer, PhD)

Year 2 CEP Projects:

Genetic characterization of cancer testis antigen-rich tumors and their microenvironment. (Kevin Eng, PhD)
Targeting multiple immune inhibitor receptors on tumor infiltrating T cells and their ligands on epithelial ovarian tumors. (Ruea-Yea Huang, PhD)

Year 3 CEP Projects:

Determinants for hematopoietic stem cell differentiation towards effective T cell immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. (Thinle Chodon, MD PhD)
Targeting tumor secretome for preventing ovarian cancer metastasis. (Xin Huang, PhD)
Regulation of ovarian cancer metastasis and drug response by miR-506. (Da Yang, PhD)

Year 4 CEP Projects:

A genomic approach to develop neoantigen-specific adoptive T cell therapy for ovarian cancer. (Sebastian Battaglia, PhD)
Identification of lipid metabolite biomarkers for ovarian cancer diagnosis. (Matthew Buas, PhD)
Effect of common comorbidities and epidemiological factors on invasive epithelial ovarian cancer prognosis in western New York women. (Rikki Cannioto, PhD)
MUC1/CIN85 as a new target to control tumor and prevent metastasis. (Sandra Casio, PhD)

Year 5 CEP Projects:

Dissecting the function of Nrp1+ regulatory T cells in ovarian cancer patients. (Tullia Bruno, PhD)
Exploring physical activity, immune function, microbiome diversity, outcomes, and quality of life in ovarian cancer. (Emese Zsiros, MD, PhD)

Year 1 DRP Projects:

Infection in the etiology of ovarian cancer. (Jo Freudenheim, PhD)
Invasive ovarian cancer models for treatment with oncolytic virotherapy. (Danuta Kozbor, PhD)
Evaluation of novel immune biomarkers for ovarian cancer. (Brahm Segal, MD)
Inflammation and intratumoral immune checkpoint activity in ovarian cancer. (Anda Vlad, MD, PhD)

Year 2 DRP Projects:

TAK1 signaling in ovarian cancer progression and recurrence. (Andrei Bakin, PhD)
Prediction of individual susceptibility for toxic side effects in chemotherapy of ovarian cancer. (Peter Demant, MD, PhD)
PD-1 and TGF-b blockade in TCR-engineered T cell immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. (Richard Koya, MD, PhD)
Intratumoral regulatory T cells expressing Tim-3 and PD-1 as a target of immunotherapy for EOC. (Binfeng Lu, PhD)

Year 3 DRP Projects:

Invasive ovarian cancer models for treatment with oncolytic virotherapy. (Danuta Kozbor, PhD)
Transcriptomic profiling and functional characterization of fusion genes in recurrent ovarian cancer. (Adrian Lee, PhD)
De-stressing the tumor to improve immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. (Elizabeth Repasky, PhD)
Targeting rRNA transcription to selectively inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells with MYC overexpression and mutant p53. (Nicoletta Sacchi, PhD)

Year 4 DRP Projects:

Estrogen receptor-beta and p53 signaling crosstalk in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. (Gokul Das, PhD)
Targeted protein destruction as a novel therapeutic approach to ovarian cancer. (Alexander Deiters, PhD)
Investigation of miR181a as a driver of transformation and early detection biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer. (Analisa DiFeo, PhD)

Year 5 DRP Projects:

Provider and patient influences on adherence to standard-of-care treatment for ovarian cancer across the UPMC catchment area. (Heidi Donovan, PhD)
SPORE data commons study RDC-001: early onset ovarian cancers. (Kevin Eng, PhD)
Relationship between humoral and cellular immunity in epithelial ovarian cancer. (Anda Vlad, MD, PhD and Francesmary Modugno, PhD)
Genome-wide characterization of adjacent gene rearrangements in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma. (Xiaosong Wang, MD, PhD)