Project 4

Project Summary

Despite the fact that many new anti-cancer therapies have been developed over the past decades, treatment of solid tumors is still dominated by a small set of chemotherapies. Although many patients are resistant to chemotherapy, alternative treatments are not used until chemoresistance is presented clinically, which requires months of chemotherapeutic treatment. Biomarkers that can help predict patient response to chemotherapy and guide the choice of optimum therapies are needed to facilitate personalized oncology. A search for such biomarkers has been ongoing for decades. Tens of thousands of putative biomarkers have been suggested, but only 17 have been approved by the FDA so far for guiding cancer therapy. The goal of this project is to devise effective strategies for interdisciplinary research teams to develop predictive biomarkers for chemoresistance. Students will explore problems with existing interdisciplinary efforts and how these efforts can be improved for future cancer research. Team members should have an interest in cross-disciplinary medical research, preferably with a background in biology and/or chemistry. Students should also know basics of multiple aspects of cancer (or disease in general) biomarkers, including approaches for discovery and validation, requirements for clinical utility, and associated policies of regulatory agencies. Team members might also bring knowledge or interest in technology and design.

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Sustainable Development Goals