Home Research
Mentor/s:
Esther A. Peterson Peguero, PhD
Project Title:
TIPARP overexpression inhibits pro-oncogenic phenotypes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Project Title:
This project explores the role of TIPARP (TCDD-Inducible Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase) as a potential tumor suppressor in Triple-Negative Inflammatory Breast Cancer (TN-IBC), an aggressive and poorly understood cancer subtype. While TN-IBC lacks conventional therapeutic targets, emerging evidence suggests that alternative regulatory mechanisms may influence tumor progression. TIPARP, a gene involved in PARP-dependent signaling and cellular stress responses, has been implicated in DNA damage repair and tumor suppression. This study investigates how TIPARP overexpression influences oncogenic signaling pathways, particularly AKT and ERK, which play central roles in cancer cell survival, proliferation, and migration. By elucidating TIPARP’s function in TN-IBC, this research aims to provide insights into its potential as a therapeutic target and its broader implications in inflammatory-driven tumorigenesis.
Summer Research
Mentor/s:
Christopher Cowley, PhD; Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD
Project Title:
Assessing fetal and injury signatures in Colitis and Colitis-associated cancers
Project Title:
At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, my research focused on understanding the molecular signatures that drive tumor development in sporadic colorectal cancer (sCRC) and colitis-associated cancer (CAC) using patient-derived organoids (PDOs). Specifically, I assessed baseline and inflammatory-induced gene expression signatures in primary tumor PDOs from sCRC and CAC patients, as well as in normal and inflamed PDOs derived from colitis and CAC patients. To investigate how an inflammatory microenvironment influences tumor progression, I stimulated PDOs with pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IFNγ, TNFα, and IL-17A) and analyzed changes in gene expression. This project aimed to uncover the role of inflammatory signaling in driving fetal-like dedifferentiation in CAC, providing insights into potential therapeutic targets for inflammation-driven cancers.
