Ovarian cancer grows deep in the abdomen, producing vague symptoms in its early stages. It is most often diagnosed at a late stage, limiting treatment efficacy. This project aims to evaluate how the integrated stress response in tumor cells undergoing DNA-damaging chemotherapy treatment increases immune cell activation. In murine melanoma models, we have shown that combining immunotherapy with intratumoral injection of DNA-damaged tumor cells successfully activated an anti-tumor response and resulted in tumor regression. By probing proteomic and transcriptomic changes of DNA-damaged tumor cells, we can investigate signaling pathways necessary for immune recognition and elimination of tumor cells. We hope to successfully combine DNA-damaging chemotherapy with immunotherapy in cancer models.

SuperUROP will give me the opportunity to uncover an unknown and misunderstood biological phenomena in a topic that I am deeply passionate about; immunology. It will give time and support to do good and meaningful research as a student. I hope to learn about presenting and communicating research findings in a convincing and effective way. I am most excited about how interdisciplinary my project is, offering many possible directions.