Research

The lab is investigating both the genetic as well as the immunological landscapes of early-stage high-risk tumors. Using the latest DNA / RNA sequencing and gene expression techniques combined with a bioinformatics-driven systems biology approach, the lab is comparing the different features of low- vs. high-risk early-stage lung cancer in order to gain a better understanding of the genetic nature of high-risk stage I lung cancer. The lab also utilizes cutting-edge immunological profiling techniques to investigate immune responses generated by certain patients that nurture high-risk disease. 

We are focusing on early-stage thoracic malignancies for three reasons.

1. Early- stage tumors are high-yield research subjects as they are more homogenous and less complex than late-stage tumors.
2. Patients with early-stage but high-risk disease are more likely to be cured by targeted interventions than patients with regional or metastatic late-stage disease.
3. Despite their deadly nature, very few clinician-scientists target early-stage thoracic malignancies. Most interventions and clinical trials are designed for patients with late-stage disease, leaving a very large underserved population of patients with early-stage, yet deadly disease.

The lab will leverage new new research discoveries to identify potential genetic and immunological targets of novel interventions such as biomarker-directed therapies, novel drugs and new immune-based therapies. Identification of these biomarkers and targets will allow the delivery of post-surgical interventions that patients with high-risk early-stage thoracic malignancies urgently need.