This puts the Der Lab among three studies from ºÚÁÏÍø in the National Cancer Institute’s end-of-year summary of pivotal discoveries!
°ä´Ç²Ô²µ°ù²¹³Ù³Ü±ô²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô²õÌý³Ù´Ç Dr. Channing Der whose laboratory has received significant recognition for his recent publications, highlighted by the NCI as one of 28 key studies for 2024. Several articles have recently highlighted their work.
“There’s much more to learn about how KRAS spurs cancer growth—and how KRAS-mutant cancers resist treatment with existing KRAS inhibitors. To address this need, researchers behind two studies in Science have established the most comprehensive molecular portrait yet of the workings of KRAS and how its many downstream impacts may influence outcomes for people with pancreatic cancer.1,2 The findings could lead to new treatment approaches, including ways to potentially guide treatment for individuals with pancreatic cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S.”
“These studies, supported in part by NIH, come from a team led by Ìý²¹²Ô»å Adrienne Cox, together with Jeffrey Klomp, Clint Stalnecker, and Jennifer Klomp, at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The researchers were inspired in part by the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of treatments that block a mutated version of KRAS that drives many pancreatic cancers. The team was also motivated by the realization that many patients whose cancers initially respond to the new treatments relapse rather quickly as the cancers find ways to reactivate underlying growth pathways.”
“Importantly, the researchers found that the molecular signatures they’ve uncovered may predict tumor responses in patients treated with KRAS inhibitors or ERK inhibitors. Based on their findings, they suspect that the reason so many pancreatic cancers don’t respond to KRAS inhibitors may be because the drugs simply don’t block KRAS well enough—and not because the cancers no longer depend on KRAS signals for their growth. The researchers suggest it may be beneficial to monitor these underlying molecular pathways in patients to better understand treatment outcomes and guide treatment decisions.”
~The above are excerpts from the NIH Director’s Blog, posted on June 27th, 2024 by Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli,
You can read more about NCI’s recognition of the Der lab in their article,
This groundbreaking work was also highlighted in a , and in a spotlight on phosphoproteomics recently featured in TiBS. These prestigious recognitions underscore the far-reaching impact of their research and the exceptional quality of our proteomics core, led by Dr. Laura Herring and her dedicated team.
Further reading:
[1] Klomp JA, et al.Ìý.ÌýScience. DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0775 (2024). [2] Klomp JE, et al.Ìý.ÌýScience. DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0850 (2024).