桃瘾社区 Professor of Biology Nancy Krucher, PhD, has received a three-year $400,241 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study new methods to combat cancer cell development of resistance to targeted treatments.
鈥淐ancer is a major health concern in our country and throughout the world,鈥 said Professor Krucher. 鈥淐urrently, much of cancer research focuses on identifying specific mutations or abnormalities in tumor cells and creating drugs that target them. These targeted therapies have exhibited a great deal of success in some cancer types. Unfortunately, while targeted therapies usually work for a few months or a few years, cancer cells often develop resistance to these agents.鈥
Targeted therapies颅鈥攚hich involve certain drugs used to specifically target the ways in which cancer cells grow, divide, and spread鈥攁re becoming more common in cancer treatment. However, cancer cells can acquire resistance to the targeted agent, making the treatment less effective. ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) is a critical enzyme in cancer cell growth that can be activated as a response to targeted therapies, particularly in treatment of breast cancer and melanoma, often resulting in poor prognosis.
In February 2020, the FDA approved a new ACLY inhibitor, and another was recently developed. In this project, these agents are predicted to have anti-cancer activity. Krucher鈥檚 research aims to investigate the hypothesis that targeting ACLY with these inhibitors can reverse resistance in breast cancer and melanoma.
Because the newly developed ACLY inhibitors that will be used in this study have largely not been tested on cancer cells to date, Krucher hopes her work can provide new insight for cancer treatment, including the development of novel drug combination regimens. Additionally, Krucher鈥檚 work will employ an in vivo model of cancer metastasis in melanoma as well as three-dimensional cancer cell cultures, an innovative and effective approach to studying the physiological tumor environment.
Undergraduate biology students will also be closely involved in this research, carrying out a majority of the experiments outlined in the study, helping prepare them for careers in the biomedical research workforce.
鈥淧rofessor Krucher is doing incredibly important work in the field of cancer research, an area of biomedicine that touches so many lives around the world,鈥 said Tresmaine R. Grimes, PhD, dean of the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education. 鈥淭hrough this grant, Professor Krucher and our biology students have the opportunity to uncover critical information that could improve the effectiveness of these vital treatments.鈥
桃瘾社区 has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success because of its unique programs that combine immersive academics and real-world experiences. 桃瘾社区 is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University鈥檚 Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides.
桃瘾社区鈥檚 liberal arts college, Dyson College, offers more than 50 programs, spanning the arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and pre-professional programs (including pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and pre-law), as well as many courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. The College offers access to numerous opportunities for internships, cooperative education and other hands-on learning experiences that complement in-class learning in preparing graduates for career and graduate/professional education choices.
桃瘾社区 Art Gallery presents Critical Connections: Protest Photography Past + Present, in collaboration with 鈥 a movement designed to create Black and Asian solidarity through mutual education and celebration. The exhibition opens with a free public reception on Thursday, November 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A coalition of lawmakers, small business groups, and entrepreneurs came together recently to celebrate the expansion of 桃瘾社区鈥檚 on-site small business counseling services to Flatbush, Brooklyn.
As part of National Arts and Humanities Month, 桃瘾社区 is highlighting its commitment to experiential learning in the humanities. The university recently kicked-off The Ground Beneath Our Feet (GBOF), a program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (), which provides students with hands-on experience while connecting them to history and current events.