Our laboratory focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis, drug resistance and metastasis using systems biology approaches. In this line, we utilize cancer cell lines, patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), transgenic animal models, organoids (both PDX- and patient-derived), and patient tumor tissue to answer key questions on drug resistance, response and tolerance as well as metastasis.
Our lab’s expertise in high-throughput functional transcriptomics/proteomics, cancer cell biology and translational research is combined with those of the experts from the bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry, pathology and medical oncology fields to make impact on the lives of the cancer patients.
Our current research interests include i) understanding the roles of lysyl oxidase (LOX) in chemotherapy resistance of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and developing novel LOX inhibitors. ii) targeting transforming acidic coiled-coil-containing protein 3 (TACC3) using our TACC3 inhibitor (BO-264) to eliminate highly aggressive and treatment-refractory cancers; and iii) elucidating the role of Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in hormone therapy resistance and metastasis.
Research Topics: Breast cancer therapy, Drug resistance and metastasis, Tumor microenvironment, Signaling pathways, Drug discovery