Basic and Translational Research
Professor
The ultimate goal of the Brugarolas lab is to improve the lives of patients with kidney cancer through rigorous, innovative, high-impact research. The laboratory has developed a translational pipeline that spans basic to clinical research around 6 pillars: molecular genetics, signaling, animal models, drug development, biomarkers and clinical trials. The Brugarolas lab is a cornerstone of the Kidney Cancer Program, one of two programs in the country recognized with an NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE).
Assistant Professor
Our research involves understanding how to treat and prevent metastatic disease by studying the processes by which cancer cells spread and grow in distant organs. People die from breast cancer when it metastasizes and spreads throughout the body. Clinicians and scientists do not fully grasp how metastatic disease spreads and forms. Critical to understanding how this process unfolds will be determining how our immune system fails to kill these spreading cancer cells. In order to develop better treatments for people with metastatic breast cancer, we need better experimental models that will enable us to capture how metastatic cells move throughout the body and dynamically interact with the immune system. Our lab is focused on building and using these tools to understand how metastatic cancer cells can leave the breast and end up growing in different organs.
Assistant Professor
The Chung lab is based in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Children’s Research Institute at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. The lab uses primary human specimens, patient-derived xenograft models, and genetically engineered mouse models to study the molecular mechanisms underlying disease stem cell function in hematologic malignancies.
Professor and Chief
In prior work, my laboratory focused on identifying novel mechanisms of therapy-resistance and progression in breast, prostate and ovarian cancer. Several approaches led us and others to the discovery that glucocorticoid receptor (GR)–specific transcriptional regulation of gene expression in epithelial tumor cells with high GR expression and/or GR activity plays a master regulatory role in solid tumor biology.
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
The long-term goal of our work is to identify and develop regulatory principles that govern cell growth decisions and determine whether these can be exploited for new cancer therapeutics. In particular, we are focused on understanding how chromatin is synthesized as a core dependency of dividing cells and we seek to develop new chemical and genetics tools to understand this biology better. Chromatin is the core packaging material for the genome that controls which genes are expressed and provides stability and compaction for DNA. By unraveling how the production of chromatin is regulated we aim to identify additional genes, enzymes, metabolites, and chemicals that are important for the development and treatment of malignancy. This work has led us to identify new targets in triple-negative breast cancer as well as other pathways that may have applicability to a range of cancers.
Associate Professor
Dr. Kim’s laboratory focuses on how fundamental developmental pathways, such as Hedgehog, are involved in the initiation, growth, and metastases of cancers through the use of cancer mouse models and cell and molecular biological techniques. The laboratory also seeks to understand interactions of these pathways with each other and between tumor epithelia and stroma.
Professor
Development of improved imaging techniques for brain tumors
Primary and metastatic brain tumors
Role of altered metabolism in the progression of malignant gliomas
Associate Professor
The ultimate goal of the Nijhawan lab aims is to discover first in class drugs for the treatment of cancer. We believe that the underlying challenge of cancer drug discovery is to identify “druggable” targets. Druggable targets are proteins whose activity can be influenced by small molecules. Our research is based in the belief that there are new strategies with which to target proteins with small molecules that have yet to be discovered.
To accomplish this goal, we use both biochemistry and forward genetics to discover the protein targets for small molecules with anti-cancer activity. Historically, small molecule target identification has been challenging. However, with the advent of new technologies including whole exome sequencing and click chemistry, it is now possible to efficiently and unambiguously discover chemical targets.
Associate Professor
Breast Cancer (Especially High Risk Cancers)
Cancer Immunotherapy
Clinical Trials and Translational Research
Tumor Microenvironment
Associate Professor
Dr. Wang’s research is focused on understanding the role of aberrant developmental pathway signaling in esophageal cancer and precursor lesions. In his clinic, Dr. Wang sees patients with esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and other gastrointestinal malignancies.