Pardee Foundation Grant Awarded to Dr. Junghyun Lee

Junghyun Lee, PhD, a Research Fellow in the Nghiem Lab, has received a grant award from the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation for her team's work developing a protein inhibitor combination for targeted immunotherapy of cancer cells.

The project, "The Role of Hypoxia-inducible Factor 2alpha and Cylin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor on Cancer Immunotherapy", builds on the demonstrated efficacy of CDK4/6 inhibitors on increased PD-L1 mRNA and protein levels in cancer cell lines including Merkel cell carcinoma, the focus of the Nghiem Lab. Lee's study combines this therapy with HIF2alpha-specific inhibitor, TC-S-7009, increasing the immunogenic cell death of cancer cells.

The Pardee Foundation awards grants to fund cancer research at nearly 300 institutions across the United States since 1944. 

"Of importance, our results suggest the new combination treatment on cancer immunotherapy," says Lee. Based on our preliminary results, we propose aims focused on the innovative immunotherapy combination treatments. Finally, this proposed work should provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of disease, allowing basic scientists to identify new therapeutic targets and develop new therapeutic drugs."