Lung Cancer Research
Lung Cancer Research Heading link
Dr. Neelu Puri’s lab focusses on developing molecularly targeted therapies against melanoma and lung cancer. Her lab includes seven medical students and seven MBT students. These students present their projects at the Annual Research Day at UICOMR, Gary Kruh Symposium by UIC Cancer Center and international conferences such as American Association for Cancer Research. The students have worked to publish their research in various prestigious peer-reviewed journals such as Cancers, Cells, and Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology. Dr. Puri has collaborations with three local hospitals: OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Mercyhealth and UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital, which provide tumor and blood samples for lung cancer research. Her lab is also involved in improving lung cancer survival in the community by promoting low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for early detection of lung cancer in Winnebago County and rural areas such as Ogle and Stephenson County.
SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS
We study different biomarkers using immunohistochemistry from the samples collected from Winnebago County. We found that high expression of VEGFR, mTOR, S6K, Axin2 and EGFR/c-MET colocalization is associated with poor survival.
We found an increase in the expression of VEGFR-2, NP-1, and VEGF in resistant cell lines and also found high expression of these markers in the late-stage lung cancer tumors as compared to that of the early-stage tumors.
High expression of PRMT-1, p-120 catenin and Kaiso factor was observed in osimertinib- resistant cell lines. Additionally, downregulation of p-120 catenin was found to help in overcoming EGFR-TKI resistance. Lastly, high expression of p-120 was observed in smokers as compared to non-smokers/former smokers.
LABORATORY
We focus on understanding the mechanisms of acquired resistance to EGFR Tyrosine kinase inhibitors through EMT by studying key proteins such as PLK4, FTO, PRMT5, SPHK2 and evaluate their potential as prognostic markers in early/late-stage or smoker/non-smoker non-small cell lung cancer patients.
We also promote low-dose computed tomography screening to increase awareness among smokers for early detection in the Northern Illinois region including Winnebago and rural Ogle and Stephenson counties. We have conducted 4,557 LDCT screenings, out of which 81 lung cancer patients were identified, which includes 49 early-stage cases.
We study novel biomarkers in serum such as MUC5AC and PRDX-1, which can be used for early detection of lung cancer.
Our lab studies novel therapies to treat metastatic melanoma such as T-oligo that activates DNA damage responses leading to either apoptosis or senescence only in melanoma cells. We also investigate novel delivery systems for T-oligo.
We study gene expression of telomere stabilizing proteins and HTERT to analyze their relationship with increased telomere shortening in cigarette smokers.
More Information Heading link
Dr. Puri’s lab focusses on developing molecularly targeted therapies against melanoma and lung cancer. Her lab includes seven medical students and seven MBT students. These students present their projects at the Annual Research Day at UICOMR, Gary Kruh Symposium by UIC Cancer Center and international conferences such as American Association for Cancer Research.