2017 Graduate Student Pelotonia Scholars

Project – Identifying contributions of pten deleted pancreatic cancer associated fibroblasts to tumor mechanopathology.

Summary – Study how fibroblasts (within the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer) promote barriers to drug delivery, and to help identify new ideas on how to therapeutically target them to provide remedies for patients with this deadly disease.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Virtual Rider

Watch as Alex shares more details about his research project.

Project – Chemo Sensitization of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Facilitated by Polymerized Human Hemoglobins.

Summary – Implementing novel computational models that will help us better understand how and when the HBOCs (hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers) we develop could best improve oxygen delivery to tumor tissue.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 45 miles

Watch as Don shares more details about his research project.

Project – Assessment of Microsatellite Instability across the Landscape of Human Cancer.

Summary – Determine if MSI occurs in a much wider variety of cancer types than previously thought and if clinical MSI testing should potentially be more widely performed.

Project – Microfluidic Lymphatic Vessel Analogue System for Studying Lymphangiogenesis and Lung Cancer Intravasation

Summary – Understand the role that lymphatic vessels play in tumor microenvironments in order to develop a strategy to stop lymphatic metastasis.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Virtual Rider

Project – Development and Regulation of the Human Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell.

Summary – Study the basic processes regulating the development of human innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in order to provide a strong foundation for future translational work in cancer studies.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider

Watch as Luxi shares more details about her research project.

Project – The Tale Behind the Tails: A Mass Spectrometry-Based Approach to Investigate the Role of a Histone Methyltransferase, EZH2, in Chromatin Remodeling, Cell Proliferation and Tumorigenesis.

Summary – Identify novel therapeutics for patients suffering from relapsed/refractory forms of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma so that these patients may benefit from improved outcomes.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider

Project – A Paradigm Shift in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: The Role of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in CLL Leukemogenesis.

Summary – Determine where chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells come from so that we can stop the cancer at the source to prevent recurrence and to be able to finally cure the disease.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 45 miles

Watch as Eileen shares more details about her research project.

Project – Smartphone Based Whole Slide Scanner for Fast Tumor Identification and Accurate Diagnosis.

Summary – An affordable, compact whole slide scanner enabled by adaptive liquid lenses can provide more effective, timely and accurate IOC for improving tumor diagnosis and treatment.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 25 miles

Watch as Hanyang shares more details about his research project.

Project – Active transforming growth factor ß1 (aTGFß-1) as a predisposing factor of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia during chronic inflammatory stress.

Project – Structural Insights into Protocadherin7 Mediated Carcinoma-Astrocyte Gap Junction Formation Which Promotes Brain Metastasis

Summary – Determine the structural aspects of interaction of PCDH7 with itself and with Connexin43. Once the binding interface is known, the key residues in gap junction formation can be identified and thus help in drug discovery.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 25 miles

Project – Uncovering Mechanisms of Del (5q) MDS/AML Disease Progression Through the TIFAB-USP15 Signalosome

Summary – Develop effective and durable therapies for patients with myelodysplasia and AML.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 25 miles

Project – Investigation into the Effects of Human DNA Polymerase ß Cancer Variants on 8-oxoG Repair.

Summary – Understand the mechanism by which known cancer-related mutations in a human DNA polymerase affect the structure and function of that enzyme. In understanding the outcomes of these mutations on enzyme activity and fidelity, we will better understand how these cancers develop.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 45 miles

Watch as Andrew shares more details about his research project.

Project – The Virus Induced Therapeutic Adjuvant Effect.

Summary – Oncolytic viruses are an emerging therapeutic that harness the power of viruses to kill tumors directly and trigger immune responses directed against both tumors and the viruses we inject. By combining viruses with conventional therapies makes each treatment more effective than either is on their own.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider: 45 miles

Watch as Les shares more details about his research project.

Project – The Impact of Stress, Depression, and Treatment on Vaccine Responses in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Summary – Provide evidence as to whether vaccines can be effective in preventing infectious morbidity in cancer patients.

2017 Pelotonia Participant – Rider

Watch as David shares more details about his research project.