Research Interests
My research interests encompass studies of immunity and inflammation in the context of developing and established cancers, especially in different types of breast cancer. These research interests involve studies of inflammation in the genesis and maintenance of specific cancer types (breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, etc.), as well as the impact of inflammation on tumor metastasis and the tumor microenvironment. My group is also involved in strategies to modulate the immune response to tumors, which involves the use of novel immunotherapeutic strategies, tumor-targeting antibodies, and development of vaccines to specific oncogenic targets. The major focus of my lab is in uncovering strategies to modulate tumor-derived inflammation and tumor-specific immunity that will translate into clinically efficacious therapies in patients.
Selected Grants
The Duke Preparing Research scholars In bioMEdical sciences (PRIME): Cancer Research Program
ResearchPreceptor · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2023 - 2028Targeting dormancy-associated immune tolerance to eliminate residual breast cancer
ResearchMentor · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2025 - 2028Targeted vaccination against common resistance genes and neoepitope mutation drivers to treat and prevent endocrine-resistant ER+ Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2024 - 2027Medical Scientist Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences · 2022 - 2027Promoting Cardiac Allograft Tolerance with PD-L1 Gene Therapy in a Preclinical Porcine Model
ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2026 - 2026Decoding tumor-defining crosstalk between mesothelioma malignant cells and their microenvironment
FellowshipMentor · Awarded by American Cancer Society, Inc. · 2025 - 2026Therapeutic targeting of breast cancer and host immune responses at inflection points in the disease trajectory
ResearchProject PI · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2021 - 2026A Window-of-Opportunity Trial Using Neoadjuvant Hepatic Artery Chemotherapy for Patients With Localized Pancreas Cancer
ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by Marc Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation · 2023 - 2026Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences · 2021 - 2026Beyond PD1: An immunotherapeutic strategy to stimulate and enable both T-cell and B-cell responses in immunosuppressive and non-mutated metastatic breast cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2020 - 2026Personalized T-cell immunity against metastatic TNBC using MAVS immunostimulation
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Susan G Komen for the Cure · 2022 - 2026Rapid identification and selection of functional antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies by FcGR-enabled screening on CytoSort Arrays in the CellRaft AIR System
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Cell Microsystems, Inc. · 2023 - 2026Study of Endoxifen and DKK3 in Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. · 2025 - 2026Visualizing tumor heterogeneity in an immune intact and autochthonous mouse model of breast cancer
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2021 - 2026Gene Therapy for Cardiac Transplantation
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Solid Biosciences · 2023 - 2025Genetic and Genomics Training Grant
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2025Targeting the Progesterone Receptor as a Novel Means to Increase Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by The University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc · 2022 - 2025Improving Cardiac Transplant Outcomes Through PD-L1 Overexpression Gene Therapy
FellowshipCollaborator · Awarded by Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education · 2023 - 2025Mouse Paint: A massively combinatorial approach for illuminating tumor heterogeneity in True Color
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2022 - 2025Viral Oncology Training Grant
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1980 - 2025Improving Cardiac Transplant Outcomes Through PD-L1 Overexpression Gene Therapy
FellowshipCollaborator · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2023 - 2024Enabling effective anti-tumor immunity from targeted antibodies through dual innate and adaptive immune checkpoint blockade in non-immunogenic cancers
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2019 - 2024Investigation of LAMP anti-tumor vaccines
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. · 2020 - 2023Investigating the adaptive immune response to dormant tumor cells
FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Cancer Society, Inc. · 2020 - 2023Detection and Elimination of Oncogenic Signaling Networks in Pre-malignant and Malignant Cells with Magnetic Resonance Imaging
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2012 - 2022Translational Research in Surgical Oncology
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2002 - 2022A Neoepitope Subunit Vaccine Targeting the Mutated Estrogen Receptor Ligand Binding Domain to Treat and Prevent Endocrine Resistant ER+ Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2018 - 2022Efficacy of replicon-encapsulated lipid nanoparticles for vaccination against breast cancer in vivo
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Replicate Bioscience, Inc. · 2021 - 2022Investigation of stimulating stress response mechanisms to enhance antibody dependent cellular phagocytosis
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Bantam Pharmaceutical, LLC · 2019 - 2021Mechanisms of Action and Resistance to PD-1 Immunotherapies in Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Merck · 2017 - 2020Study of LAMP Vaccines in HER2+ Breast Cancer
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. · 2017 - 2020Immunotherapeutic Targeting of a Therapy Resistant Oncogenic HER2 Isoform
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation · 2017 - 2020Investigating Adaptive Immune Recognition of Dormant Disseminated Tumor Cells
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center · 2017 - 2019Clinical Oncology Research Career Development Program
ResearchResearch Candidate · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2009 - 2015External Relationships
- Atossa Therapeutics
- Cell Microsystems
- Replicate Biosciences, LLC
This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.