Chi Li, Ph.D.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and the world. Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 40% of lung cancers. The high mortality rate associated with lung adenocarcinoma is partially attributed to ineffective therapeutic treatments. Thus, it is critical to develop new chemotherapeutic drugs for lung adenocarcinoma. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a normal suicidal process the body uses to selectively remove cells that are no longer needed, damaged or are dangerous. Apoptosis is fundamental to our health; failure of cells to die leads to initiation and progression of cancer and makes cancer cells resistant to anticancer drugs. We will develop a novel therapeutic strategy for lung adenocarcinoma using a molecule called C12, which has been found to induce lung adenocarcinoma programmed cell death in a unique fashion.

The James & Marlene Ryan Innovation Award

Update:

We carried out a series of experiments that have allowed us to achieve significant progress in understanding the mechanism by which C12 eliminates lung adenocarcinoma cells through programmed cell death. We have also been exploring the therapeutic efficacy of C12 to inhibit lung adenocarcinoma growth in mice. C12 or C12 derivatives may be developed into a useful therapy for lung adenocarcinoma resistant to classical anti-cancer drugs.