Zhaoxia (Julia) Qu, Ph.D.

Despite recent breakthrough in immunotherapies and their combination therapies, the therapeutic benefit is still limited for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. Better treatments are direly needed. Immune cells called myeloid cells play a major role in tumor growth. We have found that a protein called PDLIM2 is vital for suppressing the pro-tumor activity of myeloid cells. Its expression is repressed in tumor-associated myeloid cells, leading to lung cancer growth. Turning tumor-associated myeloid cells from pro-tumor to anti-tumor could be an effective strategy for cancer treatment. We will establish novel myeloid PDLIM2-based monotherapy and combination therapy for lung cancer treatment, determine their working mechanisms and identify biomarkers for lung cancer prognosis and therapy response. These preclinical studies will form a firm base for future human clinical trials on more effective lung cancer treatments.