Jens Köhler, MD, (Jens_Kohler@dfci.harvard.edu) studies KRAS-driven NSCLC using commercially available cancer cell lines and patient-derived tumors to recapitulate the extremely diverse tumor landscape. His research aims to answer the question of why inhibitors targeting the MAPK pathway can be effective in some patients while they fail in others, with an emphasis on microenvironment circuitries.
Kari Kurpa, PhD, (KariJ_Kurppa@dfci.harvard.edu) works to design rational combination treatments to treat EGFR-mutant lung cancer,linking the tumor’s genomic context to its response to EGFR-targeted therapies. In addition to standard cell and molecular biology methods, Kari works on the development of several CRISPR-based genome editing and screening tools.
Atsuko Ogino, MD, PhD, (Atsuko_Ogino@dfci.harvard.edu) explores the relationship between tumor heterogeneity, pluripotency, and drug-resistance. Her ongoing studies, focusing primarily on small-cell lung cancer transformation and oncogenic NRAS, utilize patient-derived lung cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models.
Ciric To, PhD, (CiricC_To@dfci.harvard.edu) pursues the development of non-conventional approaches to target EGFR, such as highly specific allosteric inhibitors and PROTACs in NSCLC models. Her goal is to simultaneously generate and/or identify important resistance-imparting mechanisms that emerge following treatment with allosteric inhibitors.