Research technicians

Mustafa Al-Dulaimi works on investigating the impact of different combinations of RTKi treatments with the goal of overcoming and preventing acquired resistance to EGFR-targeted therapies in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. He also works on identifying targeted therapy options for mesotheliomas by researching potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Lishu Liao mainly works on EGFR-mutant NSCLC cell lines with the focus of finding targetable vulnerabilities for EGFR-TKI resistant cells based on genes/pathways involved in DNA damage repair and cell cycle regulation. She is also responsible for establishing in vitro 2D & 3D cell line models of NSCLC from both PDX and patient pleural effusion samples.

Joe Kulesza’s work involves understanding how non-small cell lung cancers develop resistance to targeted therapy. His current projects focus on the nuclear transcription factor AP-1 and the chromatin remodeling complex BAF.

Felix Gottlieb works on identifying patterns of MET dysregulation as de novo oncogenic drivers in NSCLC. He also investigates MET dysregulation in the context of other oncogene-driven lung tumors, such as EGFR and KRAS, as well as novel targeted therapies for overcoming these resistance mechanisms.

William Godfrey is a research technician working with Sean Lenahan to understand YAP-mediated signaling pathways in drug-resistant persister cells that arise after treatment with EGFR inhibitors.