RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Tumor Biology
- Metastasis
- Lymphangiogenesis
- Inflammation-induced carcinogenesis
- Anti-cancer drug development
- Signal transduction
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENT
My research focuses on (1) functional interaction between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in pancreatic and breast tumorigenesis, (2) role of epigenetic modifying enzymes in the metabolism and behaviors of cancer cells and (3) mechanism of lymphatic metastasis in breast and pancreatic cancer.
We establish various genetically engineering mouse models to study the effect of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the development of pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. In addition, we generate organoid culture system to investigate the genetic alterations in human tumor samples. The organoids are also used for drug testing to identify vulnerable targets or synthetic lethal genes in cancers with specific genetic or epigenetic defects. For the study of lymphatic metastasis, we use cultured lymphatic endothelial cells to elucidate the crosstalk between cancer cells and lymphatic endothelial cells in promoting cancer invasion in vitro. Finally, transgenic animals are used to verify our findings in vivo. Collectively, we devote to study the molecular mechanisms of cancer initiation, promotion and progression. By using these approaches, we hope to identify potential molecular targets for cancer therapy.
