Mentor: Dawn Quelle, PhD

Comprehensive Exam:

Enhancing Immunotherapy Efficacy in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNST)

Research:

My thesis research focuses on improving the efficacy of immunotherapy in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST). I am testing the antitumor activities and immunomodulatory effects of various treatment strategies in immune competent mice bearing de novo MPNSTs. The mouse MPNSTs mimic the genetic alterations and pathology of the human disease. My work aims to identify the most effective therapeutic approaches for treating MPNSTs while further validating the authenticity and translational relevance of these models for clinical application.

Publications:

1. Koyas, A., Tucer, S., Kayhan, M., Savas, A. C., Akdemir, I., & Cekic, C. (2021). Interleukin-7 protects CD8+ T cells from adenosine-mediated immunosuppression. Science Signaling, 14(674).
2. Narci, K., Kahraman, D. C., Koyas, A., Ersahin, T., Tuncbag, N., & Atalay, R. C. (2022). Context dependent isoform specific PI3K inhibition confers drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. BMC cancer, 22(1), 1-17
3. Dogan, T., Guzelcan, E. A., Baumann, M., Koyas, A., Atas, H., Baxendale, I., ... & Cetin- Atalay, R. (2021). Protein Domain-Based Prediction of Compound–Target Interactions and Experimental Validation on LIM Kinases, PLOS Computational Biology, 17(11), e1009171.
4. Sahin, I. D., Christodoulou, M. S., Guzelcan, E. A., Koyas, A., Karaca, C., Passarella, D., & Cetin-Atalay, R. (2020). A small library of chalcones induce liver cancer cell death through Akt phosphorylation inhibition. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-9.
5. Kayhan, M., Koyas, A., Akdemir, I., Savas, A. C., & Cekic, C. (2019). Adenosine receptor signaling targets both PKA and Epac pathways to polarize dendritic cells to a suppressive phenotype. The Journal of Immunology, 203(12), 3247-3255.

Presentations:

1. Oral Presentation - Combination Therapy and Immune Reprogramming in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors, Washington University and University of Iowa Sarcoma Conference (WISC), April 4, 2025
2. Oral Presentation - RABL6A promotes PD-L1 expression in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors, Sarcoma Research Symposium, August 9, 2024, The University of Iowa
3. Poster Presentation – Tunca Doğan, Ece Akhan, Altay Koyas, Heval Ataş, Andrew Nightingale, Marcus Bauman, Ian Baxendale, Maria J. Martin, Rengül Çetin-Atalay. “A Novel Domain-Based Approach for Prediction of Bioactive Compounds and Experimental Validation in Cancer Cell Signaling Pathways”. Open Research Day, Informatics Institute. May 17, 2019.
4. Poster Presentation - Imran Akdemir*, Merve Kayhan*, Ali Can Savas*, Altay Koyas*, Caglar Cekic. Adenosine Regulation of Danger Signaling. 3rd International Molecular Immunology & Immunogenetics Congress (MIMIC-III). April 27-30,2016. Antalya, TURKEY.                                         (* Equally contribution)
5. Poster Presentation - Merve Kayhan*, Imran Akdemir*, Ali Can Savas*, Altay Koyas*, Sinem Gunalp, Caglar Cekic. Molecular mechanisms for adenosine regulation of dendritic cells. 3rd International Molecular Immunology & Immunogenetics Congress (MIMIC-III). April 27-30,2016. Antalya, TURKEY. (* Equally contribution)
6. Oral Presentation – “Out of Africa and Mixing with Other Species” II. Evolutionary Biology Student Congress, May 2-3, 2012, Hacettepe University Ankara, TURKEY
7. Oral Presentation – “Out of Africa and Mixing with Other Species”, Turkey Meets the Evolution, March 9-10, 2013 METU, Ankara, TURKEY