Mentor: Shujie Yang, PhD

Comprehensive Exam: 

Determining oncogenic role of SETDB1 H3K9 methyltransferase in endometrial cancer tumor progression

My Research:

Endometrial cancer is considered the most common gynecological malignancy in the U.S. My research is focused on understanding mechanisms promoting endometrial cancer tumor progression. My study involves both focusing on tumor immune system interaction and intrinsic aspects of the cancer cells growth. With this, I hope to develop new targeted therapies to improve treatment outcomes of the disease in patients.

Publications:

1. Roni A, Bergenfelz C, Mohlin S, Hagerling C, Salari K, Werb Z, et al. Cancer-associated fibroblast-secreted CXCL16 attracts monocytes to promote stroma activation in triple-negative breast cancers. Nature Commun 2016; 7. PMC5062608
2. Catharina H, Gonzalez H, Salari K, Wang C-Y, Lin C, Robles I, van Gogh M, et al. Immune effector monocyte–neutrophil cooperation induced by the primary tumor prevents metastatic progression of breast cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2019;116: 21704 - 21714. PMC6815161
3. Lazaro-Camp VJ, Salari K, Meng X, Yang S. SETDB1 in cancer: overexpression and its therapeutic implications. Am J Cancer Res. 2021; 11(5): 1803-1827. PMC8167684
4. Johnson E, Salari K, Yang S. SETDB1: A perspective into immune cell function and cancer immunotherapy. Immunology 2023;169(1):3-12. PMC10121739 (available on 2024-05-01)

Presentations:

• June 2024 Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Retreat. "SETDB1 promotes tumorigenesis by enhancing proliferation and immune evasion in endometrial cancer" (oral and poster). 
• June 2023 Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Retreat "SETDB1 promotes tumorigenesis by enhancing proliferation and immune evasion in endometrial cancer" (oral and poster). 
• June 2022 Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Retreat. "Understanding SETDB1-mediated Tumor Immune Evasion Mechanism in Endometrial Cancer" (poster).