Education
Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering, Emphasis on Cell and Tissue Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2018
Combined MD/PhD Degree Candidate, Rutgers-RWJMS
Research Interests
Nanomedicine, cancer diagnostics, exosomes, immunotherapy, immune surveillance.
Research Summary
Over the past several decades breast cancer outcomes have improved as a result of improved diagnosis and treatment. However, many patients continue to relapse with incurable metastatic disease years after their initial diagnosis and treatment. With the rise of immunotherapy, more attention is being paid to the tumor immune microenvironment and the role it plays in disease progression and therapy response. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes have been identified as positive biomarkers for immunotherapy response, but many patients still fail to respond. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that another immune cell, the myeloid derived suppressor cell, is largely responsible for tumor immunosuppression, preparing the metastatic niche, and immunotherapy resistance. I am investigating tumor immune surveillance strategies for prediction of metastases and immunotherapy response in breast cancer.