Funded Projects

Dr. Khullar’s project addresses a huge unmet need in lung cancer–how to ensure chemotherapy drugs are being delivered at the right concentration to sites of lung cancer metastasis. He has developed a nanoparticle system in which the particles carry the chemotherapy paclitaxel to different sites of metastasis, thus preventing the spread of lung cancer.

Patients often face anxiety and distress following a lung cancer diagnosis. Dr. Krasna is studying how we can improve the recognition and treatment of psychosocial distress in lung cancer patients.

Small cell lung cancer cells produce high amounts of myc protein.  The myc protein makes cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy. Dr. Ljungman is investigating why small cell lung cancer makes high amounts of the myc protein and how this can be reversed.

Dr. Moghaddam is investigating how airway inflammation can lead to lung cancer.  The factor NF-κβ is involved in both inflammation and carcinogenesis. Dr. Moghaddam’s hypothesis is that NF-κβ is a likely candidate for the promotion of lung cancer by inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

The KRAS gene is the most common mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. Dr. Onaitis is studying how mutations of the KRAS gene affect different types of cells in the lungs and how these differences can be used to develop a targeted therapy that can lessen the effects of KRAS in lung cancer cells.

KCNK9 potassium channel activity is involved in the development of cancer, including lung cancers. Dr. Shikano is studying how this activity is regulated. An understanding of this process may lead to the development of a treatment that targets the channel activity.

Dr. Tryggestad is developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods to characterize breathing motion. This information can then be used for radiotherapy planning, delivery, and optimization for the treatment of lung cancer patients.

HSP90, a heat shock protein, protects cancer cells from chemotherapy. Dr. Vielhauer’s laboratory is developing novel targeted therapy that selectively blocks HSP90 and kills lung cancer cells.

Dr. Wigle is investigating the effectiveness of stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT) versus surgery in patients with compromised pulmonary function. This project is a phase II clinical trial whose results will set the stage for more-definitive phase III trials.

A region in chromosome 7 has more copies than normal in patients with adenocarcinomas. Dr. Wilgus is determining whether these extra copies contribute to the development of lung cancer and how it can be targeted to lessen its effects.

Dr. Yendamuri is conducting a clinical trial among stage-1 non-small cell lung cancer patients to confirm a microRNA signature for the prediction of the recurrence of lung cancer after surgery.  He then will develop a blood-based microRNA profile for the detection of lung cancer recurrence.

Dr. Yendamuri is conducting a clinical trial among stage-1 non-small cell lung cancer patients to confirm a microRNA signature for the prediction of the recurrence of lung cancer after surgery. He then will develop a blood-based microRNA profile for the detection of lung cancer recurrence.

Dr. Borgia has developed a blood test for identifying the presence of metastatic progression in non-small cell lung cancer. His current project allows for revision of the test to improve its accuracy and potentially reach an accuracy rate that will allow it to be useful as a stand-alone staging test.

Dr. Borgia is working to develop new biomarkers to strengthen the capabilities of the existing blood test for identifying the presence of metastatic progress in non-small cell lung cancer that he has developed. He plans to adapt the blood test to a diagnostic card format so that high-risk individuals can put blood droplets on diagnostic cards at home and mail them to a test facility where the blood will be extracted and tested for the biomarkers in the panel.

Dr. Shofer’s research builds on work of earlier investigators who developed a lung cancer risk signature based on genetic changes in lung cells in smokers. Dr. Shofer hypothesizes that the lung cancer risk signature model is an indicator of how lung cells change during the process of cancer development. Should his hypothesis be correct, the lung cancer risk signature could be established as a sensitive biomarker capable of diagnosing patients with lung cancer by checking cells taken from the throat using a swab.