Primary Appointment

I have a strong background in translational breast cancer research in the areas of cancer biology and molecular therapeutics, with specific training and expertise in key research areas of EGFR/ERK signaling and in vivo modeling, key research areas of for this application. As a Ph.D. student at The UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, I carried out preclinical research to study on the role of the HER2 pathway in chemosensitization of paclitaxel in breast cancer. In addition to my basic research background, I have trained as a medical oncologist at MDA and simultaneously I have learned how to conduct clinical research and perform data analysis on related to breast cancer. I am also now a practicing physician who has experience in conducting both targeted and gene therapy clinical trials in inflammatory breast cancer patients. Since becoming a faculty member at MDA, I have expanded my research to include the EGFR/ ERK pathway in both breast and ovarian cancer. In addition over the past 10 years, I have successfully managed projects (e.g. overseeing personnel, ensuring research quality, keeping high ethics, managing budgets) and, collaborated with other researchers, and I have produced several peer-reviewed publications from each project. As a result of these previous experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project investigators and of creating a reasonable research plan, a plausible timeline, and a feasible budget. In summary, I have a demonstrated record of successful and productive research projects in an area of high relevance for to breast cancer biology related to triple negative breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer, metastasis, cancer-stem cells, and drug resistance of cancer cells. My expertise and experience have well prepared me to mentor the proposed project.

Institutional Committee Activities

Last updated: 2/21/2013