Joy McDaniel, PhD

I have a long-standing interest in identifying the transcriptional regulators driving metastatic breast cancer. As a PhD student working with Dr. Richard Myers, I used a variety of genomic approaches to study the regulatory mechanisms and functions of STAT3 and Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Using human breast cancer cell lines, I characterized the transcriptome driven-by STAT3 and identified its regulatory role of invasion in TNBC. Similarly, I characterized the transcriptome regulated by GR and discovered that it cooperates with STAT3 to regulate the TNBC genome. Following my PhD I wanted to gain experience with more physiologically relevant models of breast cancer and joined Dr. Guillermina (Gigi) Lozano’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow. As a trainee in the Lozano Lab, I have gained experience in developing genetically engineered mouse models to study the mechanisms underlying the metastasis of breast cancer. The Lozano lab has generated a somatic mouse model for p53R245W (murine counterpart to human p53R248W). The conditional allele expresses wild type p53, which converts to mutant p53 expression in a few cells surrounded by a normal stroma and immune system via injection of the mammary duct with Adenovirus containing Cre-recombinase (mice referred to as MaP^R245W/+). I have demonstrated that MaP^R245W/- mice give rise to metastatic TNBC and have identified NR5A2 as a potential co-regulator involved in mutant p53 gain of function. I have attended and presented at several workshops and meetings (including the annual Short Course on Experimental Models of Cancer at Jackson Laboratories, the annual meeting of the American Society for Human Genetics, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories Cancer Mechanisms and Models meeting) to gain knowledge and experience. My research as a postdoctoral fellow was supported by an F32 NRSA fellowship. I have served as a mentor to several graduate students in the Lozano laboratory and have contributed scientifically to projects led by colleagues in the laboratory. I have completed the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Faculty Research and Education Development program, for which I am receiving grant-writing mentorship and professional development. As an Instructor in the Lozano lab, where I am preparing 4 manuscripts, and preparing to apply for a K22 Career Transition Award. The data generated from these studies will allow me to build upon the results of my postdoctoral fellowship studies to develop a novel hypothesis-driven grant proposal (K22) for submission to the NIH in February 2025.  Successful completion and publication of my research, along with receipt of the K22 award will be strong support for transitioning to an independent faculty position and will competitively poise me to apply for R01 funding in the near future.