Targeting DNAJB1-PRKACA driven signaling dependencies in FLC

Timeframe: 2019 – 2022 Goal: Investigate the potential of AURKA inhibitors for FLC treatment Principal Investigator: John Gordan, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSF Co-Investigator: Nabeel Bardeesy, Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University Even though the DNAJB1-PRKACA gene fusion (encoding a chimeric protein with a domain of heat shock protein 40, HSP40, …

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Flipping the switch on PKA: synthetic lethal approaches to block PKA-driven tumor growth in fibrolamellar liver cancer

Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Understand growth mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets Principal Investigators: John Gordan. M.D., Ph.D, Clinical Instructor, University of California San Francisco; Nabeel Bardeesy, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Harvard University The discovery of a genetic change in the protein kinase A (PKA) gene in nearly all cases of fibrolamellar liver cancer (FLC) …

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Pre-clinical studies of the interactions of the immune system with FL-HCC

Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Study the interactions between the immune system and FLC in a mouse model Principal Investigator: Kevin Barry, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar Cancer immunotherapies harness the power of the immune system to kill tumors. Checkpoint blockade immunotherapies are an exciting class of cancer immunotherapies that remove the brakes from the immune system …

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