Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
Survival in gastric and esophageal cancers is still poor, and surgery and chemoradiotherapy remain the mainstays of treatment. The lack of novel targeted therapies reflects the need for further understanding about the pathogenesis of these diseases. My proposed research will develop new disease models including genetic mouse models and human organoid systems to study gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, and precancerous conditions including intestinal metaplasia of the esophagus and stomach. In addition, we are interested in the injury response of the upper GI tract to chronic inflammation, and the mechanisms by which induced processes including autophagy, selective apoptosis, and protein stress response cause carcinogenesis. From the knowledge gained through my benchside research, I plan to initiate translational human clinical trials to target novel cancer promoting pathways.