{"id":75395,"date":"2016-12-16T09:52:54","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T14:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=75395"},"modified":"2026-07-21T15:57:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:57:24","slug":"meet-ucfs-cancer-assassins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/meet-ucfs-cancer-assassins\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet 166su\u2019s ‘Cancer Assassins’"},"content":{"rendered":"
As we prepare for Saturday\u2019s AutoNation Cure Bowl, featuring our own 166su Knights, we know that the game\u2019s proceeds benefit the College of Medicine\u2019s Dr. Annette Khaled. She\u2019s developing new technologies to stop metastatic breast cancer cells in their tracks.<\/p>\n
The medical school has a team of \u201cCancer Assassins\u201d \u2013 researchers in the Burnett School of Biomedical Science who are using their scientific expertise to find a cure:<\/p>\n
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Dr. Annette Khaled<\/strong><\/p>\n Khaled chairs the College of Medicine\u2019s Cancer Research Division. She is using nanoparticles to track down and kill metastatic breast cancer cells. These cells, which spread from the original tumor, cause cancer to recur and spread into the brain, blood and lungs \u2013 causing death to most patients. Khaled\u2019s technology is expected to begin clinical trials in 2018.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Deborah A. Altomare<\/strong><\/p>\n Altomare is finding new ways to fight pancreatic and ovarian cancer by studying how cancer tumors interact with surrounding cells. She is working to develop targeted drugs and immune cell therapy to block the growth and spread of cancer tumors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Claudia Andl<\/strong><\/p>\n Andl creates a cancer tumor\u2019s environment in a test tube to better understand how tumor cells interact with their environment and spread. With that focus, she is looking to develop better treatments for oral and esophageal cancers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Karl X. Chai<\/strong><\/p>\n Chai\u2019s research focuses on HER2+ breast cancer \u2013 an especially aggressive form that hits about 1 in 5 breast cancer patients. This type of cancer is hard to fight because the breast cancer cells have a particular protein that causes them to grow and spread quickly. Chai is looking at the novel mechanisms in these cells and what makes them resistant to Herceptin, the drug approved for treatment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Ratna Chakrabarti<\/strong><\/p>\n Chakrabarti is studying the cellular differences between aggressive and more inactive cancers to better identify patients who have a genetic predisposition to develop drug-resistant prostate cancer. By identifying the genetic and epigenetic components of prostate cancer, Chakrabarti hopes to develop better therapies for prostate cancer patients and improve their quality of life. Her lab is also conducting screenings of synthetic compounds that may prove to be novel anti-cancer agents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Li-Mei Chen<\/strong><\/p>\n Chen is identifying the novel mechanisms in lung cancer cells that make them resistant to chemotherapies. Lung cancer is the second-most-common cancer in men and women and is by far the leading cause of cancer deaths. About 1 in 4 cancer deaths are from lung cancer \u2013 more than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n