Mara Stewart is a
Post-doctoral fellow. Here is a summary of her research goals in the Su lab.
Cancer is characterized by
uncontrolled cell proliferation. Anti-cancer therapy is largely comprised
of radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. Despite decades of anti-cancer
research, most therapies target only a single process, uncontrolled cell
proliferation. Although a single mode of therapy can be effective in
treating certain types of cancer, none presents a cure for cancer in
general. Multi-modal therapy, the use of more than one anti-cancer agent
(e.g. radiation and chemotherapy together), shows much potential for a more
effective treatment of cancer. These combination therapies are
being assessed in multiple clinical trials (www.clinicaltrials.gov).
Our goal is to identify new drugs that will allow multiple combinations to
choose from, increasing the likelihood of clinical success. We have
evidence that Drosophila
melanogaster
(fruit fly) is an excellent model system to rapidly screen for drugs that
modulate cell growth, division and survival in combination with
radiation. We have therefore designed and are implementing a screen that
will allow us to co-discover, from the onset, anti-cancer agents that are
effective in combination with radiation.
Drosophila radiation biology
that forms the basis for the screen is in Jaklevic et al. 2006 (PDF).
Mara is assisted in her screen
by excellent undergrads.
e-mail Mara (mara.stewart@colorado.edu)