Dr. Wang has developed a research program with a focus on the use of high throughput genomic technology, joined with a cell-based model system which she developed that consists of 300 lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) with extensive high through put genomic data to study mechanisms of cancer biology and therapy, including both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Her research has also focused on understanding regulation of the PI3K-AKT as well as AMPK pathways and their impact on response to drug therapy. As a Co-PI, she led the functional genomics activities within the Mayo-NIH Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN) grant that included the PGx of breast cancer. Her program has been deeply involved in characterizing GWAS signals related to response to endocrine therapy and chemotherapy of breast cancer. She is also leading a program that is developing patient derived xenografts (PDX) using breast cancer and prostate biopsy samples collected from prospective clinical trials at Mayo. In summary, her program is applying high throughput omics technology together with functional genomics using cell lines and animal models to help identify and characterize biomarkers associated with therapy resistance, information that allow further development of alternative therapeutic strategies to help individualized therapy for cancer patients. |