Specialty:
Medical
Oncology
Location:
University
of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Prerequisites:
The
student must have completed 3 years of college
Number
of Openings: 1
Main
Research Focus:
Dr. Messersmith’s lab is mainly focused on using a
personalized approach in developing new anticancer drugs for gastrointestinal
cancers. In particular, the lab uses a novel colorectal and pancreatic explant
model whereby tumor tissue is obtained from the operating room and then placed
directly into mice.
Tumors are treated with new drugs and predictive biomarkers
of sensitivity are discovered. These predictive markers are used in the
clinic to pre-select patients that would most likely derive benefit from these
new drugs. Additionally, these tumors are evaluated in orthotopic and
metastatic models.
Current anticancer drugs in the lab target Notch, PI3K/RAS,
Wnt, Src, and c-Met pathways.
Description:
Students
will: a) perform cell culture, b) treat CRC or pancreas cell
lines with novel anticancer compounds, c) analyze gene expression by RT-PCR and
protein expression by western blot in cell lines and/or tissues, d) analyze
data and prepare graphs and e) interpret and discuss results according to the
literature.