You have reached the Web site for the Department of Pathology at the University of Colorado Denver.

Year you started the UC Denver Cancer Biology Program:
2012
Why you chose the UC Denver Cancer Biology Program:

The Cancer Biology program is a great program. I like the way it is designed to cultivate a new generation of

cancer research scientists. I like the curriculum and the many sources it can offer.

What labs you rotated in:

Edward N. Janoff
Mair Churchill
Shi-long Lu


What lab you joined and why:

I joined Dr. Shi-long Lu’s lab because I really like the projects that I worked on during my rotation. The

people there are friendly and helpful.  We all feel like we are part of one a big family.

Short description of your project:

The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway is one of the pathways most commonly activated in

many human malignancies. PIK3CA, which encodes a catalytic subunit of PI3-kinase, is frequently mutated in a

range of human cancers, including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and colorectal

cancer. Reports and original studies have shown that genetic alteration of PIK3CA contribute to tumor

initiation, invasion, and metastasis both in culture and in vivo. Although it is a current and advancing field,

most previous work has not directly addressed the critical question as to the relationship between PIK3CA and

cancer stemness and whether cancer stemness can be initiated by genetic alteration of PIK3CA, and as a

functional consequence, contributing to the malignant phenotype. In my project, I aim to understand the role of

PIK3CA in stemness of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas by using an inducible head-and-neck specific PIK3CA

transgenic mice model.

Where you attended undergraduate and what your major / minor(s) were:

University of Denver,
Biochemistry

What you like to do outside of school:

Design, tennis, and ski.

What is your favorite thing about Colorado?
It is really hard to state definitively my favorite thing as there are so many. However, I have been in Denver,

Colorado for more than 5 years and I really like this city. I consider it as my second hometown.