PhD in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Chemotherapy has long been a common treatment for various types of cancers and consists of first-line platinum-based drugs such as Carboplatin and Cisplatin. Although chemotherapeutics are effective at killing cancer cells, they can also accelerate cancer cell growth by inducing a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment by increasing the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines and numerous bioactive lipids. My research project focuses on the dual inhibition of two enzymes involved in the inflammatory pathway, Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and soluble poxide hydrolase (sEH), which increase the presence of pro-inflammatory lipids and decrease the presence of anti-inflammatory lipids, respectively. Dual inhibition of COX-2 and sEH significantly suppresses tumor angiogenesis and local inflammation, resulting in a decrease in primary tumor growth and metastasis. Therefore, dual inhibitors will be optimized and evaluated for their in vitro potency, followed by in vivo efficacy at reducing the cytokine surge and subsequent cancer progression.