Katherine Cook
Third Year Graduate Student, 2008-2009
Education: BS in Biochemistry, 2006, State University of New York at Oswego
Graduate Program: Molecular Medicine
Laboratory Department: Hypertension and Vascular Research Center
Email: kcook@wfubmc.edu
Advisor: Dr. Ann Tallant
Current Research:
While working in Dr. Tallant’s lab, I am investigating whether Angiotensin-(1-7) can be used as a novel first-in-class therapy for estrogen receptor (ER) positive and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) amplified breast cancer. Previous studies have demonstrated that Ang-(1-7) decreases the growth of non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo. The decrease in tumor growth is associated with a corresponding downregulation in activated MAPK and COX2. My preliminary studies have shown that subcutaneous infusion of Ang-(1-7) reduces orthotopic HER2 amplified (BT-474) breast cancer and orthotopic ER-positive (ZR-75-1) breast cancer. In addition, it was shown that the decrease in HER2 amplified breast cancer may be due in part to a decrease in active MAPK activity, decreased COX2, and decreased VEGF. My research will also focus on the molecular mechanism of Ang-(1-7) mediated growth reduction in HER2 amplified and ER-positive breast cancer with special focus on Ang-(1-7) effect on the protein kinase B (Akt) pathway.
Awards:
NRSA Institutional Research Training Grant, Molecular Medicine Program.
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Predoctoral Fellowship.
Abstracts:
Cook K.L.,. Gallagher P.E., Tallant E.A. Angiotensin-(1-7) inhibits the growth of orthotopic human breast tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2008 Apr 12-16; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2008. Abstract nr LB-232