Research Abstract

The research goal of the Hata laboratory is to advance targeted therapies to benefit patients with lung cancer. Our research focuses on understanding the biological underpinnings of sensitivity and resistance to kinase inhibitor targeted therapies in lung cancers with specific genetic abnormalities (EGFR mutations, ALK translocations, KRAS mutations). In particular, we seek to understand how kinase inhibitors modulate signaling networks that regulate cancer cell growth and survival, and characterize the molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to these agents. More recently, we have begun to focus on understanding how cancer cells adapt and evolve during the course of therapy in order to identify vulnerabilities of drug tolerant cancer cells that might be exploited to prevent resistance from developing. Our studies are highly translational, combining cell culture models, patient-derived mouse (PDX) models and assessment of clinical specimens, and are performed in close collaboration with clinicians in the Thoracic Oncology group.