Congratulations to Dr. Shan Yan on the 2022 Outstanding Data Science Faculty Research Award! Each year, SDS awards an SDS faculty member for their significant achievements in data science research. As this year’s winner, Dr. Yan will receive a plaque acknowledging his outstanding research contribution and a $2,000 research award that can be used to cover any research-related expenses, such as conference travel, data and software purchase, and compensation for study participants.

Dr. Shan Yan is Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) and Affiliated Faculty with the School of Data Science (SDS) at UNC Charlotte. He has initiated and directed the Charlotte Biology and Biotechnology (CBB) Exchange Group co-sponsored by North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) and UNC Charlotte since 2017. He is the Director of the Board for the Federation of American Society For Experimental Biology (FASEB, representing ~27 scientific societies and ~115k scientists), and is also the Program Leader of the Genome Integrity and Cancer Initiative (GICI) at UNC Charlotte. He has served as grant reviewer for the NIH study sections and NSF Review Panels. Dr. Yan also serves as managing editor or editorial board member for several journals such as Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, and manuscript reviewer for ~46 scientific journals including Science, PNAS, and eLife. His research laboratory is focused on the molecular mechanisms of genome integrity and cancer etiology using Xenopus egg extracts and mammalian cell lines as model systems. His research program is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative and often involves collaborators with expertise in data science, structural bioinformatics, chemistry and nanoparticles, physics and structural biology, cancer biology, and therapeutics. During 2022, he published 4 peer-reviewed articles and 2 preprints as corresponding or senior author and submitted 1 patent application to USPTO as the sole inventor. His original research article on APE1 function and mechanism in liquid-liquid phase separation and nucleolar DNA damage response in Nucleic Acids Research has led to his Forum Article featured in Trends in Cell Biology. These high-impact studies in top-tier journals have been highlighted in a news release in EurekAlert by AAAS and media reports such as Science Magazine. Dr. Yan also co-authored a research article in Small demonstrating a nanoparticle-based approach for targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs to pancreatic cancers, which has brought a total cost of $2.1M NIH/NCI R01 grant to UNC Charlotte (as Co-Investigator). In 2022, his pioneering research on APE2 in genome integrity has also been awarded an NIH/NCI R03 grant (as Principal Investigator).

Dr. Vivero-Escoto’s lab has been quite busy and it really shows! Read below about 3 projects that have recently been funded:

Project Number1R16GM145434-01 Antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs) are one of the biggest public health issues of the 21st century. In this project; we propose to develop a light-activated silver nanoparticulate system for the effective treatment of ARB and ARGs. The proposed research is relevant to public health because it will develop reliable technologies for the effective elimination of ARB and ARGs. Project Number1R15CA274239-01 Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with younger age, African American and Hispanic ethnicity background, BRCA gene-mutated populations, and has the worst prognosis compared with other types of breast cancer. In this project; we propose to develop RNA-loaded silica-based drug delivery nanocarrier to improve the photodynamic and siRNA therapy for the successful treatment of TNBC. Project Number1R01CA263897-01A1 Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States having the worst prognosis with 5-year survival rate of 10%. In this project, we pursue the development of a sequential therapy using targeted stimuli-responsive drug delivery nanocarriers for the treatment of advanced PDAC. https://features.charlotte.edu/juan-vivero-escoto

Please join the department in congratulating Dr. Kirill Afonin for being named this year’s recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal!

The First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal was first awarded in 1988 and recognizes outstanding scholarship, creativity, and research among senior full-time faculty members. Each year the University, with support from First Citizens Bank, presents this award in order to recognize and foster the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and creative endeavors.

The recipients are honored annually at a spring ceremony and reception presided over by the Chancellor, officials of First Citizens Bank, and other University officers. They are presented with a framed citation, a medal, and cash prize

For more information regarding this award, visit the First Citizens Bank Scholar website

Risk management and data analysis are critical life skills for Grayson Dill, ’11, who draws upon these core attributes while scaling mountain summits around the world and working as a wilderness EMT. Along with expertise and drive, they also have helped advance his banking career, propelling him to his current position as a risk management leader at Bank of America.

Dill Shaped New College Role

Students, faculty and staff at UNC Charlotte have also benefitted from Dill’s expertise and vision over the past months, as he brought risk management to life in his work as the inaugural mathematician-in-residence in Charlotte’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Through that role, Dill helped shape the department’s real-world connections.

“By positioning a local business leader in the department,” Dill said, “we have challenged faculty and staff to bring about greater alignment between research and education goals and the needs of the local business community. We also have challenged students to think more practically about how they might apply mathematics professionally, which will better prepare them for their careers.”

A centerpiece of the effort has been a one-credit hour class that applies mathematics to business problems commonly encountered in the financial services industry, with special emphasis on risk management. “With the help of guest lecturers, we have spotlighted actual examples of risk mitigation,” Dill said. “We challenged students to develop their own creative thinking on the subject through work on a semester project. The seminar constantly reinforced the theme that business is complicated, and mathematics rarely applies neatly. But when applied thoughtfully, mathematical tools can deliver amazing insights and efficiencies.”

Master’s Degree Student Saw Relevance

For Kimberly Mays ‘22, who earned a master’s degree in applied statistics, an especially useful aspect of the applied mathematics seminar was seeing varied examples of professional applications of math concepts.

“I especially appreciated our guest lecturers and the scope of companies they represented,” Mays said. “On a personal note, I also find myself evaluating risk differently as a result of the class. For example, since I took the class, I had two fraudulent bank charges show up on my account, one of which was flagged by the bank as possible fraud and one which was not. It was interesting to consider what decisions and programs led to one charge triggering an automatic alert in the context of what we learned in the seminar.”

Mays found that her commitment to digging into the class topics resulted in deeper learning. “My favorite topics were those I really thought through on my own,” she said. “My own involvement made the difference, whether that meant completing outside reading, making time to attend office hours that week, or just heading to class with a list of questions.”

Students should be prepared to think about finance, and to think creatively about applications of math, Dill said. “We have challenged students to understand a holistic approach to problem-solving, including consultation with partners to develop coherent business problems, to use data engineering as a precursor to complex quantitative analysis, and finally, to strategically communicate results.”

As a senior vice president and client quantitative analytics manager, Dill is particularly experienced in business problems related to Bank Secrecy Act compliance and mitigation of financial crimes risk. He graduated summa cum laude from Charlotte in 2011 with bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics, and a concentration in political science, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in history from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2005. He earned a master’s degree in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2017.

Department Chair Appreciates Bridge-Building

Positioning a local business leader in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has spurred faculty and staff to think of ways to align research and education goals and the needs of the local business community, said department Chair Taufiquar (TK) Khan.

“The mathematician-in-residence initiative helps students and faculty cross the bridge to collaborate with business, industry and government,” Khan said. “Students learn transferable skills to be successful in employment after graduation. The mathematician-in-residence also helps faculty to learn about the mathematics applied in the local industry.”

Bank of America Supports Initiative

Khan and Dill expressed appreciation to Bank of America. “I’ve been warmly supported in this endeavor by my full-time employer, Bank of America,” Dill said. “The company’s support is a great testament to its commitment to our communities, and to the Charlotte market.”

As for Mays, she has explored career paths that would draw upon her knowledge of mathematical principles and her ability to apply her skills and knowledge to situations such as those she encountered in Dill’s seminar and in her internships, including one in sports analytics.

“I was drawn to mathematics originally by curiosity,” she said. “I like that the same mathematical principles that help evaluate risk in banking can also be applied to sports, public health, ecology, education, and other areas. The most interesting parts of the world seem to exist in the sometimes-messy intersection of the quantifiable and everything else.”

Words and Images: Lynn Roberson | Additional Images Courtesy of Grayson Dill

Risk management and data analysis are critical life skills for Grayson Dill, ’11, who draws upon these core attributes while scaling mountain summits around the world and working as a wilderness EMT. Along with expertise and drive, they also have helped advance his banking career, propelling him to his current position as a risk management leader at Bank of America.

Dill Shaped New College Role

Students, faculty and staff at UNC Charlotte have also benefitted from Dill’s expertise and vision over the past months, as he brought risk management to life in his work as the inaugural mathematician-in-residence in Charlotte’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Through that role, Dill helped shape the department’s real-world connections.

“By positioning a local business leader in the department,” Dill said, “we have challenged faculty and staff to bring about greater alignment between research and education goals and the needs of the local business community. We also have challenged students to think more practically about how they might apply mathematics professionally, which will better prepare them for their careers.”

A centerpiece of the effort has been a one-credit hour class that applies mathematics to business problems commonly encountered in the financial services industry, with special emphasis on risk management. “With the help of guest lecturers, we have spotlighted actual examples of risk mitigation,” Dill said. “We challenged students to develop their own creative thinking on the subject through work on a semester project. The seminar constantly reinforced the theme that business is complicated, and mathematics rarely applies neatly. But when applied thoughtfully, mathematical tools can deliver amazing insights and efficiencies.”

Master’s Degree Student Saw Relevance

For Kimberly Mays ‘22, who earned a master’s degree in applied statistics, an especially useful aspect of the applied mathematics seminar was seeing varied examples of professional applications of math concepts.

“I especially appreciated our guest lecturers and the scope of companies they represented,” Mays said. “On a personal note, I also find myself evaluating risk differently as a result of the class. For example, since I took the class, I had two fraudulent bank charges show up on my account, one of which was flagged by the bank as possible fraud and one which was not. It was interesting to consider what decisions and programs led to one charge triggering an automatic alert in the context of what we learned in the seminar.”

Mays found that her commitment to digging into the class topics resulted in deeper learning. “My favorite topics were those I really thought through on my own,” she said. “My own involvement made the difference, whether that meant completing outside reading, making time to attend office hours that week, or just heading to class with a list of questions.”

Students should be prepared to think about finance, and to think creatively about applications of math, Dill said. “We have challenged students to understand a holistic approach to problem-solving, including consultation with partners to develop coherent business problems, to use data engineering as a precursor to complex quantitative analysis, and finally, to strategically communicate results.”

As a senior vice president and client quantitative analytics manager, Dill is particularly experienced in business problems related to Bank Secrecy Act compliance and mitigation of financial crimes risk. He graduated summa cum laude from Charlotte in 2011 with bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics, and a concentration in political science, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in history from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2005. He earned a master’s degree in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2017.

Department Chair Appreciates Bridge-Building

Positioning a local business leader in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics has spurred faculty and staff to think of ways to align research and education goals and the needs of the local business community, said department Chair Taufiquar (TK) Khan.

“The mathematician-in-residence initiative helps students and faculty cross the bridge to collaborate with business, industry and government,” Khan said. “Students learn transferable skills to be successful in employment after graduation. The mathematician-in-residence also helps faculty to learn about the mathematics applied in the local industry.”

Bank of America Supports Initiative

Khan and Dill expressed appreciation to Bank of America. “I’ve been warmly supported in this endeavor by my full-time employer, Bank of America,” Dill said. “The company’s support is a great testament to its commitment to our communities, and to the Charlotte market.”

As for Mays, she has explored career paths that would draw upon her knowledge of mathematical principles and her ability to apply her skills and knowledge to situations such as those she encountered in Dill’s seminar and in her internships, including one in sports analytics.

“I was drawn to mathematics originally by curiosity,” she said. “I like that the same mathematical principles that help evaluate risk in banking can also be applied to sports, public health, ecology, education, and other areas. The most interesting parts of the world seem to exist in the sometimes-messy intersection of the quantifiable and everything else.”

Words and Images: Lynn Roberson | Additional Images Courtesy of Grayson Dill

The Department of Physics and Optical Science is currently seeking two new faculty members to join our team as professors; we are currently seeking candidates who possess a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in optical science, optical engineering, physics, or another closely related field. Preferred candidates will have a significant record of research and publication and a strong commitment to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The successful candidates will be expected to establish a vigorous, externally funded research program.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities Include:

• Teaching, Advising, Curriculum and Instructional Development – Faculty responsibilities and essential functions with respect to teaching may include but are not limited to: subject matter competence, course design, course presentation, advising and consultation, directing student research, curriculum and instructional development, and grading student work.
• Scholarly Research, Creative, and Other Professional Activities – All tenured and tenure-track faculty are expected to participate in expanding the knowledge base of her/his academic field by conducting research or engaging in other creative activities as appropriate to the faculty member’s discipline. Faculty responsibilities and essential functions with respect to research may include but are not limited to: research/creative activity that generates new knowledge and/or synthesizes and/or integrates existing knowledge, publication, an on-going agenda for research, scholarly, and creative activity, and are expected to seek extramural support for their work.
• Service to University, the Public, and the Profession – All tenured and tenure-track faculty are expected to engage in a program of service appropriate to their discipline. Faculty responsibilities and essential functions with respect to service may include but are not limited to: service to the administration and governance of the University, public service, and service to the profession.

For the full job posting – and to begin your application – please follow this link. Thank you for your interest!

In fall 2021, the University announced it would launch a review of the structure of the College of Liberal Arts & Science (CLAS). A committee led by Belk College of Business Dean Jennifer Troyer assessed the pros and cons of maintaining a single college or reorganizing departments into smaller colleges. Additional discussions and research are planned over the next 10 months to gain greater clarity about costs and implications for all departments in CLAS before a final decision is made about college structure.

In this interim period, a new academic division of four science and mathematics departments will form within CLAS. The division’s creation will address needs the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Optical Science have expressed for identity, advocacy and research support.

Interim Divisional Dean Named

CLAS Interim Dean John Smail has appointed Bernadette Donovan-Merkert, chair of the Department of Chemistry and director of the Nanoscale Science Doctoral Program, as interim divisional dean, effective Jan. 3, 2023.

Donovan-Merkert will report to Smail, but will have substantial independence, particularly around research support, resource allocation, internal collaborations with the Division of Research and the Graduate School, and external relations with funding agencies and industry partners. Other division personnel will include a new divisional business officer and a business support associate.

Additional steps during the next 10-month period will include assessing the divisional model, including costs and resources needed in the new division; and analyzing the needs of other CLAS departments and the structures that would best serve them, particularly as they interact with the STEM units. A final decision on college structure is expected in fall 2023.

Top Image: Close-up of panels from a mural illustrating scientific and mathematical concepts, located in the Science Building, 9029 Craver Road

Pinku Mukherjee, who currently is the Irwin Belk Distinguished Professor for Cancer Research and associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, will serve as the interim associate provost and dean of the Graduate School effective Jan. 3, 2023, succeeding Tom Reynolds, who will retire after 40 years of service to the institution. 

Mukherjee is a leader in transforming how cancer is diagnosed and treated. She has designed innovative approaches that more accurately detect breast cancer early and is developing targeted therapy and imaging for pancreatic, ovarian and colon cancers. Mukherjee’s groundbreaking cancer research has produced 12 U.S. and international patents and has resulted in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Susan G. Komen Foundation totaling more than $15 million as principal investigator and co-investigator.

In addition, Mukherjee co-founded OncoTab Inc., a UNC Charlotte biotechnology spinoff company that launched its first product (a simple blood test) that aids in the diagnosis of breast cancer for women in which a mammogram fails. The novel antibody has applications in molecular diagnostics and anti-cancer therapeutics and the research is funded by NIH STTR and SBIR grants. OncoTab Inc. has won several awards including one from NCBiotech as well as the grand prize at the Charlotte Venture Challenge.

Prior to serving as associate dean, Mukherjee was chair of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Before coming to Charlotte in 2008 as the Irwin Belk Distinguished Professor for Cancer Research, she held faculty appointments at Indiana University Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic. 

“We are fortunate to have someone with Dr. Mukherjee’s stature and research experience to step in, lead and advance our University’s high quality graduate research and scholarship,” said Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “As an effective and supportive mentor, she will continue to encourage our graduate and postdoc students to advance their careers.”

Mukherjee earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Bombay University, India, and master’s and doctoral degrees in applied immunology from the University of London. She completed postdoctoral training at Pennsylvania State University. Mukherjee was the 2018 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal and the 2015 recipient of the O. Max Gardner Award, the highest faculty accolade given by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina.

An antibody that was invented at UNC Charlotte could be used to curb pancreatic cancer relapse and metastasis, a new UNC Charlotte study has found.

Pancreatic cancer is particularly cruel  — and deadly. While it is the 10th most common type  of cancer, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the U.S., reflecting its bleak survival rate.

Each November, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month calls attention to this silent killer. The cancer has very few symptoms, especially in early stages, meaning it often spreads and forms additional tumors before it is diagnosed. This year’s Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, out in October, highlights its grim trends.

Yet, there is hope for improved treatment options. UNC Charlotte researchers are among those leading the search for solutions, including the new research by Mukulika Bose ’22 Ph.D. and collaborators, including Bose’s mentor Pinku Mukherjee, published in the journal Translational Research.

Bose’s groundbreaking research studies TAB004, a patented antibody generated by Mukherjee, who is the Irwin Belk Endowed Professor of Cancer Research and a study co-author.

“We believe,” Bose said, “that this antibody could be used to target cancer cells that remain after surgery on solid tumors, to reduce the cells from colonizing to other organs or tissues. If there is a full-blown tumor, this antibody cannot magically make it vanish. But if there are circulating cancer cells that have detached from the parent tumor and are resistant to chemo and radiotherapy, this antibody can stop these cells from forming secondary tumors.”

Research Targets Secondary Tumors

Patients die due to metastatic secondary tumors more than from primary tumors, making the new study highly impactful. The antibody targets a tumor protein called tMUC1 (t muck one) and blocks its cellular signaling that is critical for tumor progression and metastasis.

“This antibody,” Bose said, “is highly effective at specifically targeting the tumor protein but not the protein that is expressed on normal cells. This is the most novel and significant finding, that it can distinguish between the tumor form of the protein and the protein that is expressed on normal cells.”

Surprisingly, Bose found that the antibody TAB004 was not effective in targeting solid tumors. She instead found that this antibody could precisely target single tumor cells that had just detached from their parent tumor.

To understand why this was happening, Bose turned to the cell biology of normal healthy cells. Epithelial cells form the tissues that make up our organs, mucus membranes, and skin. To maintain the integrity of these structures, cells form a network of proteins called the extracellular matrix. When cells that interact with this matrix need to undergo programmed cell death, they can induce anoikis, as the cells detach from the extracellular matrix and induces programmed cell death. Anoikis translates in Greek to the word homelessness.

Unlike normal epithelial cells, cancer cells acquire resistance to anoikis, Bose said. This means that when cancer cells detach from the extracellular matrix, they avoid cell death. These cells are then free to travel through the circulatory and lymphatic systems to cause havoc elsewhere in the body.

Cancer Cells Undergo Cell Death

“We used the antibody to destroy anoikis resistance and the ability of the ‘homeless cancer cells’ to remain alive after detaching from the primary tumor,” she said. “They then undergo cell death and cannot form a secondary tumor after treatment with the antibody.”

Cancer cells take two shapes, one that is more rounded, and one that has extensions that are sticky due to the presence of the tMUC1 protein. The second shape, with its stickiness, allows them to grip onto the surface of tissues and organs, somewhat like suction cups. The study found that the antibody TAB004 attaches to the tMUC1 protein and stops the cells from taking the shape with extensions.

“Cells in their rounded shape are not able to grip anywhere,” Bose said. “After a few days of treatment with the antibody, the extended cells round up and finally die.”

Treatment with the antibody showed significant reduction of tumor growth in mouse models. Besides pancreatic cancer, the antibody can target the tMUC1 protein in breast, ovarian and liver cancer cells.

Other possible applications for this antibody as a therapeutic agent include using it in combination with chemotherapy drugs and and as a targeted agent with nanoparticles.  More pre-clinical studies, including more mouse models, are needed before the research could move to clinical trials, but this study moves the research closer to the goal of clinical trials.

Researcher Seeks To Outwit Cancer

“My hope,” Bose says, “is that we can outsmart cancer and tame it down to a chronic disease. We should be able to extract the fear from people’s minds, that scientists and physicians together have worked to such a degree that people don’t think it’s the end of the world. That is what motivates me.”

After defending her doctoral thesis in June, Bose joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow. While at Charlotte, Bose was awarded the 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Fellowship, as one of ten students selected nationally for this award and the first student to receive it at Charlotte.  

In addition to Bose and Mukherjee, other study authors are Alexa Sanders, Chandrav De, Ru Zhou, Priyanka Lala, Sophia Shwartz, Bhaskar Mitra and Cory Brouwer. 

Through innovative research in computational life sciences and health bioinformatics, UNC Charlotte researchers from diverse fields collaborate to prevent and combat threats to human health, reduce health disparities and increase ecosystem vitality. 

Words: Lynn Roberson | Images: Courtesy of Bose and Adobe Stock

An antibody that was invented at UNC Charlotte could be used to curb pancreatic cancer relapse and metastasis, a new UNC Charlotte study has found.

Pancreatic cancer is particularly cruel  — and deadly. While it is the 10th most common type  of cancer, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the U.S., reflecting its bleak survival rate.

Each November, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month calls attention to this silent killer. The cancer has very few symptoms, especially in early stages, meaning it often spreads and forms additional tumors before it is diagnosed. This year’s Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, out in October, highlights its grim trends.

Yet, there is hope for improved treatment options. UNC Charlotte researchers are among those leading the search for solutions, including the new research by Mukulika Bose ’22 Ph.D. and collaborators, including Bose’s mentor Pinku Mukherjee, published in the journal Translational Research.

Bose’s groundbreaking research studies TAB004, a patented antibody generated by Mukherjee, who is the Irwin Belk Endowed Professor of Cancer Research and a study co-author.

“We believe,” Bose said, “that this antibody could be used to target cancer cells that remain after surgery on solid tumors, to reduce the cells from colonizing to other organs or tissues. If there is a full-blown tumor, this antibody cannot magically make it vanish. But if there are circulating cancer cells that have detached from the parent tumor and are resistant to chemo and radiotherapy, this antibody can stop these cells from forming secondary tumors.”

Research Targets Secondary Tumors

Patients die due to metastatic secondary tumors more than from primary tumors, making the new study highly impactful. The antibody targets a tumor protein called tMUC1 (t muck one) and blocks its cellular signaling that is critical for tumor progression and metastasis.

“This antibody,” Bose said, “is highly effective at specifically targeting the tumor protein but not the protein that is expressed on normal cells. This is the most novel and significant finding, that it can distinguish between the tumor form of the protein and the protein that is expressed on normal cells.”

Surprisingly, Bose found that the antibody TAB004 was not effective in targeting solid tumors. She instead found that this antibody could precisely target single tumor cells that had just detached from their parent tumor.

To understand why this was happening, Bose turned to the cell biology of normal healthy cells. Epithelial cells form the tissues that make up our organs, mucus membranes, and skin. To maintain the integrity of these structures, cells form a network of proteins called the extracellular matrix. When cells that interact with this matrix need to undergo programmed cell death, they can induce anoikis, as the cells detach from the extracellular matrix and induces programmed cell death. Anoikis translates in Greek to the word homelessness.

Unlike normal epithelial cells, cancer cells acquire resistance to anoikis, Bose said. This means that when cancer cells detach from the extracellular matrix, they avoid cell death. These cells are then free to travel through the circulatory and lymphatic systems to cause havoc elsewhere in the body.

Cancer Cells Undergo Cell Death

“We used the antibody to destroy anoikis resistance and the ability of the ‘homeless cancer cells’ to remain alive after detaching from the primary tumor,” she said. “They then undergo cell death and cannot form a secondary tumor after treatment with the antibody.”

Cancer cells take two shapes, one that is more rounded, and one that has extensions that are sticky due to the presence of the tMUC1 protein. The second shape, with its stickiness, allows them to grip onto the surface of tissues and organs, somewhat like suction cups. The study found that the antibody TAB004 attaches to the tMUC1 protein and stops the cells from taking the shape with extensions.

“Cells in their rounded shape are not able to grip anywhere,” Bose said. “After a few days of treatment with the antibody, the extended cells round up and finally die.”

Treatment with the antibody showed significant reduction of tumor growth in mouse models. Besides pancreatic cancer, the antibody can target the tMUC1 protein in breast, ovarian and liver cancer cells.

Other possible applications for this antibody as a therapeutic agent include using it in combination with chemotherapy drugs and and as a targeted agent with nanoparticles.  More pre-clinical studies, including more mouse models, are needed before the research could move to clinical trials, but this study moves the research closer to the goal of clinical trials.

Researcher Seeks To Outwit Cancer

“My hope,” Bose says, “is that we can outsmart cancer and tame it down to a chronic disease. We should be able to extract the fear from people’s minds, that scientists and physicians together have worked to such a degree that people don’t think it’s the end of the world. That is what motivates me.”

After defending her doctoral thesis in June, Bose joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow. While at Charlotte, Bose was awarded the 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Fellowship, as one of ten students selected nationally for this award and the first student to receive it at Charlotte.  

In addition to Bose and Mukherjee, other study authors are Alexa Sanders, Chandrav De, Ru Zhou, Priyanka Lala, Sophia Shwartz, Bhaskar Mitra and Cory Brouwer. 

Through innovative research in computational life sciences and health bioinformatics, UNC Charlotte researchers from diverse fields collaborate to prevent and combat threats to human health, reduce health disparities and increase ecosystem vitality. 

Words: Lynn Roberson | Images: Courtesy of Bose and Adobe Stock