Geraldine Raja

The advances in therapeutic agents have rendered most cancers curable, especially when diagnosed in the early stages. However, despite the advent of targeted therapies and immunotherapy, cancer metastasis and recurrence still pose unsurmountable challenges leading to patient fatality. The main goal of my research is to identify and target novel molecules induced by different modalities of cancer therapeutics both on the cancer cells and in the tumor microenvironment in order to completely eradicate recalcitrant tumors. In line with this, the current focal points of my research are 2 unique molecules that are specifically upregulated and translocated to the cancer cell surface in response to radiation. Research efforts are currently ongoing to identify the mechanisms underlying the upregulation of molecules on cancers cells, its implications on shaping the tumor and its microenvironment and finally developing innovative means of targeting these molecules, including antibody drug conjugates, PROTAC, radiolabeled antibodies, etc. Additionally, my research also leans towards scrutinizing tumor-immune interactions that enable the tumor cells to evade and inhibit anti-tumor immune response and its fall-out on the curative effects of immunotherapy. Employing cellular, molecular and immunological assays, the interactions between cancer and immune cells and the resultant effect on proliferation and function of both the cancer and immune cells are interrogated. Furthermore, these studies aim to unravel the mechanism driving immunotherapy resistance and provide insights into devising means of overcoming thus acquired therapy resistance.