Abstract 1388. Mutations in transcriptional activators of MHC I antigen presentation, NLRC5 and CIITA, are mutually exclusive and have different effects on melanoma gene transcripts.
What are your long-term career objectives?
My current research interests are studying the mechanisms by which tumors evade the immune system and immune-based therapies. After completing my MD/PhD training, I plan to do an internal medicine residency/hematology-oncology fellowship and work toward becoming an independent clinician-investigator. My ultimate goal is to help develop new cancer treatment strategies and to serve patients from disadvantaged communities and backgrounds.
Please share information about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your research over the last two years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted my research focus from wet lab to dry lab work. In order to continue making progress during my PhD, my thesis project shifted to bioinformatics analysis of tumor samples. As someone who had no prior experience in computational research, I had to invest a significant amount of time learning how to work with and analyze whole-exome and RNA-sequencing data.