The AACR-Exelixis Renal Cell Carcinoma Research Fellowship represents a joint effort to encourage and support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct renal cell carcinoma research and to establish a successful career path. 

2022 Grantee

Research  

Accounting for 85% of renal cancers, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a lethal disease. JMJD6 has been identified to play critical roles in ccRCC tumorigenesis.  JMJD6 interacts with RBM39 and co-occupies the DGAT1 gene promoter, consequently inducing DGAT1 expression. Depletion of JMJD6 or DGAT1 has been found to inhibit ccRCC tumorigenesis. However, the efficacy of DGAT1 inhibitor has been limited to preclinical ccRCC models. RBM39 is an emerging cancer target; its protein degrader indisulam has good inhibitory effects on multiple cancers. However, the role of RBM39 in ccRCC tumorigenesis is unknown. Dr. Zhou aims to clarify the mechanism of RBM39-mediated regulation of DGAT1 expression, and to explore whether RBM39 degrader indisulam alone or in combination with a DGAT1 inhibitor can be effective against kidney cancer. 

Biography    

Dr. Zhou completed her doctoral degree at the School of Basic Medical Sciences in Wuhan University, China, where she studied the relationship between intrauterine growth retardation and prenatal xenobiotics exposure. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX. She is focused on parsing critical genes causing tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis in kidney cancer and exploring new therapeutic strategies.

Acknowledgment of Support 

It is a great honor to be awarded with this AACR fellowship. As a postdoctoral fellow, I think this experience will lay a good foundation for my independent research in the future, and I will cherish this opportunity, to try my best to achieve my research goal.