AACR-QuadW Foundation Fellowship for Clinical/Translational Sarcoma Research

The AACR-QuadW Foundation Fellowship for Clinical/Translational Sarcoma Research represents a joint effort to encourage and support a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow to work on mentored sarcoma research and to establish a successful career path in this field. Funded research may be translational or clinical in nature.

2023 grantee

Tiffany C. Eng, PhD

Tiffany C. Eng, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Identifying drivers of elevated clonality and relapse in rhabdomyosarcoma

Research

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common soft-tissue sarcoma of childhood, is comprised of two major subtypes: fusion-positive RMS containing PAX3/7-FOXO1 translocations and fusion-negative RMS characterized by RAS pathway activation. Survival rates of patients with refractory or relapsed disease drop to < 20%, with little improvement seen in treatment options in the past four decades. Cancer stem cells, drivers of relapsed/refractory cancers, have been recently identified in fusion-negative RMS. Dr. Eng aims to characterize the mechanisms by which specific transcription factors regulate human fusion-negative RMS growth and cancer stem cell function. This may lead to novel therapeutic targets to prevent relapse in RMS patients.

Biography

Dr. Eng completed her doctoral degree in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her work was focused on elucidating the developmental origins of lymphatic vessels, understanding the mechanisms regulating lymphangiogenesis, and developing novel antilymphangiogenic therapies to prevent lymphatic spread of tumor cells. She is currently continuing her training in cancer biology as a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Acknowledgement of Support

“My goal is to become an independent pediatric cancer biologist who specializes in uncovering novel therapeutic targets for curing children with sarcoma. The support gained from this fellowship is an important and invaluable contribution to my ongoing development as a researcher and assists with my transition into an independent investigator.”