Shao-Hsi (Paul) Hung obtained his B.S. in Animal Sciences from National Taiwan University (NTU) in 2017. Throughout his undergraduate studies, he served as a research assistant at Academia Sinica where he was mentored Dr. Han-Chung Wu. His involvement encompassed multiple projects, including the investigation of EpCAM signaling's impact on the progression of colon cancer, as well as the utilization of phage-display techniques to identify therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting EpCAM. Paul joined the MD Anderson UTHealth GSBS Ph.D. program in Fall 2019 and initiated his thesis research, guided by the mentorship of Dr. Cassian Yee.   

Paul’s Research Interests:
My research focuses on a) identifying immunogenic peptide epitopes and generates corresponding antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells against various cancer types; b) dissecting tumor-intrinsic immune resistance regulators by utilizing in vivo CRIPSR-KO screen.  

Spencer earned his B.A. with highest honors in Chemical Biology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 2019. As an undergraduate, Spencer studied the P53 family of proteins in the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in the laboratory of Dr. Jennifer Pietenpol. His work focused on the impact of mutant P53 on genomic instability, aneuploidy, and exosomal biology, for which he completed an undergraduate honors thesis with highest honors. Since matriculating into the GSBS in Fall 2019, Spencer has earned multiple research awards including the Dean’s Excellence Scholarship (2019-2021), the Andrew Sowell-Wade Huggins Scholarship in Cancer Research (2022), and the TL1 translational research fellowship (2021-2023).

Spencer’s Research Interests:
In the Curran lab, Spencer studies synergy between cGAS-STING pathway activation and therapeutic phagocytosis enhancement to reverse glioblastoma tumor-immune privilege and prime adaptive anti-glioma CD8 T cell responses.

Kaylene earned her B.S. in Biology with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. As an undergraduate, Kaylene dissected the mechanisms of novel EGFR protein degraders and evaluated their efficacy for the treatment of lung cancer in the lab of Dr. Yue Xiong at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her significant contributions led to the publication of two articles in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Kaylene matriculated into MD Anderson UTHealth Houston GSBS in 2021. She is currently pursuing her PhD in the Cancer Biology Program under the mentorship of Dr. Jian Hu. Her research is supported by the American Legion Auxiliary Fellowship in Cancer Research, Pauline Altman-Goldstein Discovery Fellowship, and the Dr. John J. Kopchick Fellowship.

Kaylene’s Research Interests
Kaylene’s research in the Hu Lab focuses on delineating mechanisms underlying dysregulated lipid metabolism and genome instability in glioblastoma for the identification of novel therapeutic strategies.
 

Haoyi earned her Biochemistry (BS Honors) and French minor from The University of Texas at Austin in 2020. In UT Austin, Haoyi started her research career by joining the Virtual Drug Screening stream of the Freshman Research Initiative program. In the program, she learned basic experimental design, in vitro molecular biology techniques, and in silico drug screening using GOLD/ICM. Haoyi then mentored new students in the program before starting her position as an undergraduate research assistant at Dr. Yan Zhang’s lab. In the lab, Haoyi worked on elucidating the binding mechanisms of a covalent inhibitor of a CTD phosphatase as a potential glioblastoma treatment. In the summer of 2019, Haoyi worked in Dr. David Tweardy’s laboratory as part of the CPRIT-CURE Summer Undergraduate Program. In Dr. Tweardy’s lab, Haoyi helped determine the binding-specificity of a STAT3 inhibitor. This summer experience helped Haoyi identify her interest in cancer research. Haoyi immediately transitioned into PhD studies after her undergraduate education. Haoyi is now a part of the Immunology Program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. 

Haoyi’s Research Interests:
In the Gibbons Lab, Haoyi works on identifying novel mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in non-small cell lung cancer for therapeutic targeting.   

Er-Yen (Nick) received his B.S. in Life Science from National Taiwan University. He later furthered his education with a Master’s degree in Anatomy and Cell Biology at National Taiwan University. Under the mentorship of Dr. I-Rue Lai, a physician scientist specializing in gastrointestinal oncology, Nick’s thesis project examined the roles of gastric cancer-derived exosomes in establishing a pre-metastatic niche in the peripheral lymph node. After graduation, Nick worked as a research assistant specializing in imaging analysis in Dr. Feng-Chiao Tsai’s lab. Under the supervision of Dr. Guilio Draetta and Dr. Andrea Viale, Nick’s work has been awarded the Rosalie B. Hite Fellowship (2021) as well as the Andrew Sowell-Wade Huggins Scholarships in Cancer Research (2019). 

Er-Yen's Research Interests:                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
My research focuses on spatial heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer and characterizing interaction between subclones and their surrounding microenvironment as an approach of identifying potential therapeutic target.

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