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Kwong Laboratory

Lawrence Kwong, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Areas of Research

Melanoma
Bile Duct Cancer
Gene Expression
Genomics
Colorectal Cancer
Chromatin Remodelers

The Kwong Laboratory is focused on generating novel therapies for cholangiocarcinoma, melanoma and colorectal cancer by uniting human sample analyses with mouse models and bioinformatics to model targetable networks for combination therapy. Our laboratory is highly translational in nature with an emphasis on in vivo drug efficacy, with the immediate goal of improving drug regimens for clinical use and the ultimate goal of extending patient survival.

The Kwong Laboratory has experience in:

drug resistance studies using human samples and mouse models to triangulate novel mechanistic insights
identifying novel therapies as both frontline and counter-resistance therapies
performing functional studies to validate drug targets and identify new oncogenes and tumor suppressors
conducting bioinformatics and developing new approaches to both large-scale data and to targeted translational projects
leading and participating in large-scale consortia
collaborating across institutions, with clinicians, basic scientists, and bioinformaticians
conducting genetic and drug screens

Our current interests include identifying and overcoming drug resistance, both in clinical samples and model systems, and identifying new drug targets based on new molecular insights. Currently, we are collaborating with clinicians within MD Anderson to:

sequence patient samples before and after drug resistance
identify the responsible mutations
identify therapies to counteract the resistance pathways

We have published on diverse topics including S6K as a resistance node in melanoma (Cancer Discovery, 2018), microparticle-delivered CXCL9 as a promising immune therapy (Cancer Immunology Research, 2023), immunogenomic analyses of cholangiocarcinoma patient samples (Hepatology, 2022) and novel bioinformatics approaches to transcriptomics (Cancers, 2024).

Current major focuses of our lab include examination of lineage plasticity as a major cancer component in drug resistance and tumor aggressiveness, which we are seeking to subvert by exploiting the plasticity for therapeutic efficacy. We also conduct extensive patient sample RNA, DNA, epigenetics and protein analyses for biliary tract cancers; build new mouse models of cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder adenocarcinoma; and explore immunotherapy combinations with targeted therapies.

Learn more about our current research projects

Join Our Lab

Our laboratory is open to graduate students with a specific interest in gene expression and with a bioinformatics background. Please refer to the research page for more information about projects of interest and contact us for more information.