Lawrence Pfeffer, PhD, University of Tennessee
Dr. Pfeffer researches an anticancer drug called interferon, which is an important component of the host response to various insults. By understanding the way this compound works at the cellular and molecular level, he may be able to identify new strategies to enhance the drug''s effectiveness and/or diminishing undesirable side effects. He is also interested in identifying the role of cancer stem-like cells in the therapeutic resistance of cancer. His focus is on treating brain cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma. A specific area of interest is the signal transduction pathways involving two transcription factors, STAT3 and NF-kB, and their role in the induction of interferon-induced protein encoding genes (ISGs) and small nonencoding genes (micro RNAs), and the role of these genes in cancer.
Part of The Investigator's Annexe program.
Products
References
- Yang CH, Yue J, Fan M & Pfeffer LM. Interferon induces miR-21 through a STAT3-dependent pathway as a suppressive negative feedback on interferon-induced apoptosis. Can. Res., 70:8108-8116 (2010).
