2011 Free to Breathe Young Investigator Research Grant
Puneeth Iyengar, MD, PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Research Project:
Inflammation and Lung Cancer
Summary:
During cancer development, our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation that may drive tumor progression and inherent resistance to one of the main-stays in lung cancer treatment: radiation therapy. Dr. Iyengar is interested in identifying how proteins involved in the inflammatory process help lung cancer cells survive and how blocking the action of these proteins may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy. It is hoped that this knowledge will ultimately improve survival for lung cancer patients.