InSug O-Sullivan, PhD

Dr. InSug O-Sullivan developed metastasis inhibitors that mimic carbohydrate structures of the cancer cell surface to interfere in metastatic process. She constructed an expression vector for SA-LeA using alpha 1, 3/4 fucosyltransferase (FTIII) that can be stably transfected onto highly metastatic cell lines (eg. B16F10/FTIII) making them far more metastatic by expressing SA-LeA and SA-LeX. Next, she worked on pre-clinical cancer immunotherapy targeting breast cancer, squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck (SCCHN), prostate cancer and their metastasized forms in the brain. Tumor associated antigens (TAA) were introduced to express in plasmid DNA, viral vectors, dendritic cells or modified fibroblasts to elicit T-cell mediated cyto-toxicity. She identified TRP-2, Cyp2e1 and GRB10 as potential TAAs displaying remarkable anti-tumor immunity without auto-immunity or side effects. Recently, she has been working on FoxO transcription factors and their roles in insulin resistant setting. Cancer metabolism, aging related metabolic disorders leading insulin resistance and cancer, and their preliminary data with older LIRKO mice developing hepatic tumor, trigger her to investigate the role of metabolic disorders and insulin resistance in cancer.