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Julie L. Boerner, Ph.D. |
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Research Interests:
- Characterizing the role of c-Met in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in breast cancer.
- Determining the role of Src family kinases in triple-negative breast cancer.
- Identifying synergistic drug combinations for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers.
My laboratory is interesting in identifying targets for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers. Triple-negative breast cancers do not express estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or HER2 and therefore do not respond to anti-estrogen or anti-HER2 therapy. One molecule these breast cancer express is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); however, breast cancers do not clinically respond to EGFR inhibitors. Subsequently, we are studying the mechanisms of resistance to EGFR inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancers. We have found several molecules (Met and c-Src) that crosstalk with EGFR to promote resistance to EGFR inhibitors in cell culture models. Our goals are to characterize the EGFR/Met and EGFR/Src interactions as well as identify other targets and combinations for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
Lab members:
Kelly Mueller, Research Assistant and Lab Manager
Julie Madden, Graduate Student
Mary Irwin, Former Graduate Student (at MD Anderson for her post-doctoral fellowship)
Recent publications:
Mueller, KL, Hunter, LM, Ethier, SP, Boerner, JL (2008) Met and c-Src cooperate for loss of EGFR kinase activity in breast cancer cells. Cancer Research 68(9): 3314-3322.
Demory, ML, Boerner, JL, Davidson, R, Faust, W, Miyake, T, Lee, I, Huttemann, M, Douglas, R, Haddad, G, and Parsons, SJ (2009) Epidermal growth factor receptor translocation to the mitochondria. Journal of Biological Chemistry 284: 6592-36604.
Mueller KL, Yang ZQ, Haddad R, Ethier SP, Boerner JL (2010) EGFR/Met association regulates EGFR TKI resistance in breast cancer. J Mol Signal 5(8) PMID: 20624308
Irwin ME, Boerner JL. (2011) Lipid raft localization of EGFR alters the response of cancer cells to the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib. J Cell Physiol. 2011 Sep;226(9):2316-28
Bergum C, Zoratti G, Boerner J, List K (2011) Strong expression association between matriptase and its substrate prostasin in breast cancer. J Cell Physiol. Jun 15. doi: 0.1002/jcp.22877.
Irwin ME, Bohin N, Boerner J (2011). Src family kinases mediate epidermal growth factor receptors signaling from lipid rafts in breast cancer cells. Cancer Biology & Therapy 12: in press.
Education and Training:BS in Molecular Biology (1993): University of Wisconsin
MS in Endocrinology Reproductive-Physiology (1996): University of Wisconsin
PhD Tumor Biology (2000): Mayo Clinic
University of Virginia, post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Sarah Parsons
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