Mentor Areas
The broad goal of my research program is to improve cure rates for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma (NB) by discovering the genetic basis of the disease and translating rationale therapeutic opportunities that are more effective and less toxic to the clinic. As a tenured physician scientist who has unwaveringly focused on this disease, one unique aspect of my work is the translational nature that seamlessly straddles the laboratory and the clinic. Our seminal discovery of the familial NB susceptibility gene ALK was immediately applied to a new test for genetic susceptibility now used by clinicians worldwide. In collaboration with the Children’s Oncology Group, I have led a large molecularly driven phase 1/2 trial of the ALK inhibitor, crizotinib. I have directed the efforts to develop the portfolio of nonclinical and clinical data required to obtain FDA breakthrough designation of this very first ALK inhibitor for children with relapsed Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (May 2018). Our discovery that activating mutations in the ALK oncogene are the major cause of hereditary NB, and that somatically acquired mutations and amplification events often drive the malignant process in a subset of sporadic tumors, has positioned ALK as the major tractable oncogene product for targeted therapy in newly diagnosed NB patients. ALK inhibition therapy has now moved upfront in the currently enrolling COG Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with newly diagnosed high-risk neuroblastoma (ANBL1531). In parallel, my lab is developing newer and more precise strategies for targeting ALK as we learn from our patients about de novo and acquired resistance, including the development of immunotherapeutic strategies to target cell surface ALK, which is expressed on NBs and other childhood and adult cancers. This provides the impetus for the long-term goal of my research program to develop novel therapeutic strategies aimed at effectively inhibiting ALK-mediated signaling in neuroblastoma and other ALK-driven or ALK-expressing childhood cancers. The motivation is the urgent need to improve high-risk neuroblastoma survival rates and decrease treatment-related morbidities.
Description:
Check out this URL to learn more: https://www.chop.edu/cccr/labs/yael-mosse-laboratory
Preferred Qualifications
enthusiasm and passion for science and learning
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.