Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among women in the US, mainly due to the metastatic recurrence. While advancements in research and medicine have largely improved the five-year survival of breast cancer patients, the treatment of recurrent breast cancer still remains a challenge. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify druggable targets to prevent the development of breast cancer to a metastatic stage.

Obesity and high cholesterol are risk factors for breast cancer, but the exact mechanism of cholesterol-mediated breast cancer metastasis is unclear. A study published in Science indicated the importance of a cholesterol metabolite, 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), in linking cholesterol and breast cancer. Thus, the focus of my study is to provide the mechanistic insight to 27HC-driven breast cancer progression.

Published Works

27-Hydroxycholesterol acts on myeloid immune cells to induce T cell dysfunction, promoting breast cancer progression

A recent update on how oxysterols (cholesterol metabolites) participate in disease and signaling through nuclear receptors

Host CYP27A1 expression is essential for ovarian cancer progression