2020-2021 Research Fellows

2020-2021 Lung Cancer Research Fellows 

Shetal Patel, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Project: “Combination Strategies Targeting Myeloid Cells in Squamous Lung Cancer.” 

Dr. Patel will seek to understand the role of innate immune checkpoints in lung cancer treatment response.

Anna Ivanina, PhD, Levine Cancer Institute

Project: “Using Phosphodiestase Isoenzymes Inhibitors to Enhance Pemetrexed Activity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.” 

Dr. Ivanina will repurpose existing drugs targeting metabolic pathways to enhance the potency of a chemotherapeutic drug that is currently used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

Janardhana Ponnatapura, MD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Project: “Immunotherapy Induced Pneumonitis in Lung Cancer Patients: Role Of Imaging To Predict Long Term Outcomes.” 

Dr. Ponnatapura will study lung cancer patients who experience immunotherapy related pneumonitis and classify them into different subsets based on computed tomography (CT) findings.

Carolyn Glass, MD, PhD, Duke University Medical Center

Project: “Identifying Epigenetic Biomarkers that Predict Response to Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer Patients.” 

Dr. Glass will work to identify specific molecular epigenetic biomarkers that may be able to predict who and who does not respond to immunotherapy.

Suneetha Amara, MD, East Carolina University

Project: “Analyzing the Role of GPR4 in Immune Mediated Adverse Events in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.”

Dr. Amara will study GPR4 as a biomarker to improve immunotherapy for lung cancer patients.