1. Which projects are you working on?

I have been working on several projects at the interface of translational and precision oncology of targeted therapeutics in lung cancer. These include:

· AUPROS: I contributed to developing the conceptual framework for Adaptive Universal Principles for Real-world Observational Studies (AUPROS), a set of guiding principles for conducting innovative real-world observational research to address emerging questions in precision oncology and clinico-epidemiological research. This work resulted in a perspective article in the British Journal of Cancer.

· CARMA: As a member of CARMA network, I participated in collaborations with other Canadian cancer centres and industry partners to generate real-world evidence on treatment patterns and predictors of response to targeted therapeutics in oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including KRAS-, EGFR-, ALK-, and HER2-positive NSCLC. This work has led to multiple publications in journals such as Lung Cancer, and Clinical Lung Cancer.

· Translational oncology projects: I am also working on the preclinical evaluation of investigational agents (e.g., RAD51 inhibitors), and on elucidating mechanisms of resistance/sensitivity to recently approved targeted therapeutics (e.g., small-molecule HER2 inhibitors), as well as established agents (e.g., EGFR inhibitors) in NSCLC. In this work, we use data from patient-derived models and real-world clinical data to identify determinants of response to targeted therapy.

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2. Why did you choose to work in this lab?

I have always been interested in research focused on cancer pharmacology and aspired to gain expertise across the full continuum of cancer therapeutics using different approaches. During my predoctoral training, I developed expertise in studying mechanisms of resistance to established chemotherapies such as carboplatin, as well as in the preclinical evaluation of an investigational agent targeting ubiquitin activation using cancer biology and translational pharmacology approaches. I subsequently pursued a first postdoctoral fellowship at the Structural Genomics Consortium, where I gained further experience in early drug discovery and chemical biology, working with epigenetic and ubiquitylation chemical probes and an emerging class of therapeutics known as targeted protein degraders. As I recognized the need to expand my training to oncogene-directed targeted therapies, a major therapeutic class in oncology, I sought an environment that would allow me to build this expertise. Non-small cell lung cancer, with its rapidly evolving landscape of targeted treatments, offered an ideal setting to bridge this gap. I had known Dr. Liu since 2016, when he taught an oncology course at the Department of Medical Biophysics and subsequently through a collaboration on a lung cancer project, and I was particularly drawn to his work on targeted therapeutics and cancer pharmacogenomics. Importantly, the partnership between Dr. Liu’s group and Dr. Ming Tsao’s group created a unique niche at the interface of translational and precision oncology, with access to patient-derived models and real-world clinical data at Princess Margaret and other centres through the CARMA network.

 

3. What attracted you to oncology?

When I began my research career in Egypt as a pharmacologist, I was drawn to active areas with significant unmet needs and interesting scientific problems to solve. I found myself choosing between infectiology, particularly virology, and oncology. Both shared a common theme of therapeutics classically known in textbooks as chemotherapeutics, since these drugs are primarily designed to eliminate cells or organisms rather than modulating their activity as is often the case in other diseases. A major difference, however, was whether the target is a foreign organism or our own cells that have gone awry. I was especially intrigued by the challenge of targeting abnormal human cancer cells while preserving normal tissue. Ultimately, I decided to pursue oncology, driven by the highly dynamic biological and therapeutic landscape of the field, the dismal outcomes and large number of patients impacted by cancer, and the inspiration and guidance of a mentor who supported me in this direction. Although I began my research in breast cancer, then shifted to ovarian cancer, later to leukemia, and currently work in lung cancer with exposure to additional tumor models, I have remained committed to cancer pharmacology and therapeutics throughout my career.

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4. What are you planning on doing in the future?

I plan to pursue research in translational cancer therapeutics and precision oncology. Specifically, I am interested in integrating genomic, epigenomic, proteomic, and translational pharmacology approaches to interrogate post-translational modifications and kinase signaling networks as therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer. This work will focus on ubiquitylation/epigenetic modulators, including targeted protein degraders, and small-molecule oncogene-directed therapies in lung and other malignancies using both preclinical models and real-world clinical data. Ultimately, I hope to actively contribute to the development and delivery of transformative oncology medicines for patients within academia and/or pharmaceutical industry.

 

5. How has your experience been with COMBIEL?

A major factor that attracted me to Dr. Liu’s group is the excellent interdisciplinary training environment and mentoring offered through the Cancer Outcomes Medicine Biostatistics Informatics Epidemiology Laboratory (COMBIEL) program. By bringing together undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students/trainees across translational, clinical, and data science disciplines, COMBIEL provides a unique and supportive training experience in oncology. Based on the intellectually stimulating discussions, social interactions, and the diverse successful career paths of COMBIEL members, I believe this program provides a unique training model that offers exceptional opportunities for students and trainees from cancer centres and educational institutions across Ontario and through global exchange programs, with a lasting positive impact on their careers in research, clinical practice, industry, and government.