Khaled Hassan, MD

My main research interest is studying lung cancer development and progression as well as mechanisms of resistance to its treatment. One aspect of my laboratory research is interrogating the cancer stem cells theory in lung cancer. We have established the role of Notch activity in enriching a lung cancer stem cell population and inferring resistance to standard chemotherapy. The other major focus is understanding mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapy. Specifically, the development of resistant mutations to EGFR TKI agents. Our findings suggest that these mutation are not preexisting but rather actively acquired after exposure to EGFR TKIs. We delineated the mechanism underlying this process, showing that AICDA is activated through NFaB pathway causing cytosine deamination-based mutations. We are currently exploring the role of AICDA in resistance to new generation EGFR TKIs as well as other targeted inhibitors. Furthermore, we are working on developing AICDA inhibitors and assessing combination regimens to overcome EGFR resistance with the aim to translate our findings into clinical trials.