Jian Yuan, Ph.D.
Mayo Clinic location: Rochester, Minnesota
Research topic or interests: Response to chemotherapy in ovarian cancer and the DNA damage-response mechanisms
Why did you choose research as a career?
Research is interesting and full of challenges. I like puzzles. To me, research is the ultimate puzzle. It's exciting when the puzzle pieces come together.
What type of research are you doing?
My research is focused on the regulation of the DNA damage response in formation of a tumor and chemotherapy response in ovarian cancer. One of the most important issues in ovarian cancer is chemo-resistance, of which increased DNA repair is a potential mechanism.
My research investigates how DNA is repaired (mechanistic research) as well as how that knowledge affects treatment options (translational studies). My effort targets the DNA repair pathway to overcome chemo-resistance in ovarian cancer.
How does the Center for Biomedical Discovery fuel your research?
With the support of the Career Development Award, I plan to focus on studying the molecular mechanisms of chemo-resistance in ovarian cancer. I will collaborate with clinical investigators at Mayo Clinic to advance research on USP13 inhibitor/PARP inhibitor combined treatment into clinical trials, with a goal of helping improve future treatment options for patients with ovarian cancer.
How do you hope your research will advance our understanding of disease?
Through my mechanistic and translational studies in DNA damage response and ovarian cancer, I hope to clarify a new therapeutic strategy to help overcome chemo-resistance in these patients and eventually contribute to improving the health of women affected by ovarian cancer.