SUMMARY
Andrea E. Wahner Hendrickson, M.D., is a clinician-investigator with an interest in developing and testing new treatments for cancer. She evaluates novel therapeutics that target signal transduction in malignancies; studies mechanisms of resistance to novel agents that prevent, inhibit or halt the development of tumors (anti-neoplastic agents); and works to assess the effects of novel anti-neoplastic agents on their intended targets in phase I clinical trials.
Dr. Wahner Hendrickson also has a specific interest in the pharmacogenomics of platinum-taxane chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. As part of the Mayo Clinic Phase I group and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Mayo Clinic Ovarian Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant, she is in the process of developing a preclinical, translational laboratory program specifically devoted to ovarian cancer, with the goal of streamlining the development of novel agents to benefit patients with cancer.
Focus areas
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Poly(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and ovarian cancer. Dr. Wahner Hendrickson is the principal investigator in a National Cancer Institute-funded study to evaluate how DNA repair pathways respond to inhibition of the PARP enzyme in patients with epithelial ovarian, primary peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer. Her research is based on preclinical data generated in the laboratory of Larry M. Karnitz, Ph.D.
Additionally, Dr. Wahner Hendrickson is working with Anil K. Sood, M.D., on a phase II study of the combination of gemcitabine with a Wee 1 inhibitor. With her mentor, Scott H. Kaufmann, M.D., Ph.D., she is also interested in evaluating the role of nonhomologous end-joining proteins (NHEJ) as potential determinants of response to platinum therapy and PARP inhibitors.
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Genomics and identification of factors associated with chemotherapy-induced nerve damage. Dr. Wahner Hendrickson is involved in two studies related to the use of genomics and identification of inherited pharmacogenomic factors associated with response to platinum-taxane chemotherapy and a specific type of nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy).
Sean C. Dowdy, M.D., and Dr. Wahner Hendrickson are co-investigators in a study evaluating genomic differences in tumors that recur shortly after optimal first line therapy versus those tumors that do not recur within 36 months.
Additionally, in collaboration with Lynn C. Hartmann, M.D., Ellen L. Goode, Ph.D., and Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., Dr. Wahner Hendrickson is working to evaluate and validate the association between inherited variation throughout the genome and time to progression as well as grade of peripheral neuropathy among over 5,000 epithelial ovarian cancer patients.
Significance to patient care
The long-term goal of Dr. Wahner Hendrickson's research is to identify new targets for novel anti-cancer therapeutics.
Professional highlights
- Paul Calabresi Program Career Development Award for Clinical Oncology, NIH, 2012-present
- Mayo Clinic Ovarian SPORE Career Development Award, NIH, 2011-2013
- Outstanding Medical Oncology Fellow Award, Mayo Clinic, 2012
- Clinician-investigator, General Mills Foundation, 2008