Karen Lounsbury, PhD
University of Vermont and State Agricultural College
Protein Translation Regulators and the Ovarian Cancer Microenvironment
The Lounsbury/Francklyn labs have discovered a role for the enzyme threonyl tRNA synthetase (TARS) in promoting blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) in ovarian cancer. These studies led to the characterization of a selective TARS inhibitor that reduces angiogenesis in a living system. Dr. Lounsbury’s project is a pre-clinical study to determine the impact that TARS inhibition has on an animal model of ovarian cancer. Furthermore, this study will determine if TARS levels are elevated in blood samples from patients with ovarian cancer. The results of this study may thus identify a new target for both treatment and diagnosis of ovarian cancer.