The GW Cancer Center announced the appointment of Katherine Chiappinelli, PhD, as Deputy Director for Basic Sciences. In this role, Chiappinelli will work with Edward Seto, PhD, associate center director for basic science at the GW Cancer Center, and the King Fahd Professor of Cancer Biology, to manage existing pilot research programs and assist GW Cancer Center faculty to develop novel research programs in cancer.
Chiappinelli, who serves as associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine, will continue her extensive research programs on the epigenetic regulation of immune signaling in cancer. Her work has earned National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grants, as well as the prestigious awards including NIH R37 MERIT award, The Foundation for Women’s Cancer, Department of Defense, and The Marlene and Michael Berman Endowed Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research.
Through her research, Chiappinelli explores how regulation by Transposable Elements (TEs or “jumping genes” for their ability to shift from one location to another in the genome) modulate anti-tumor immunity, and how transposable elements are regulated during cancer progression.
The TEs include the remnants of old viruses that integrated into our genome a long time ago that can move around in our DNA, where they can rewire cancer cells, cause genome instability, and activate innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses.
Her lab has found that by inhibiting the methylation of these old viral TEs in the ovarian cancer cell genome, they look like viruses when they are transcribed. Cells then sense the virus-like RNA and think there’s an infection and activate immune cells to attack the cancer cells.
Chiappinelli has long been a dedicated mentor for graduate students, many of whom have won predoctoral fellowships, as well as undergraduates and even young students. She co-directs several graduate courses in cancer biology and lectures to medical students.
“We are fortunate to have Kate continue her groundbreaking research at SMHS. This represents continued commitment to the faculty researchers who form the backbone of the GW Cancer Center,” says Alison Hall, PhD, senior associate dean for research, and GW Cancer Center interim director.
