Vakoc Lab
Principal Investigator: Christopher Vakoc
Institution: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, TN)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY Human cancers can be classified according to their cellular lineage, which is often defined by the presence of master regulator transcription factors. In several clinical contexts, opportunities exist to target master regulators as a therapeutic strategy (e.g. antagonists of the Androgen Receptor or degraders of Ikaros/Aiolos). However, scenarios also exist in which the aberrant expression of a master regulator can promote lineage plasticity, which can allow tumor cells to evade targeted therapies. These clinical observations highlight the importance of investigating the biology and mechanisms of lineage master regulators in oncology. Our lab recently reported the existence of a tuft cell-like lineage of human carcinoma, which is a tumor defined by the expression of POU2F3. We described tuft cell-like carcinomas as a non-neuroendocrine form of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), however subsequent studies have shown that POU2F3+ carcinomas exist in several other organs as well. In this research proposal, we seek to define the unique biology and molecular mechanisms that distinguish POU2F3+ carcinomas from other forms of human cancer, with a long-term objective of advanci…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01CA290004-03: Biology and vulnerabilities of POU2F3+ tuft cell-like carcinomas (2026)
- 5P01CA013106-54: Project 1: Targeting Oncogenic Transcription Factors (2026)
- 5P01CA013106-54: Core A: Administration (2026)
- 7R01CA281106-04: Elucidating the SCP4 pathway as a multi-catalytic signaling dependency in acute myeloid leukemia (2026)
- 7R01CA229699-08: Targeting aberrant enhancer landscapes in pancreatic cancer (2026)
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