Lab News
Lab members in the news.
Jonathan Haynes Selected as Graduate Mentor for Summer 2025 CREATE Program
Jonathan Haynes was selected as the graduate mentor for undergraduate students in the Summer 2025 CREATE Program. As part of his research, he examined the tumor immune microenvironment in mouse cholangiocarcinoma models with either activated or inactivated NOTCH signaling. Jonathan presented his data at the CREATE program poster session.
Dr. Jinqiu Zhao receives best oral presentation award
Dr. Jinqiu Zhao, a postdoc fellow from the Chen lab presented her work "Distinct molecular pathways regulated by activated AKT and YAP signaling during intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma progression" at the 2025 Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) annual meeting. Her abstract was selected for oral presentation and also received the award for best oral presentation. Congrats to Jinqiu!
Congrats Emily for completing her summer internship in Chen lab!
Emily Phanphongsa is a student from Johns Hopkins University. She was a CREATE intern who worked in our lab in Summer 2024. With the help from many lab members, Emily completed several experiments including molecular cloning, virus production and cell cultures. Emily presented her research at the CREATE poster session.
Read more about the UH Cancer Center CREATE Program
Congrats Royce for completing his summer internship in Chen lab!
Royce Ilaga is a student from USC. He was a summer CREATE intern who worked in our lab. Under the guidance of Drs Green and Wang, Royce completed several experiments from molecular cloning to immunoprofiling. Royce presented his research at the CREATE poster session.
Read more about the UH Cancer Center CREATE Program
UH Cancer Center developing new vaccines to treat aggressive liver cancer
Congratulations to Ben and other former Chen lab members for the recent publication about liver cancer immunotherapy at JCI!
--Xin Chen
Liver cancer is the fourth deadliest cancer in Hawaiʻi, particularly affecting Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese men. Currently, immunotherapy, a treatment that uses a person's immune system to fight cancer, is the standard of care for liver cancer patients. However, it is not a cure for liver cancer, as many patients continue to relapse or have minimal effects after receiving treatment.
Interview on KITV News
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Congratulations, Ben for getting the fellowship from Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation
Kathleen & Paul Sidenblad Research Fellowship:
Benjamin Green, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
A peptide vaccine targeting WT1 for immunotherapy against intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Supported by Kathleen and Paul Sidenblad, the Kathleen and Paul Sidenblad research fellowship grant is being awarded to Benjamin Green from University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center. Benjamin will be investigating a peptide vaccine targeting WT1 for immunotherapy against intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
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