Katherine is a current MS4 in the OHSU MSTP whose long-term goal is to become a physician-scientist in the field of pediatric oncology. Her research prior to medical school included exploring the molecular underpinnings of pituitary tumorigenesis and elucidating the role of NF-kB signaling in bronchopulmonary dysplasia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. As a graduate student in the lab of Daniel L. Marks, she took an interest in the intersection of tumor response, immunology, and systemic physiology in the context of pancreatic cancer. During this time, she established a high fidelity mouse model of pancreatic cancer cachexia (Michaelis et al, JCSM 2017). Next, she employed mouse models to determine whether the immune- enhancing agent R848, an agonist of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), could be delivered in a manner to overcome sickness responses and allow safe therapeutic use (Michaelis et al, BBI 2019). Finally, she applied the optimized R848 dosing strategy to the mouse model of PDAC and cancer-associated cachexia, which revealed beneficial effects on both tumor response and cachexia status (Michaelis et al, Nature Communications 2019). 

In addition to her future goal of exploring novel therapeutic modalities for pediatric malignancies, Katherine is passionate about childhood cancer survivorship issues including late effects of treatment, cardiovascular health, and cognition.

Dissertation Title: Toll-like Receptor 7 as a Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma and Cancer-Associated Cachexia