Alice Cai
2025 WCHRI Summer Student
Overcoming drug resistance in cervical cancer
Alice Cai’s summer research focused on finding ways to overcome drug resistance in cervical cancer, the fastest-growing cancer in women in Canada.
She studied a cervical cancer cell line that is highly resistant to Myt1 inhibition, a treatment that kills cancer cells by forcing them to divide with damaged DNA. By comparing the gene expression and protein activity of these resistant cells to non-resistant cells, she hoped to identify the specific genes or cellular pathways that are responsible for this resistance.
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“I've gained a lot of inspiration from exchanging ideas about our projects, brainstorming and troubleshooting. Even when our projects are very different, it’s still fascinating to hear about how other students are approaching a problem and learn about new techniques. Alongside knowing the potential impacts of my research, being able to work in this open community fuels me to go to the lab every day.”
Goals:
- Identify the genes and pathways that are overexpressed or suppressed in resistant cervical cancer cells.
- Test if suppressing these genes in the resistant cell line can make the treatment more effective.
- Explore how these findings can be used to personalize cervical cancer therapy.
Potential impact: By identifying the factors that cause drug resistance, this research could lead to more targeted and effective treatments for cervical cancer, improving survival and reducing the risk of relapse.
Supervisor: Gordon Chan, associate professor, Department of Oncology
Funder: Alberta Women’s Health Foundation
Interested in doing research to improve the health of women and/or children? Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers.
