Dr. Guangfu Li was trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center with Drs. Kevin F. Staveley-O’Carroll, David X. Liu, and Channe Gowda. His research has focused on cancer biology, cancer immunology, and clinically available therapeutic strategies for cancer. Using a cyclic amplification and selection of targets (CASTing) approach, online Transcription Element Search System (TESS), double immunoprecipitation (IP), and mass spectrometry, Dr. Li and his colleagues investigated role of activating transcriptional factor 5 (ATF5) in regulating cell growth and promoting cancer cell-specific survival. The studies identified ATF5 downstream targets, ATF5-interacting partner proteins, and role of ATF5 in the interaction between mother centriole and pericentriolar material (PCM).Using immunocompetent mice, Dr. Li and his colleagues establishedclinically relevant murine model for different cancers including hepatocellular cancer and pancreatic cancer. Using these models, theyhave explored different ways to overcome tumor-induced immunotolerance and develop immune-basedcombinational therapies to eliminate the established tumors. In addition, his team uses different technologies to detect the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients toward development of effective strategies against tumor metastasis.

Tumor-inducedimmunotolerance; Immune-based therapeutic strategies against cancer; animal models of cancer; Circulating tumor cells (CTCs); Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)