Stritch recognizes research excellence with Jr. and Sr. Scientist awards
Stritch recognizes research excellence with Jr. and Sr. Scientist awards
Sean Fanning, PhD, Toni Pak, PhD
Stritch honors Toni Pak with 2023 Senior Scientist of the Year Award
“Be curious, ask questions, and read a lot!”
Toni Pak, PhD, joined Loyola in 2007 and is the James R. DePauw professor and Chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology.
Pak trained as a molecular neuroendocrinolgist and has devoted her career to understanding how fundamental molecular signaling pathways change across the normal lifespan and in the context of various diseases. Her research in nuclear steroid receptor-mediated gene expression uses both targeted and discovery-based mass spectrometry approaches. In addition, she is an expert in RNA biology with a primary focus on non-coding RNAs and their regulation across the lifespan. Several National Institutes of Health-funded research projects are underway in the Pak Lab. In one project, Pak and her team hypothesize that there is an age-related switch in estrogen receptor signaling that predisposes women to Alzheimer's Disease.
Pak is very passionate about leading her newest initiative, the Center for Healthy Aging and Resilience Mechanisms (CHARM). Her proven leadership capabilities in collaborative research across multiple scientific disciplines promise to foster an innovative and excellent future for CHARM.
Throughout her life, Pak has loved science. She considers it very exciting to be at the forefront of discovering new knowledge and is privileged to have a career as a scientist. An influential woman in science, Pak finds her inspiration from women who have gone before her, including Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, Chien-Shiung Wu, and Barbara McClintock. More recently, Pak has found the work of Joan Steitz (Yale), Jennifer Doudna (University of California/Berkeley), Melissa Moore (Moderna), and Linda Buck (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) to serve as inspiration. While the acknowledgment from her peers as this year’s Scientist of the Year is a great honor, Pak is most proud of the graduate students and post-docs she has mentored. “They are the best part of my job,” she said.
Unique approach overcomes drug-resistant breast cancer
By Naomi Gitlin
Drug resistance is a tremendous obstacle to cure for the nearly four million women living with breast cancer in the United States.
The Fanning Lab at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine works to minimize that obstacle through its unique approach to understanding and overcoming drug resistance in breast cancer.
Along with his lab team, Sean Fanning, PhD, assistant professor (with a primary appointment in the Department of Cancer Biology and joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience), works with oncologists, pharmaceutical companies, and other academic cancer biologists to understand the issues that limit survival. This Stritch 2023 Junior Scientist awardee’s novel research platform uses insights gleaned at the atomic level, translating them to therapeutic approaches in the metastatic setting. These atomistic insights come from understanding how clinically important mutations and therapeutic drugs impact the shape of the protein estrogen receptor alpha (ER). Proteins are the “worker bees” of a cell; their shape determines their role. Normally, ER senses the female hormone estrogen and drives puberty, menopause, metabolism, and immune health. But breast cancers “hijack” ER to fuel their metastatic spread.
Because one in eight women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives and breast cancer now represents one in four cancers diagnosed in women, the quest for more effective treatments is more important than ever.
ABC’s of ER
The hormone estrogen plays an important – and positive -- role in reproductive development, cardiovascular health, and immune functions. It also can have negative consequences because it can trigger the development of breast, ovarian, and endometrial tumors. ER senses estrogens and then exerts profound changes on the cell. A person’s genetic code (DNA) is continually read by the cell to make proteins that influence the cell’s behavior. When triggered by estrogen, ER binds to DNA and changes which genes are made into proteins. As many as 9,000 genes can be affected by estrogen binding to ER. Given ER’s role in the growth and viability of cancer cell development (particularly breast cancer), it provides a critical diagnostic and therapeutic target to prevent metastasis, with minimal impact on quality-of-life.
The Fanning lab focuses on understanding how mutations and drugs affect the three-dimensional structure of ER and its critical activities within the breast cancer cell. These insights, along with input from oncologists and patients, are used to create therapeutic drugs aimed to overcome resistance and provide lasting benefits for patients.
Supporting this research is a team of dedicated Loyola graduate students, strong mentors, significant funding, and a little serendipity, which always brings a smile to Fanning.
Mentors, Funders, and a Team Approach
Cancer biology research is very team-based and Fanning’s lab is no exception. “A good team can be greater than the sum of its parts,” says Fanning. When selecting students to work in his lab, Fanning notes that personality and team fit is critically important. He takes an active approach to mentoring: helping students create a career development plan with timelines, achievable goals, and a clear framework. Each student has different interests that coalesce to help make the lab successful.
Throughout his education and research career, Fanning has been fortunate to be surrounded by strong mentors working alongside him as well as informal mentors he has met at conferences and related events.
“Mentors really make you,” says Fanning. In addition to mentor relationships, Fanning tells his students that successful scientists have “grit and vision.” One of Fanning’s mentors is James Horn, PhD, department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where Fanning received his doctorate in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biophysics.
“Jim gave me a foundation, the tools to succeed, and guiding questions along the way,” says Fanning. “His questions really made me think and he asked them with empathy,” Fanning says.
At NIU, Fanning managed a seminar series, where one of the speakers was cancer researcher Dr. Geoffrey Greene, chair of UChicago’s Ben May Department for Cancer Research who would become Fanning’s mentor during his UChicago post-doc. Greene made fundamental discoveries that have helped improve the lives of women living with breast cancer. In fact, he helped discover ER and created the first antibody to allow the rapid diagnosis of ER+ breast cancer, which guides therapeutic decisions.
“Geoff showed me how to go beyond our own research bubble to improve patient’s lives,” Fanning says. At Loyola, Fanning appreciates its collaborative research community across departments and at individual faculty, student, and staff levels.
Rounding out Fanning’s lab is a group of funders – including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, American Cancer Society, and Olema Oncology – that see the promise in his research and collaborations. Importantly, he recently received an R01 from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. Because of the application’s strength, the grant was converted to an R37 MERIT Award, which will provide funding for seven years instead of the traditional five. Fanning also received a post-doc fellowship and a Career Catalyst award from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. More grants proposals are in the pipeline.
As principal investigator, Fanning also shares his discoveries with the broader scientific community. He has authored or co-authored 30 papers. His 2016 eLife paper describing how changes to ER can drive resistance to therapies has been cited over 250 times.
With its strong track record, the Fanning lab aims to translate its research into therapeutics to share with and improve the lives of women living with metastatic breast cancer.
November 2023
Stritch honors Toni Pak with 2023 Senior Scientist of the Year Award
“Be curious, ask questions, and read a lot!”
Toni Pak, PhD, joined Loyola in 2007 and is the James R. DePauw professor and Chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology.
Pak trained as a molecular neuroendocrinolgist and has devoted her career to understanding how fundamental molecular signaling pathways change across the normal lifespan and in the context of various diseases. Her research in nuclear steroid receptor-mediated gene expression uses both targeted and discovery-based mass spectrometry approaches. In addition, she is an expert in RNA biology with a primary focus on non-coding RNAs and their regulation across the lifespan. Several National Institutes of Health-funded research projects are underway in the Pak Lab. In one project, Pak and her team hypothesize that there is an age-related switch in estrogen receptor signaling that predisposes women to Alzheimer's Disease.
Pak is very passionate about leading her newest initiative, the Center for Healthy Aging and Resilience Mechanisms (CHARM). Her proven leadership capabilities in collaborative research across multiple scientific disciplines promise to foster an innovative and excellent future for CHARM.
Throughout her life, Pak has loved science. She considers it very exciting to be at the forefront of discovering new knowledge and is privileged to have a career as a scientist. An influential woman in science, Pak finds her inspiration from women who have gone before her, including Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, Chien-Shiung Wu, and Barbara McClintock. More recently, Pak has found the work of Joan Steitz (Yale), Jennifer Doudna (University of California/Berkeley), Melissa Moore (Moderna), and Linda Buck (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) to serve as inspiration. While the acknowledgment from her peers as this year’s Scientist of the Year is a great honor, Pak is most proud of the graduate students and post-docs she has mentored. “They are the best part of my job,” she said.
Unique approach overcomes drug-resistant breast cancer
By Naomi Gitlin
Drug resistance is a tremendous obstacle to cure for the nearly four million women living with breast cancer in the United States.
The Fanning Lab at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine works to minimize that obstacle through its unique approach to understanding and overcoming drug resistance in breast cancer.
Along with his lab team, Sean Fanning, PhD, assistant professor (with a primary appointment in the Department of Cancer Biology and joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience), works with oncologists, pharmaceutical companies, and other academic cancer biologists to understand the issues that limit survival. This Stritch 2023 Junior Scientist awardee’s novel research platform uses insights gleaned at the atomic level, translating them to therapeutic approaches in the metastatic setting. These atomistic insights come from understanding how clinically important mutations and therapeutic drugs impact the shape of the protein estrogen receptor alpha (ER). Proteins are the “worker bees” of a cell; their shape determines their role. Normally, ER senses the female hormone estrogen and drives puberty, menopause, metabolism, and immune health. But breast cancers “hijack” ER to fuel their metastatic spread.
Because one in eight women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives and breast cancer now represents one in four cancers diagnosed in women, the quest for more effective treatments is more important than ever.
ABC’s of ER
The hormone estrogen plays an important – and positive -- role in reproductive development, cardiovascular health, and immune functions. It also can have negative consequences because it can trigger the development of breast, ovarian, and endometrial tumors. ER senses estrogens and then exerts profound changes on the cell. A person’s genetic code (DNA) is continually read by the cell to make proteins that influence the cell’s behavior. When triggered by estrogen, ER binds to DNA and changes which genes are made into proteins. As many as 9,000 genes can be affected by estrogen binding to ER. Given ER’s role in the growth and viability of cancer cell development (particularly breast cancer), it provides a critical diagnostic and therapeutic target to prevent metastasis, with minimal impact on quality-of-life.
The Fanning lab focuses on understanding how mutations and drugs affect the three-dimensional structure of ER and its critical activities within the breast cancer cell. These insights, along with input from oncologists and patients, are used to create therapeutic drugs aimed to overcome resistance and provide lasting benefits for patients.
Supporting this research is a team of dedicated Loyola graduate students, strong mentors, significant funding, and a little serendipity, which always brings a smile to Fanning.
Mentors, Funders, and a Team Approach
Cancer biology research is very team-based and Fanning’s lab is no exception. “A good team can be greater than the sum of its parts,” says Fanning. When selecting students to work in his lab, Fanning notes that personality and team fit is critically important. He takes an active approach to mentoring: helping students create a career development plan with timelines, achievable goals, and a clear framework. Each student has different interests that coalesce to help make the lab successful.
Throughout his education and research career, Fanning has been fortunate to be surrounded by strong mentors working alongside him as well as informal mentors he has met at conferences and related events.
“Mentors really make you,” says Fanning. In addition to mentor relationships, Fanning tells his students that successful scientists have “grit and vision.” One of Fanning’s mentors is James Horn, PhD, department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where Fanning received his doctorate in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biophysics.
“Jim gave me a foundation, the tools to succeed, and guiding questions along the way,” says Fanning. “His questions really made me think and he asked them with empathy,” Fanning says.
At NIU, Fanning managed a seminar series, where one of the speakers was cancer researcher Dr. Geoffrey Greene, chair of UChicago’s Ben May Department for Cancer Research who would become Fanning’s mentor during his UChicago post-doc. Greene made fundamental discoveries that have helped improve the lives of women living with breast cancer. In fact, he helped discover ER and created the first antibody to allow the rapid diagnosis of ER+ breast cancer, which guides therapeutic decisions.
“Geoff showed me how to go beyond our own research bubble to improve patient’s lives,” Fanning says. At Loyola, Fanning appreciates its collaborative research community across departments and at individual faculty, student, and staff levels.
Rounding out Fanning’s lab is a group of funders – including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, American Cancer Society, and Olema Oncology – that see the promise in his research and collaborations. Importantly, he recently received an R01 from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. Because of the application’s strength, the grant was converted to an R37 MERIT Award, which will provide funding for seven years instead of the traditional five. Fanning also received a post-doc fellowship and a Career Catalyst award from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. More grants proposals are in the pipeline.
As principal investigator, Fanning also shares his discoveries with the broader scientific community. He has authored or co-authored 30 papers. His 2016 eLife paper describing how changes to ER can drive resistance to therapies has been cited over 250 times.
With its strong track record, the Fanning lab aims to translate its research into therapeutics to share with and improve the lives of women living with metastatic breast cancer.
November 2023