Clinical and Translational Oncology PhD Programme participant Alaa Embaby’s theses
The Clinical and Translational Oncology PhD Programme shared on LinkedIn:
“On Tuesday May 21st, our Clinical and Translational Oncology PhD Programme participant Alaa Embaby will defend her theses, entitled: ‘Biomarker-driven treatment strategies in solid tumors; Insights from clinical and translational research.’
What is the main topic of your thesis? .
Several novel targeted therapies have been approved for the treatment of various tumor types and yielded promising results. However, the emergence of therapy resistance (unresponsiveness of the tumor cells to therapy) limits the clinical effectiveness of many anticancer drugs.
The aim of the research described in this thesis was to determine the anticancer activity of different treatment strategies targeting specific tumor characteristics in various solid tumors, known as biomarker-driven treatments.
The ultimate goal is to optimize the treatment of these tumors to improve the survival of the described patient populations.
What is the finding you are most proud of and why?
I am proud of the fact that we were able to conduct diverse clinical trials and collect a lot of data in different patient populations. Also, it was fascinating to observe that the preclinical findings could be translated into the clinic in some patients.
Although clinical efficacy was not reached in the majority of the patients, the investigations described in this thesis provided important insights into the molecular characteristics and vulnerabilities of the different tumor types.
This understanding could set the standard for future studies aiming to optimize anticancer treatment.
What are your (career) plans, now that you’ve finished your PhD?
I am currently working as resident not in training at the Wijkkliniek (Cordaan-Amsterdam UMC, geriatric medicine). Hereafter, I intend to apply for an Internal Medicine Residency.
We want to congratulate Alaa Embaby and her (co)promotors Alwin Huitema, Neeltje Steeghs and Dr. Frans Opdam with this important work and wish Alaa Embaby lots of luck and fun during her defense!”
Source: Clinical and Translational Oncology PhD Programme/LinkedIn