Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Young Investigator Grant

NANETS congratulates Bryson William Katona as the 2015 Young Investigator grant recipient for his work on ER stress and the unfolded protein response in neuroendocrine tumor proliferation.

Despite many recent advances in the field of neuroendocrine tumors, there still remains a critical need to develop novel therapeutic approaches to better treat these tumors. Within the distinct genetic landscape of neuroendocrine tumors, the focus of my project is to better understand the role of ER stress and the unfolded protein response in neuroendocrine tumor proliferation and resistance to chemotherapy. The ultimate goal of this project will be to develop novel methods to selectively target ER stress pathways to improve current treatment paradigms for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors.

Dr. Katona conducts his research in a cancer biology lab focusing on menin. He was awarded a $50,000 grant, sponsored by Novartis Oncology and NANETS, to pursue basic science/translational research focused on neuroendocrine tumors.