Development and use of ezrin biosensors for high-throughput screening of novel ezrin inhibitors as anti-metastatic and immune-checkpoint blockade agents

Treatment of metastatic breast cancer is often unsuccessful and lead to 5000 deaths in Canada each year. Therefore, there is an unmet need for new drugs for prevention and/or treatment of metastatic disease. Ezrin is a protein marker commonly over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer. Preclinical studies show that blocking ezrin can significantly reduce metastasis in breast cancer models. In this proposal, the intern will develop novel biosensors to screen large numbers of compounds to find those with the ability to block ezrin’s activity in cancer cells. The results of this project can be used to develop novel therapeutics to minimize metastasis in breast cancer. Additionally, the path to develop new drugs can be expedited to clinical trials through our industry partner, Tika Therapeutics.

Faculty Supervisor:

Peter Greer

Student:

Victoria Hoskin

Partner:

Tika Therapeutics Inc

Discipline:

Biochemistry / Molecular biology

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Queen's University