Chi Au Yeung
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at Houston
Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine
Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer-related death in the United States. Advanced stage high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), which accounts for the majority of the new diagnoses of epithelial ovarian cancer every year, spread beyond the pelvis and preferentially metastasize to the omentum, which is a well-vascularized fold of peritoneal tissue and is a major site of intra-abdominal fat accumulation, suggesting that the omental microenvironment is a favorable niche for ovarian cancer cells. Bidirectional signaling occurs between ovarian cancer cells and various cell types, particularly adipocytes in the omental adipose tissues, suggests the potential role of the omental microenvironment in conferring ovarian cancer cells a more aggressive and possibly chemoresistant phenotype in adaptation to their new microenvironment.
My major research interests are on understanding the regulatory mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer development and progression, in particular, how different cell types in the omental microenvironment interact and the mechanisms by which secretory proteins and exosomal molecules such as microRNAs modulate HGSOC progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance, using innovative advanced technologies. These studies may ultimately lead to the development of chemopreventive agents and therapeutic targets, and improvement of ovarian cancer patients’ survival.
Education & Training
PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011