Jianyu Yu, a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular Medicine Graduate Program at the University of Iowa under the mentorship of Dr. Bing Li, has received a Travel Award to attend the 4th Metabolic Dysregulation and Cancer Risk (MeDOC) Consortium Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, where he delivered a short podium presentation.
The MeDOC program, a trans-NCI research program, aims to advance the current understanding of the dynamics and underlying mechanisms that connect obesity, metabolic dysregulation, and an increased risk of cancer. As one of five projects in this program, the A-FABP team, led by Dr. Bing Li, investigates the molecular and metabolic mechanisms by which lipid chaperone adipose fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP or FABP4) links high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity with increased breast cancer risk. Jianyu, a trainee in this project, is investigating how FABP4 mediates the immunosuppressive functions of macrophages, thereby promoting breast cancer aggressiveness. Jianyu’s award-winning abstract, entitled “FABP4-expressing CD14intCD16+ Monocytes Mark Aggressive Human Breast Cancer”, reveals that FABP4 expression in peripheral immune cells, particularly CD14intCD16+ monocytes, links lipid dysregulation to breast cancer progression.
This work offers mechanistic insight and potential translational value for biomarker discovery and therapeutic targeting. This project is co-mentored by Drs. Jiaqing Hao and Bing Li from the Department of Pathology, in collaboration with Dr. Sonia L. Sugg from the Department of Surgery.