Mulu Z Tesfay, PhD

Affiliate Member

Research Program:

Cancer Therapeutics

Faculty Rank:

Postdoctoral Fellow

Campus:

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

College:

College of Medicine

Department:

Pathology

Cancer Research Interest

Disease Site Focus: GI
Research Focus Area: Treatment, Diagnosis/ Prognosis, Carcinogenesis
Type of Research: Translational, Basic, Clinical
Research Keywords: Oncolytic viruses, immunotherapy, HCC, PDAC
Research Interest Statement: I have expertise in molecular engineering of oncolytic viral vectors for cancer treatment and gene therapies. My research focuses on developing immuno-virotherapy for liver and pancreatic cancer treatment. The working hypothesis is that MMR vaccination-generated pre-existing immunity can be boosted and targeted into tumor sites by intratumoral injection of a recombinant oncolytic virus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), encoding selected MMR peptides or glycoproteins. Furthermore, the robust oncolytic potential of VSV will result in extensive tumor cell killing and generate cross-reacting tumor peptides that can further boost anti-tumor immunity. This project aligns with the long-term goal of translating immuno-virotherapy research from the laboratory to clinical settings, offering promise not only for liver and pancreatic cancer but also for addressing challenges in other solid tumors.

Hartupee C, Nagalo BM, Chabu CY, [et al., including Tesfay MZ]. Pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment is a major therapeutic barrier and target. Frontiers in immunology. 2024 15:1287459. PMID: 38361931. PMCID: PMC10867137.
Zhang Y, Gabere M, Taylor MA, [et al., including Tesfay MZ]. Repurposing live attenuated trivalent MMR vaccine as cost-effective cancer immunotherapy. Frontiers in oncology. 2022 12:1042250. PMID: 36457491. PMCID: PMC9706410.