Mulu Z Tesfay, PhD
Associate Member
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| Research Program:
Cancer Therapeutics
Faculty Rank:
Postdoctoral Fellow
Campus:
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College:
College of Medicine
Department:
Pathology Research Faculty
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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.
Contact Information
- Email Address: MZTesfay@uams.edu
Recent Publications
- Ferdous KU, Tesfay MZ, Cios A, [et al.]. Enhancing Neoadjuvant Virotherapy's Effectiveness by Targeting Stroma to Improve Resectability in Pancreatic Cancer. Biomedicines. 2024 12(7). PMID: 39062169. PMCID: PMC11275208.
- 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.