Catherine Smith, MD

My laboratory focuses on identification of therapeutic resistance mechanisms and novel treatment strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We have a particular emphasis on AML associated with mutations in Fms-like Tyrosine Kinase-3 (FLT3). FLT3 is mutated in ~30% of AML, with constitutively activating FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations conferring a poor prognosis. We employ a prototypical “bedside to bench and back” approach to the problem of cancer drug resistance, founded on the belief that the ultimate pathway to improved cancer therapy begins with translational studies that utilize samples from patients who have undergone therapy in real time. This strategy allows us to interrogate how tumors can evolve under the selective pressure of cancer therapy and allows us to devise ways to circumvent these evolutionary adaptations.