Parasvi Patel, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Massachusetts General Hospital Area of Research: Colorectal Cancer Parasvi Patel, PhD, is working to improve treatments for colorectal cancer (CRC), a disease increasingly affecting younger adults. About 40% of CRC cases are driven by KRAS mutations, which for years were considered “undruggable.” Now, new KRAS inhibitors offer different approaches—some targeting only mutant KRAS, others blocking both mutant and normal KRAS, and some inhibiting multiple RAS proteins across the tumor environment. Dr. Patel’s research aims to determine how these drugs reshape both the tumor and the surrounding immune landscape to uncover the best therapeutic strategies. Using single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, Dr. Patel is investigating how KRAS inhibitors impact immune cells, particularly T cells, which are critical for attacking tumors. Her work explores how combining KRAS-targeting drugs with immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-PD-1 antibody, could improve patient outcomes. By analyzing patient biopsies and preclinical models, she seeks to identify mechanisms that drive treatment response and resistance, with the goal of refining combination therapies for KRAS-driven CRC. “By characterizing how different KRAS inhibitors shape the immune landscape, we can develop smarter combination strategies that unleash the full potential of immunotherapy for colorectal cancer,” says Dr. Patel. With a background in cancer biology, genomic stability, and transcriptional regulation, Dr. Patel has led high-impact studies uncovering new therapeutic targets for BRCA1-deficient tumors and exploring replication stress in cancer cells. Now, by integrating tumor-intrinsic mechanisms with immune system dynamics, her research is paving the way for more effective, personalized treatment strategies for KRAS-mutant CRC. Projects and Grants Characterizing the Tumor and Immune Landscape in Response to Distinct Functional Classes of KRAS Inhibitors at Single-Cell Resolution Massachusetts General Hospital | Colorectal Cancer | 2025 | Ryan Corcoran, MD, PhD
