Peter Wang, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Massachusetts General Hospital Area of Research: Pancreatic Cancer Peter Wang, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Systems Biology and the Center for Cancer Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, where his work focuses on understanding the critical role of nerve invasion in pancreatic cancer progression and treatment response. In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)—a cancer with a dismal five-year survival rate of only 13%—perineural invasion (PNI) occurs in nearly all cases. Dr. Wang’s research explores how this nerve invasion reprograms the tumor environment, particularly by influencing immune cells like macrophages to suppress immune responses and promote cancer growth. Dr. Wang’s doctoral work at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis made significant contributions to understanding macrophage identity and function in the peripheral nervous system. He discovered that peripheral nerve macrophages share a gene expression signature with central nervous system microglia, which helps explain their roles in nerve regeneration. Building on this, his current research investigates how neuroimmune crosstalk influences cancer, particularly how the nervous system modulates both cancer-intrinsic and immune responses. He is developing novel combination therapies that leverage neuromodulation to enhance cancer control and treatment. With training spanning immunology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and genomics, Dr. Wang is uniquely positioned to uncover new biological mechanisms that could lead to innovative cancer therapies. His work includes the development of co-culture systems and in vivo assays to test the impacts of nerve invasion on tumor growth and immune activity. Additionally, Dr. Wang is testing novel drugs to protect nerves and improve immune responses, with the ultimate goal of discovering new treatment strategies and biomarkers to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer. Projects and Grants Targeting Nerve Injury to Improve Anti-tumor Responses in Pancreatic Cancer Massachusetts General Hospital| Pancreatic Cancer | 2025 | William Hwang, MD, PhD
