Qiwei Wang, PhD, CRI-Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellow Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Area of Research: Breast Cancer PARP inhibitors have significantly helped ovarian cancer patients who have mutated BRCA genes, but not BRCA-positive breast cancer patients. Therefore, there is pressing clinical need to understand why PARP inhibitors fail to provide lasting relief in BRCA-mutated breast cancer patients, and to develop strategies to increase the durability of responses. To that end, Dr. Qiwei Wang is investigating how PARP inhibitors influence the tumor microenvironment, and especially immune cells called macrophages, in order to improve the effectiveness of PARP inhibitors for more patients. Using a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer that he developed, Wang is exploring whether combining PARP inhibitors with certain immunotherapies might enhance tumor elimination. Ultimately, his goal is to provide novel insights into PARP inhibitor resistance mechanisms in breast cancer and then translate these findings into new and improved therapeutic strategies for breast cancer patients. Projects and Grants Harnessing the immune system to overcome resistance to PARP inhibition in BRCA1 deficient breast cancer Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Breast Cancer | 2019 | Jean Zhao, PhD
