Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Balboni Iniguez studies Ewing sarcoma, a rare pediatric solid tumor containing a characteristic chromosomal translocation that fuses the EWSR1 gene to the FLI1 gene. The resulting EWS/FLI fusion protein initiates an oncogenic gene expression program, thus promoting tumorigenesis. EWS/FLI represents an attractive tumor-specific therapeutic target; however, it has been difficult to pharmacologically inhibit. Her work will focus on elucidating a novel approach to selectively target EWS/FLI by utilizing a small-molecule inhibitor against the transcriptional regulator proteins CDK12/13. This research will contribute to our understanding of Ewing sarcoma cell biology and has important clinical implications for other cancers driven by similar transcription factor fusion proteins.