Kari Kurppa profile picture
Kari
Kurppa
Academy Research Fellow, Institute of Biomedicine
Docent, Institute of Biomedicine
PhD, Principal Investigator

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Biography

Principal Investigator 2020 -> ; Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku

Senior Researcher (erikoistutkija) 2019-2020 ; Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku

Post-doctoral Fellow 2016-2019 ; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Mentor: Professor Pasi A. Jänne

PhD 2014 ; Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, University of Turku

MSc (Biochemistry) 2008 ; University of Turku

Research

The Cancer Drug Resistance laboratory aims to understand the means cancer cells use to develop resistance to cancer therapies. Our special focus are the mechanisms that enable the establishment of minimal residual disease, or govern the maintenance of residual tumors following targeted cancer therapy. The overarching goal of our research is to develop rational combination strategies that will extend the long-term efficacy of clinically used cancer therapies.

While targeted therapy has transformed the treatment of cancer, the long-term efficacy of these strategies is hampered by acquired drug resistance. In many cases, clinical drug resistance is preceded by minimal residual disease (MRD) state, where residual tumors stay dormant for an extended period of time. Emerging evidence indicates that the establishment of MRD is mainly regulated by non-genetic mechanisms, as cancer cells adapt to treatment by acquiring new phenotypic states that no longer depend on the targeted oncogene. These slow-cycling drug tolerant cells can regain proliferative state upon drug withdrawal or acquisition of additional resistance mechanisms, and as such serve as a reservoir of dormant cells capable of re-initiating the growth of a drug resistant tumor. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the establishment or maintenance of minimal residual disease would enable the development of rational combination strategies aimed to prevent or limit residual disease, leading to prolonged survival of cancer patients.

Publications

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Immunomodulatory Synthetic Glycocluster Molecule Prevents Melanoma Growth in vivo (2024)

ChemBioChem
Honkanen, Meija; Narvi, Elli; Ojala, Veera; Jokilammi, Anne; Rantakari, Pia; Kronqvist, Pauliina; Kähäri, Veli-Matti; Veräjänkorva, Esko; Kurppa, Kari J; Rahkila, Jani; Ekambaram, Ramesh; Savolainen, Johannes; Leino, Reko; Elenius, Klaus
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )

Wnt/β-catenin-C-kit axis may play a role in adenoid cystic carcinoma prognostication (2024)

Pathology - Research and Practice
Fujii Shinsuke, Hasegawa Kana, Maehara Takashi, Kurppa Kari J., Heikinheimo Kristiina, Warner Kristy A., Maruyama Satoshi, Tajiri Yudai, Nör Jacques E., Tanuma Jun-ichi, Kawano Shintaro, Kiyoshima Tamotsu
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

An allosteric inhibitor against the therapy-resistant mutant forms of EGFR in non-small cell lung cancer (2022)

Nature Cancer
To Ciric, Beyett Tyler S., Jang Jaebong, Feng William W., Bahcall Magda, Haikala Heidi M., Shin Bo H., Heppner David E., Rana Jaimin K., Leeper Brittaney A., Soroko Kara M., Poitras Michael J., Gokhale Prafulla C., Kobayashi Yoshihisa, Wahid Kamal, Kurppa Kari J., Gero Thomas W., Cameron Michael D., Ogino Atsuko, Mushajiang Mierzhati, Xu Chunxiao X., Zhang Yanxi X., Scott David A., Eck Michael J., Gray Nathanael S., Jänne Pasi A.
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

An Unbiased Functional Genetics Screen Identifies Rare Activating ERBB4 Mutations (2022)

Cancer Research Communications
Chakroborty Deepankar, Ojala Veera K., Knittle Anna M., Drexler Jasmin, Tamirat Mahlet, Ruzicka Regina, Bosch Karin, Woertl Johanna, Schmittner Susanne, Elo Laura L., Johnson Mark S., Kurppa Kari J., Solca Flavio, Elenius Klaus
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )