Reuben Shaw, PhD
Director
Salk Institute Cancer Center
Title: 25 years of the LKB1/STK11 tumor suppressor: from immunotherapy resistance to cachexia
Description: The STK11/LKB1 tumor suppressor is the third most frequent mutated gene in non-small cell lung cancer, exhibiting frequent co-mutation with Kras. LKB1 is a serine/threonine kinase that phosphorylates and activates AMPK and a family of related kinases to coordinate metabolism and proliferation. Clinically, NSCLC tumors bearing LKB1 inactivation exhibit profound resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), and recently the Shaw lab has discovered of a specific signaling network underpinning and mediating tumor cell-autonomous ICB resistance.