ABOUT
Jennifer Klomp is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the role of aberrant kinase activity in KRAS mutant cancers and how to target it therapeutically. She is currently identifying how ERK kinase supports pancreatic cancer cell growth using a combination of transcriptomics, phosphoproteomics, engineered kinases, and functional genetic screens. Prior to joining MSU Jennifer received her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and did her postdoctoral training at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
RESEARCH
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and is characterized by a 95% rate of mutational activation of the KRAS oncogene. ERK is a critical component for maintaining KRAS mutant PDAC growth as well as a major contributor of resistance to direct KRAS/RAS inhibitors in the clinic. Despite the highly successful development of potent and selective inhibitors of each node of the ERK MAPK cascade, when used as monotherapy, they have shown limited clinical efficacy against RAS-mutant cancers. Two key issues have contributed to this outcome, toxicity for normal tissues and de novo or treatment-induced acquired resistance in cancer cells. Jennifer’s research is focused on the delineation of the mechanisms by which ERK drives KRAS-dependent cancer growth in order to guide the development of more effective anti-ERK therapies.
