Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
You’re Invited! Dr. Shawn Beug to speak at Carleton on Targeting the IAPs for cancer immunotherapy
September 28, 2023 at 12:00 PM
| Cost: | Free |
Shawn Beug – Seminar – Sept 28 2023 at noon
Abstract
Evasion of cell death is recognized as one of the key hallmarks of cancer. Members of the Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) gene family are key oncogenes found in many solid and blood cancers. Consequently, targeting the IAPs is a promising therapeutic approach against cancer. A class of drugs called
SMAC mimetics have been developed to antagonize the function of the IAPs. I will highlight our recent research into understanding the mechanism of SMAC mimetic efficacy and of the potential of
this class of IAP antagonists to potentiate immune-based therapies for the treatment of cancer.
About the Speaker
Dr. Shawn Beug is currently a Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, and a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Apoptosis in Cancer and Immunity. His research focuses on understanding how the IAP genes prevent programmed cell death, the investigation into the molecular mechanisms of IAP regulation, and the effects of IAP antagonists on cancer and immune cells. Shawn obtained his BSc Honours at the University of Regina, and he subsequently obtained his MSc in newt forelimb regeneration and PhD in understanding protein trafficking in neurons, both at the University of Ottawa. Dr Beug then did his postdoctoral training with Dr. Robert Korneluk at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, where he studied the impact of IAP antagonists for the treatment of cancer. His CIHR-funded laboratory studies the role of the IAPs in governing T-cell function and the potential of IAP antagonists to enhance immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.