Age is considered a risk factor for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of the disease that can be difficult to treat, particularly in later stages. But age may also be a factor in treatment response, causing some women to fare better with immune therapy than others.
UCF researchers Needa Brown and Aleksandra Petelski-Kulik, assistant professors in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, plan to study the microenvironment of TNBC to understand how age may play a role in the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors, a promising therapy for the disease. Their work is supported through a $100,000 grant from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.
“Recent studies suggest that younger and older women may respond differently to breast cancer therapies due to differences in their immune systems and tumor biology,” Brown says. “However, we still do not fully understand how age affects the immune response in TNBC.”
The researchers aim to discover how age shapes the immune landscape of TNBC and if this age-driven dysfunction can be reversed, leading to improved patient outcomes.
The team’s approach combines Brown’s knowledge of cancer biology with Petelski’s expertise in proteomics, the large-scale study of protein abundance and functional networks in biological systems. Using advanced mass spectrometry techniques, the team hopes to identify the age-related proteomic biomarkers associated with TNBC progression, immune invasion and a poor response to ICI treatment. With Florida’s aging population, Petelski says these findings could have a significant impact on treatments within the state and across the nation.
“By understanding how age influences TNBC and immune therapy response, our findings could translate to improved outcomes for thousands of patients both in Florida and beyond,” Petelski says. “New biomarkers identified could set the stage for age-specific health screenings and personalized treatment strategies.”
One promising therapeutic strategy involves targeting the STING pathway, a critical immune pathway that can either inhibit or promote cancer growth. The team plans to investigate how the STING pathway could be used to turn “cold” tumors that evade immune detection into “hot” tumors that could be attacked by the immune system.
Brown and Petelski will co-mentor a postdoctoral researcher who will gain hands-on experience with the project while fostering collaboration between the two labs.
“We’re excited to have the chance to work together on new research opportunities that can help shape the future of cancer therapies.” — Aleksandra Petelski-Kulik, assistant professor
“Through this project, we will jointly mentor a postdoctoral fellow to allow for professional development in cross-disciplinary fields,” Brown says. “We hope this project will set-up a pipeline of next-generation doctoral students who can traverse the fields of materials science, proteomics and cancer biology.”
While the researchers are also open to collaborations with other UCF faculty, they look forward to working with each other. Ironically, they followed a similar path from Boston to Orlando this past year.
“We both started at UCF in Fall 2024 and were looking for opportunities to merge our respective fields to allow us to make an impact within the Florida community,” Petelski says. “Although we both had been a part of Northeastern University in Boston, our paths never crossed until we met at UCF. We’re excited to have the chance to work together on new research opportunities that can help shape the future of cancer therapies.”
