June 29, 2023 — Kyra Boorsma Bergerud, an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, won a poster prize at the 2023 Cellular Cancer Biology Imaging Research’s (CCBIR) Annual Investigators Meeting. Kyra is in the lab of Lindsey Sloan, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
The poster, which covered her ongoing research into how radiation therapy affects immune cells in brain cancer patients, received the People’s Choice Award. It was one of 40 presented during the national, three-day event hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Multiparametric Imaging of Tumor Immune Microenvironments (C-MITIE) earlier this month.
For the award, Bergerud received a certificate and a $50 gift card. The poster was titled, “The Effect of Radiation Therapy and STAT3 Inhibition on Circulating MDSC Composition and Expression in Glioblastoma Multiforme.” Following is a summary:
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are an immunosuppressive cell type implicated in glioblastoma occurrence and progression. MDSCs have been associated with worse treatment outcomes and decreased responsiveness to radiation therapy (RT). Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a role in MDSC-mediated resistance to RT and aids in the downregulation of anti-tumor immune responses in glioblastoma. While RT is known to alter immune cell composition, the effects of RT on MDSCs in glioblastoma require further investigation. This study investigates RT's effect on MDSC populations and how STAT3 mediates these responses.
University of Minnesota undergrad Kyra Boorsma Bergerud won a poster prize at the Cellular Cancer Biology Imaging Research’s (CCBIR) Annual Investigators Meeting.