Katie Hebron

Title:

Assistant Professor

PhD Granting Institution:

Vanderbilt University

Contact:

Email Address: kehebron@purdue.edu
Office Phone: 765-494-6448
Lab Website Link: https://vet.purdue.edu/directory/person.php?id=2335

Primary Training Group:

Cancer Biology

Research Areas:

Dr. Katie Hebron is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences (College of Veterinary Medicine) studying sarcoma metastasis. The Hebron lab uses a mix of animal modeling, cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry to understand how the tumor microenvironment and cell plasticity promote sarcoma metastasis. The lab currently focuses on pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma and will expand to include additional sarcomas and pediatric malignancies.

Current Projects:

My long-term goal is to improve the outcome of patients with metastatic sarcoma. For many sarcomas, an umbrella term for >70 rare cancers of the connective tissue, the only curative therapy is complete surgical resection. However, at least 15% of sarcoma patients present at diagnosis with distant metastasis. Survival for these patients (<20% at five years) has not improved in over forty years, highlighting an unmet clinical need. I use innovative cell and animal models to define the mechanisms driving invasion and metastasis, and identify metastasis-targeting agents. With the central goal of discovering new therapeutic strategies for patients with advanced sarcoma, my work investigates the role of developmental plasticity in sarcoma progression, invasion, and metastasis in three broad areas: 1) How does developmental plasticity contribute to sarcoma resistance? 2) Are resistance and tumor invasion/metastasis coupled through developmental plasticity? 3) Is sarcoma metastasis regulated by the primary tumor microenvironment in an anatomic location-specific manner?