Biography

Dr. Angelina Regua received her PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, in the lab of Dr. Leszek Kotula in 2018. Dr. Regua’s graduate work focused on defining the oncogenic role of the Abelson interactor 1(Abi1)-WAVE complex on lung metastases of breast cancers.

Dr. Regua completed her postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Hui-Wen Lo, PhD, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her work focused on characterizing the novel signaling crosstalk between Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) and Tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) signaling pathways in triple-negative and HER2-enriched breast cancers and whether these pathways can be co-inhibited using FDA-approved selective inhibitors.

Dr. Regua joined the Department of Neurosurgery in the lab of Dr. Lo to further characterize mechanisms underlying inherent drug resistance of breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM).

Education

PhD
State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Areas of Interest

Research Interests

Dr. Regua’s research focuses on identifying and understanding mechanisms of breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) of triple-negative and HER2-enriched breast cancers. Additionally, her work aims to develop novel therapeutic regimens to target brain-metastatic breast cancer cells. Her lab has implemented in vitro and in vivo models to elucidate functional crosstalk between known oncogenic signaling pathways and determine the clinical utility of dual targeting these signaling cascades in BCBM using FDA-approved inhibitors.

Publications

  1. Regua AT, Najjar M, Lo HW. RET signaling pathway and RET inhibitors in human cancer. Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 25;12:932353. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.932353.
  2. Sirkisoon SR, Wong GL, Aguayo NR, Doheny DL, Zhu D, Regua AT, Arrigo A, Manore SG, Wagner C, Thomas A, Singh R, Xing F, Jin G, Watabe K, Lo HW. Breast cancer extracellular vesicles-derived miR-1290 activates astrocytes in the brain metastatic microenvironment via the FOXA2→CNTF axis to promote progression of brain metastases. Cancer Lett. 2022 Aug 1;540:215726.
  3. Rimkus TK, Arrigo AB, Zhu D, Carpenter RL, Sirkisoon S, Doheny D, Regua AT, Wong GL, Manore S, Wagner C, Lin HK, Jin G, Ruiz J, Chan M, Debinski W, Lo HW. NEDD4 degrades TUSC2 to promote glioblastoma progression. Cancer Lett. 2022 Apr 10;531:124-135.
  4. Doheny D, Sirkisoon S, Carpenter RL, Aguayo NR, Regua AT, Anguelov M, Manore SG, Arrigo A, Jalboush SA, Wong GL, Yu Y, Wagner CJ, Chan M, Ruiz J, Thomas A, Strowd R, Lin J, Lo HW. Combined inhibition of JAK2-STAT3 and SMO-GLI1/tGLI1 pathways suppresses breast cancer stem cells, tumor growth, and metastasis. Oncogene. 2020 Oct;39(42):6589-6605.
  5. Regua AT, Arrigo A, Doheny D, Wong GL, Lo HW. Transgenic mouse models of breast cancer. Cancer Lett. 2021 Sep 28;516:73-83.
    Regua AT, Aguayo NR, Jalboush SA, Doheny DL, Manore SG, Zhu D, Wong GL, Arrigo A, Wagner CJ, Yu Y, Thomas A, Chan MD, Ruiz J, Jin G, Strowd R, Sun P, Lin J, Lo HW. TrkA Interacts with and Phosphorylates STAT3 to Enhance Gene Transcription and Promote Breast Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative and HER2-Enriched Breast Cancers. Cancers (Basel). 2021 May 12;13(10):2340.
  6. Sirkisoon SR, Carpenter RL, Rimkus T, Doheny D, Zhu D, Aguayo NR, Xing F, Chan M, Ruiz J, Metheny-Barlow LJ, Strowd R, Lin J, Regua AT, Arrigo A, Anguelov M, Pasche B, Debinski W, Watabe K, Lo HW. TGLI1 transcription factor mediates breast cancer brain metastasis via activating metastasis-initiating cancer stem cells and astrocytes in the tumor microenvironment. Oncogene. 2020 Jan;39(1):64-78.
  7. Regua AT, Doheny D, Arrigo A, Lo HW. Trk receptor tyrosine kinases in metastasis and cancer therapy. Discov Med. 2019 Oct;28(154):195-203.