Faculty

In two new articles published in Nature journals, Ashok Kumar, Else and Philip Hargrove Endowed Professor of Drug Discovery at UHCOP and director of the Institute of Muscle Biology and Cachexia, explains how TAK1, a protein inside RMS cells, helps rhabdomyosarcoma tumors grow. His research also found that tumor cells rely on the IRE1α-XBP1 cellular stress-response pathway to survive. Blocking either TAK1 or IRE1α-XBP1 slowed tumor growth and helped cancer cells develop into normal muscle cells.

A national team of researchers, including Wei Gao, UHCOP assistant professor, is reporting a new strategy to treat pancreatic cancer — by boosting the immune system to help overcome immunotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The 2026 Clinical and Translational Research Symposium at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy brought together researchers, clinicians, trainees and health care innovators for a day focused on advancing discoveries from the lab bench to patient care.