![Researchers review data on a laptop in the lab](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2023/02/n21146103/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1675874776083.jpg)
Local 12: Researcher working to help patients with tough-to-beat pancreatic cancer
Local 12 recently highlighted University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researcher Andrew Waters, PhD.
Waters specializes in pancreatic cancer research, and the National Cancer Institute recently announced an intent to fund research in his lab focused on treatments that target KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancer.
Waters said the KRAS gene is like a light switch. When mutated, it is left on and causes cells to divide and grow uncontrollably. The first line of drugs targeting KRAS has been approved for different cancers, but they target a mutation not often found in pancreatic cancer.
"A focus of my research lab and other labs and others around the country is really trying to use pre-clinical and clinical drugs that target the other 98-99 percent of pancreatic cancer patients," Waters told Local 12.
"The other main focus of my lab is really trying to address this relapse," he continued. "So, when KRAS drugs are available for pancreatic cancer patients, how are these cells going to be able to adapt? And how can we cut off those adaptation mechanisms with another FDA-approved drug?"
Watch the Local 12 story on Waters' research.
Waters was also featured in a Local 12 story about a woman raising money for pancreatic cancer research. Watch the story.
Read more about Waters' research.
Featured photo at top: Researchers Krushna Patra, Andrew Waters and Patrick Krause review data. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
Related Stories
President picks exceptional talent
April 28, 2021
The University of Cincinnati 2021 Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence Awards honor six undergraduate scholars for scholarship, leadership, character, service and the ideals of the university. Awardees are spotlighted for exceptional academics, creativity, community service and innovation.
Grad students earn president's highest honor
April 28, 2021
The University of Cincinnati 2021 Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence Awards honor three graduate scholars for scholarship, leadership, character, service and the ideals of the university. Awardees are spotlighted for exceptional academics, creativity, community service and innovation.
UC student leads effort to clean up campus adjacent Coy Field
April 7, 2021
Karthikeyan Sakthivel, a senior medical sciences undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, has adopted Coy Field in an attempt to keep the green space clean and ready for use by UC students, area high schoolers and the community. Sakthivel is planning another cleanup event for Coy Field, which is adjacent to the university campus.
The making of a successful Faculty & Staff Campaign
May 25, 2021
More than one-third of UC’s nearly 7,000 faculty and staff have already contributed to the 2020-21 Faculty & Staff Campaign, putting the goal of 45% within reach.
Finding community and building a future
July 9, 2021
As a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine student, Sarah Appeadu, MD, ’21, remembers journaling on the “3 Cs” that got her through medical school: Community, community, community. Now, when she lists the people who supported her through four years of training—the last year in a global pandemic—it keeps growing: her family, her church, her classmates, and the college’s Office of Student Affairs and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “I look back and it was such a crucial time to really be nurtured in that way,” she says. “I’m so thankful that I had those people. It shows being around the right people really mattered. That’s my same hope for residency even.”
UC to honor 2,079 grads at summer Commencement
August 2, 2021
UC celebrates the 2021 summer Commencement on Friday in two ceremonies at Fifth Third Arena. On Saturday, UC will recognize 2020 grads with an in-person Commencement celebration.
New York Times: Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water
February 1, 2016
Kim Dietrich, a professor of environmental health at UC's College of Medicine, is quoted in this story on the medical problems that could develop among the thousands of young children exposed to lead-contaminated water in Flint, Mich.
Cancer-Causing Gene Found in Plasma May Help Predict Outcomes for Patients
February 18, 2016
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have discovered that a human cancer-causing gene, called DEK, can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients.
UC Receives $1.9 Million to Study Pain
February 15, 2016
Jun-Ming Zhang, MD, of the UC College of Medicine, is the principal investigator of a $1.95 million grant to study the interacting roles of the sympathetic and sensory nervous and immune systems in back and neuropathic pain models.
MD Magazine: Generic Drug Equally Effective in Epilespy
February 22, 2016
Michael Privitera, MD, a professor of neurology at UC's College of Medicine and director of the Epilepsy Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute, is featured in this story about research he led that examined the efficacy of generic drug substitution for epilepsy.