Sophia Arana
Program: Unspecified
Current advisor:
Undergraduate university: Dartmouth College
Research summary
The Wang Lab studies transposable elements (TEs), mobile genetic sequences, to understand how they shape gene regulation and disease. In cancer, epigenetic dysregulation can reactivate normally silenced TEs, leading to the production of TE-derived antigens that may serve as targets for immunotherapy. During my summer rotation in the Wang Lab, I explored the immunogenic potential of a panel of transposable element (TE)–derived neoantigens. I cloned and produced lentiviruses for T cell receptors (TCRs) recognizing either known viral antigens or TE-derived peptides, then tested their ability to activate engineered T cells in co-culture assays. In parallel, I analyzed publicly available RNA-sequencing datasets from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) patients to assess how oncogenic histone mutations impact transposable element expression. I am excited to continue working towards deepening our understanding of genomic regulation, as these insights are helping to inform the development of more targeted cancer therapies.
Graduate publications