In July, Allie Grossmann, M.D., Ph.D., physician scientist, joined Providence as an associate member of the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, a division of Providence Cancer Institute of Oregon, where she launched the Cancer Signaling and Immunosuppressive Trafficking Laboratory.
As a molecular pathologist, Dr. Grossmann also contributes her expertise to the Providence Molecular Genomics Laboratory, which uses next generation sequencing technology to test genomic biomarkers. The information learned through this process helps physicians diagnosis and treat cancer patients.
Before joining Providence, Dr. Grossmann was a physician scientist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where she directed a melanoma research laboratory at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She also held an associate professor position in the Department of Pathology and served as a surgical and molecular pathologist at ARUP Laboratories.
We recently spoke with Dr. Grossmann about her work, what inspired her to pursue cancer research and how she spends her time when she’s not conducting studies in her new lab.
What is the focus of your research?
My work focuses on advancing our understanding of how tumors communicate with their environment, grow, survive and spread. I look at tumor immunology from the tumor’s perspective, instead of the body’s immune system. I focus on the protein ARF6, which plays a critical role in transporting cargo inside cells. By studying how this process works, I hope to find out how cancer cells avoid being annihilated by the immune system and how they resist treatment. My lab is one of the few in the world that studies tumor immunology by changing specific genes involved in intracellular trafficking (a delivery system in the cells).
In August, Nature Communications published a study I completed with my lab team at Huntsman Cancer Institute. The study helps explain how melanoma, a common and deadly skin cancer, evades the immune system. It also offers a potential explanation for immunotherapy resistance in some melanoma patients.
We discovered that melanoma cells can use ARF6, a cargo transport protein, to help stop immune attack during tumor development and disease progression.
What inspired you to pursue cancer research?
Curiosity, curiosity, curiosity...the curiosity of the unknown is what inspired me and keeps me in science and medicine.
How does your work complement/compare to current research at Earle. A. Chiles Research Institute?
I'm a cancer biologist as opposed to an immunologist. While a lot of investigators here at Earle A. Chiles Research Institute study tumor immunology from the host immune perspective, I study it from the tumor perspective. In addition, as an anatomic pathologist, I can assist other investigators in a collaborative capacity with their research.
You recently moved to the Pacific Northwest. How do you spend your time outside of work?
I mostly spend time with family. We have a lot of family here and we like to visit with them at home, at the beach and at Mt. Hood. We also love to hike when we can.
Stay engaged with Providence Cancer Institute
At Providence Cancer Institute, our physicians and scientists work together to find better ways to treat cancer. One of the areas we focus on is cancer immunotherapy, where we help the body’s immune system fight the disease. With advancements in genomic sequencing, we’re also able to create treatment plans that are unique to each patient. By blending research with personalized care, we’re working to make a difference for people living with and beyond cancer.
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