Dohun Pyeon Receives MSU Research Foundation Grant for Novel Cancer Research

Dohun Pyeon has been awarded a 2023 Strategic Partnership Grant that will support development of a cost-effective immunotherapy for cancers linked to human papillomaviruses (HPV).

Dohun Pyeon is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. His research focuses on HPV-associated cancers, including investigating virus-host interactions to develop effective preventive and therapeutic strategies.

EAST LANSING, MI — Dohun Pyeon, a professor at Michigan State University's College of Natural Science, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG), has been awarded a 2023 Strategic Partnership Grant (SPG) by the MSU Research Foundation. The grant, totaling $480,000 over three years, will help Pyeon's lab reach its long-term goal of developing a cost-effective immunotherapy for cancers linked to human papillomaviruses (HPV). Each year, these cancers claim over 500,000 lives worldwide.

"Cancer is one of our biggest health problems," Pyeon said. "The major challenge is that cancers all vary, and we need many different approaches for patient treatments. Immunotherapy has been a breakthrough in cancer treatment, especially for late-stage patients. My lab is trying to understand why many people don't respond to current immunotherapies."

The Pyeon lab is trying to restore tumor antigen presentation on cancer cells to make them visible to immune cells again. The team found that the novel membrane protein MARCHF8 can be a drug target to make cancer cells detectable by T cells. In initial studies, this strategy has significantly suppressed tumor growth in mice, significantly prolonging their survival. If this works in humans, it could open many new avenues for effective cancer treatment.

With this new funding, Pyeon and his team will get the chance to continue their work and achieve proof-of-concept for further development of a novel cancer immunotherapy.

The SPG program, funded by the MSU Research Foundation and managed by the MSU Office of Research and Innovation, is a competitive grant initiative supporting significant projects across key research, scholarship, and creative activities. Since 2001, the MSU Research Foundation has allocated over $37 million in funding for 73 SPG projects. These projects have secured over $100 million in external funding from state and federal sources.

The SPG program, funded by the MSU Research Foundation and managed by the MSU Office of Research and Innovation, is a competitive grant initiative supporting significant projects across key research, scholarship, and creative activities. Since 2001, the MSU Research Foundation has allocated over $37 million in funding for 73 SPG projects. These projects have secured over $100 million in external funding from state and federal sources.

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