After KAUST Academy
Lena completed the KAUST Academy Bioinformatics Specialization in September 2026, spending six of eight weeks at the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge. Lena also received pharmacist professional registration from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties in July 2026.
Summer project
Bioinformatics Specialization · Cohort 2026
A Baseline Myeloid Immunosuppression Signature Associated with Resistance to Anti–PD-1 Plus Lenvatinib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer death, and combination anti–PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade with lenvatinib is a standard systemic therapy for advanced disease. However, only ~26% of patients derive durable benefit, and no validated pre-treatment biomarker distinguishes responders from non-responders. Although anti-tumour immunity research has centred on T cells, the myeloid compartment (macrophages and monocytes) is increasingly recognised as a driver of immunotherapy resistance. This project re-analysed public single-cell RNA-sequencing data from HBV-positive HCC patients, comparing responders and non-responders using a pseudobulk differential-expression framework, myeloid sub-clustering, gene-set enrichment, and druggability screening. The analysis identified a baseline myeloid immunosuppression signature associated with resistance and nominated three druggable targets: SYK (fostamatinib), MERTK/FLT3 (gilteritinib), and ADORA3 (namodenoson), each with an approved or clinical-stage agent. These findings are hypothesis-generating and provide a reproducible framework and a short translational path toward biomarker-guided drug repurposing, pending prospective validation.
With KAUST Academy
- Cohort 2026
University of Cambridge · Bioinformatics Summer Program
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