Annual Report 2018 | Page 8

“ I was drawn to Hawai ‘ i because of its ethnic diversity and the abundance of natural products that fuels my research interests .”

– MULLER FABBRI

UH CANCER CENTER ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER

Cancer Biology Program

Muller

Fabbri , MD , PhD , focuses his research on interrupting the communication between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment in order to block cancer growth and the development of resistance to treatments .

Fabbri found a key molecule that is able to kill cancer cells in the most aggressive form of neuroblastoma . Te study represents the frst evidence that microRNA ( miR-186 ), in natural killer cell-derived exosomes , can kill cancer cells as efectively as natural killer cells themselves . Te microRNA kills cancer cells by inhibiting some key genes that promote cancer growth and helping natural killer cells become insensitive to paralysis .

“ Te discovery has been made in the most common solid pediatric cancer developing outside of the skull , however there is hope that these fndings are applicable to several other types of human cancers , given the central role played by natural killer cells in anti-cancer immunity ,” said Fabbri .

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