Amy M. Fulton, PhD

• University of Kansas, BA, Microbiology, 1972
• University of Wisconsin, MS, Medical Microbiology, 1975
• University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., Medical Microbiology, 1977
• University of British Columbia, Postdoctoral Study, Cancer Immunobiology, 1980

Dr. Fulton's laboratory is identifying the mechanisms by which breast cancers grow and metastasize. She is working to understand the role of inflammation in promoting tumor progression with the goal of identifying novel strategies to target these mechanisms. Dr. Fulton collaborates with both clinical and basic research investigators to develo innovative approaches to diagnose, treat and prevent breast cancer. Her research has shown that overexpression of Cyclooxygenase-2 is an indicator and mediator of aggressive disease and preclinical studies indicate that cyclooxygenase inhibitors limit tumor growth and spread. Her laboratory was the first to show that the cyclooxygenase-2 product, prostaglandin E_2, activates the EP4 G protein-coupled receptor to drive metastasis. Prostaglandin E2-mediated immune suppression is also mediated through activation of EP4 on immune effector cells. In preclinical models, small m.w. antagonists of EP4 inhibit tumor dissemination and protect immune cells from dysregulation. She has recently demonstrated that breast cancer stem-like cells with heightened tumorigenic potential and a treatment resistant phenotype have elevated levels of EP4 and are more sensitive to inhibition by EP4 antagonists than the non-stem cell population. These findings have led to the design of a clinical trial with several clinical collaborators to examine efficacy of an EP4 antagonist in advanced malignancy. Her lab has also discovered that chemokine receptor CXCR3 isoforms differentially promote metastasis and cancer stem cells. They have identified novel allosteric CXCR3 modulators with high efficacy in preclinical models. Working with Dr. Namita Kundu, Dr. Fulton's lab has identified a novel and potent inhibitor of metastasis isolated from the Taro plant, Colocasia esculenta. Current studies in collaboration with Dr. David Weber are designed to identify the active moiety and to discern the mechanism of action.

Tumor biology; biology of metastasis; inflammatory mediators; cyclooxygenase; chemokines; prostaglandins