I have worked on tumor microenvironment (TME) in solid cancer for decades. My research have focuses on using molecular biology techniques including high-throughput and classical technigues to find novel biomarkers as the diagnostic and therapeutic targets and increased the efficacy of immunotherapy in cancers. As working in the hospital, I have collected the clinical samples of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer with complete clinicopathological data and using these cohorts to explore for the novel biomarkers in Thai cancer patients. I have been acting as a principle investigator or co-investigator on several Royal Thai Government Grants and working with several international collaborators i.e. Prof. Joanne Edwards, UK, Prof. Toshiro Moroishi, Japan, Prof. Ciro Isihoro, Italy and Prof. Marsela Hermoso, Netherland. Hence, I have accessibility to cancer clinical samples and experiences in handle the international collaborative projects.
As a pioneer in publusing the works on the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in cholangiocarcinoma, a niche cancer in SoutheEast Asian countries, I have proposed CAFs-derived substances from CAFs gene expression profiling and demonstrated the mechanisms in induction of cancer progression and drug resistance. Hence, the in vitro molecular biology techniques involving all tumorigenic functions of cancer cells and the co-culture of cancer cells with CAFs are well-established in my lab.
Recently, I have joined Cancer Immunotherapy Excellence Research Center, Mahidol University at Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital. I have extensively worked on development of tumor antigen-specific T cells and how to regulate the immune checkpoint molecules to booster T cell function. I have publications for the production of tumor antigen-specific T cells by antigen-pulsed dendritic cells and neoantigen-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. I also have the preliminary results of novel immune checkpoint molecules in breast cancer tissues which can be the novel targets to inhibit their T cell attenuation funtions. I have a current project collaborated with Thai professor who is an expert in using computer softwares to predict the binding of two biomolecules. We are doing the HLA and neoantigen peptide binding prediction in the project of development of neoantigen-specific T cells in breast cancer, and the results are under preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed journal in 2022.
As cancers are important health problems and have high incidence in Thai population and worldwide. My team has both clinicians and basic researchers and aim to translate the obtained knowledge into clinical practice. During more than 20 years of my research career, I have continuously received research grants which since 2016 of around 550,000 USD. I also have several M.Sc./Ph.D. students in Biochemistry, Immunology and Biomedical Science, research assistants and postdoctoral trainees in my team. As Principal-Investigator on the proposed study, I will employ my training, background, and research experiences to all research aims and research experiments. I will provide overall management, general oversight of study personnel and day-to-day research activities to make this proposal success.

I have been working in cancer research for decades focusing on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and cancer immunotherapy. The cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the major component in TME and their roles in several cancers have been reported from my group including breast cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, ovarian cancer. Several biomarkers and signaling molecules as theranostic targets are proposed in these cancers. The production of tumor specific T cells against over-expressed antigens and neoantigens have been sucessfully done and test the cancer killing functions in combinination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. 

-Advancing production of tumor-specific T cells in breast cancer. I have reported the important tumor-associated antigens and neoantigens in Thai breast cancer patients. Together, I have successfully developed
the protocol for production of not only T cell against tumor antigens by antigen-loaded dendritic cells-pulsed T cells and antigen peptide-activated PBMCs, but also chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells). I also proved that inhibition of immune checkpoint molecules PD-L1 by a specific peptide against PD-L1 or a regulator of PD-L1 expression can enhance the cancer cell killing function of tumor-specific T cells.

-Advancing crosstalk of CAFs and immune cells in cancer progression. I have reviewed the effect of CAFs on the status of immune cells in cancer to highlight the immunosuppressive effect of CAFs and proposed the regulation of immune landscape or reversion of an immunosuppressive to an immunostimulation condition for the effective immunotherapy in cancer.

-Pioneering novel biomarkers in cancers. The epithelial cell-derived cancers which high incidence in both Asia and global i.e. breast cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, have CAFs as major component in TME. I have successfully used gene expression profiling of CAFs to identify novel biomarkers to be used as the theranostic targets for better treatment of these patients.

-Advancing the mechanism of CAF-derived substances in induction of cancer progression. I have explored the activated signaling molecules in cancer cells stimulated by the substances from CAFs. The inhibitors of these molecules are demonstrated to attenuate aggressive phenotypes of cancers i.e. migration, invasion, metastasis and drug resistance.