Stephen C Frederico

My research efforts are focused on designing novel immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain tumors. I began my research journey in 2016 at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) where I joined a research group whose focus was on designing nano-carriers for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). While this was a novel approach to treating GBM, the approach still utilized Temozolomide (TMZ) which produces a plethora of negative side effects for patients. After observing patients experience TMZ induced side effects in the clinic, this inspired me to pursue designing different approaches to treating GBM. This led me to Duke University where I joined the laboratory of Dr. Peter Fecci as a member of the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). During my time at Duke, I engaged in research projects aimed at reversing immunosuppression in patients with GBM in addition to contributing to projects aimed at designing a CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of GBM. This experience opened my eyes to the enormous potential immunotherapy has for the treatment of CNS malignancies and inspired me to spend two years as a staff member of the Neuro-Oncology Branch at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. During my time at the NIH, I was a member of the Translational Immunology Team and was mentored by Dr. Mark Gilbert. My research efforts were dedicated to designing a clinical trial that seeks to predict which patients with CNS malignancies are most likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Additionally, I contributed to research projects aimed at reversing GBM-induced immunosuppression mediated by epigenetic gene silencing, as well as a clinical trial seeking to evaluate the negative impacts of dexamethasone in brain tumor patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. During my time at NIH, I also completed a Master of Science in Biotechnology at The Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in Molecular Targets and Drug Discovery, allowing me to enhance my understanding of cancer growth mechanisms and pathways tumors utilize to mediate immune escape. As a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine I plan to continue my pursuit of designing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain tumors, as well as continue pursuing my clinical interest in neurological surgery.