As a result of her PhD work, Dr. Du developed interests in cancer research and became a postdoctoral fellow with Nobel Laureate Dr. Harold Varmus at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The most important work from her postdoctoral studies was to develop a mouse model, RIP-Tag; RIP-tva, to study metastasis (Du et al., PLoS Biology, 2007). Using a novel and innovative approach of employing somatic gene transfer system, this mouse model offers a unique opportunity to investigate molecular networks that drive the tumor progression to metastasis.

In her laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Du and her team have expanded the scope from mouse models to human tissues and have been collaborating with other scientists and clinicians to better understand cancer metastasis. Dr. Du’s laboratory applies a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the molecular mechanism of metastasis, combining molecular biology and genomics tools with animal models and in vivo imaging technologies. Dr. Du’s achievements have been recognized by Scholar-in-Training Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, Career Development Award from Department of Defense, President's Council of Cornell Women Affinito-Stewart Award, and BCRP Breakthrough Award from Department of Defense.