Guiping Wang

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a key driver of oncogene amplification and therapeutic resistance in many aggressive cancers. Despite the clinical importance, its actionable vulnerabilities have remained elusive. In this talk, I will share our recent discovery of a key vulnerability in ecDNA-driven tumors: a heightened replication stress caused by pervasive transcription on ecDNA. We leveraged this finding to develop a novel synthetic lethal strategy to overcome drug resistance. By combining CHK1 inhibition with a targeted therapy, we achieved sustained tumor regression in a mouse tumor model, advancing a new therapeutic strategy for treating ecDNA-driven cancers. 

Guiping Wang earned her PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She develops and applies cutting-edge imaging and sequencing methods to understand the fundamental principles linking molecular-level organization to cellular functions and pathological states.