Yuan Pan

Department of Symptom Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas

Dr. Yuan Pan is an assistant professor in the Department of Symptom Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and a scholar in cancer research with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Dr. Pan’s research focuses on understanding how cancer and cancer treatments affect the nervous system, which could lead to new ways to predict, treat, and prevent cancers and enhance patient quality of life. Dr. Pan obtained her PhD from the University of Iowa under the supervision of Dr. Sheila Baker, where she studied how membrane protein trafficking is regulated in neurons. As a postdoctoral fellow, she trained with Dr. David Gutmann (Washington University) and Dr. Michelle Monje (Stanford University) to investigate the neuroscience of brain tumors. Her postdoctoral research revealed that light-induced neuronal activity drives the initiation and maintenance of optic pathway glioma associated with the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome. Dr. Pan was awarded by several programs, including the Department of Defense (DoD) Neurofibromatosis Research Program, the MDACC Cancer Neuroscience Program, the Gilbert Family Foundation, the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, and the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation.

Kathryn Taylor

Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Kathryn Taylor is an assistant member of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Hospital. Her research interests focus on identifying effective treatment options for pediatric and young adult cancers.Kathryn earned her PhD in Oncology from the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, where she trained with Prof. Chris Jones. Her research investigated the genomic landscape of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), leading to the discovery of a novel oncogene, ACVR1. Kathryn then completed her postdoctoral training with Prof. Michelle Monje at Stanford University, investigating neuron-glioma interactions and the mechanisms by which malignant synaptic plasticity drives pediatric glioma progression.Current research in the Taylor lab examines the nervous system’s influence on the development and progression of developmental malignancies. Using a multi-disciplinary approach within the emerging field of cancer neuroscience, the lab leverages neuroscience tools and techniques to identify neuromodulatory approaches for novel therapeutic strategies.

Khalil Kasm

Department of Symptom Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Khalil Kasm is a postdoctoral fellow in the Pan Lab at the Department of Symptom Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. He earned his PhD in Pharmacology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2021. His research focuses on cancer neuroscience and pain pharmacology, with particular expertise in chronic pain, neuron-glia interactions, and oxidative stress. Dr. Kasm has authored several peer-reviewed publications and is committed to advancing reproducible preclinical and translational research. He has employed diverse neuroscience tools to investigate how sensory neurons influence tumor progression and cancer pain. His long-term goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies that improve outcomes and quality of life for patients suffering from cancer and pain.