Contact
Positions
PhD student
- Organization:
- West Virginia University School of Medicine
- Department:
- Microbiology, Immunology & Cell Biology
- Classification:
- Graduate Assistant
About Nicole Mihalik
Prior to WVU, Nicole received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from West Liberty University in May 2017. She conducted undergraduate research in microbiology and cancer cell biology and was a member of the West Liberty Hilltoppers collegiate softball team. After learning about the important role of the immune system in fighting cancer in her studies, Nicole became interested in cancer immunology and how elements of the tumor microenvironment work together to prevent successful therapeutic treatment in solid tumors.
Nicole currently works in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Eubank as a student in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology and is co-mentored by Dr. Benoit Driesschaert of WVU Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her work primarily focuses on the roles and therapeutic modulation of tumor-associated macrophage(TAM)-driven angiogenesis, hypoxia, and immunosuppression in breast tumors, and how modulating TAM functions might help re-shape the breast tumor microenvironment to be more responsive to therapies such as checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. An additional aspect of her work includes the development of novel therapeutic delivery modalities for macrophage-modulating biologics (i.e., polymeric nanoparticles). Nicole is funded as a Trainee on the WVU Cell & Molecular Biology and Biomedical Engineering (CBTP) T32 training grant and was awarded a WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Student Scholarship in 2022. Nicole is also a member of the WVU Pan-T32 Student Council and has served as Chair of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) WVU Student Chapter organization.