Michelle Swift, PhD

2026 Mentored Investigator Grant

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Project Summary
This project aims to understand why some ovarian cancers stop responding to a type of treatment called PARP inhibitors. We are studying how certain proteins, which normally help fix damaged DNA, might instead make cancer harder to treat when not properly controlled. By finding out how these proteins behave in cancer cells, we hope to discover new ways to predict which patients will benefit from treatment and develop better strategies to keep the treatment working longer. Our goal is to improve outcomes for people with ovarian cancer by personalizing and strengthening their therapy.

Bio
I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, working in the laboratory of Dr. Dipanjan Chowdhury. My research focuses on how the tumor suppressor BRCA1 and its partner BARD1 regulate DNA repair through ubiquitin signaling. Specifically, I investigate how BRCA1/BARD1-mediated ubiquitination of anti-resection complexes modulates DNA end resection, replication fork stability, and therapeutic responses to PARP inhibitors in BRCA1-mutated cancers. Combining proteomics, genome editing, and single-molecule approaches, I aim to define new mechanisms of genome maintenance and identify predictive biomarkers of treatment response in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.