Catherine J. Wu

Wu was born in New York City but her family moved to Setauket-East Setauket, New York when she was an infant. Growing up, she attended Ward Melville High School.[1] She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard College and her Medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine.[2] Upon completing her medical degree, Wu was trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and completed her medical fellowship in oncology and hematology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.[1]

In 2000, Wu joined the Dana-Farber faculty and began her independent research program in 2005.[1]

In 2011, Wu was the recipient of a Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Grant for her project "Coupled Genetic and Functional Dissection of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia."[3] Using this grant, she published the first finding of five mutated genes connected to chronic lymphocytic leukaemia development (CLL).[4] The following year, Wu continued to lead studies on the gene mutations of cancerous cells and was subsequently elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation.[5] She also published findings in the Journal of Clinical Investigation concluding that patients with CLL who receive organ transplants have a high risk of relapse and tissue damage.[6] Wu later led a study analyzing genetic material in CLL and normal tissue of over 500 patients. Her research team identified numerous genetic abnormalities that had the ability to drive leukemia, including RPS15 and IKZF3 which had never before been linked to human cancer.[7]

In 2019, Wu continued her research on patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and led a research study which collaborated with scientists at the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Washington. They found that genetic changes that occur very early in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia development directly influenced the growth pattern the CLL cells would ultimately take.[8] As a result of her research, she was elected a Member of the National Academy of Medicine.[9] Wu later led a study which uncovered why some patients become resistant to Venclexta, a Leukemia drug. Her research team used leukemia samples from before treatment with venetoclax and following their resistance. They then analyzed the tissue looking for genomic differences in the before and after relapse samples. The results of the analysis were lacking so they performed a large-scale loss-of-function screen to see the effect on other genes. Through this screening, they found that resistant cells make too much MCL1.[10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Wu and scientist Guang Yang co-led a clinical trial to understand how the immune system functions in COVID-19 patients and how the addition of BTK-inhibitors can stop immune over-activity in response to the virus.[11] She also analyzed tumors from cancer patients treated with immunotherapy and identified several features of the tumors that influenced their response to drugs such as pembrolizumab.[12]