Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D.

Clinical Scientist | Biomarker Strategy | Clinical Trial Operations

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

I'll be attending InnoTech Austin with Austin Women in Tech (AWT). Let me know if you're planning to attend so that we can say Hi! 👋
Or register now and join me at the event! https://t.co/VXezeKLQQB

#InnoTechAUS #austinwomenintech #AustinTx

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

Having so much fun volunteering with @girlstart today! The day is packed with hands-on STEM workshops for 4th-8th graders! 🔬🧬👩‍🔬

#austintx #girlstart #girlsinstem

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

🧐Takeaway: This is the first study showing that RIT1 is an actionable driver mutation in up to 14% of lung cancer patients. It provides a roadmap for how we can treat RIT1 patients in the clinic and highlights how important it is to generate preclinical models of rare cancers.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

🫁 We all know how important KRAS is for driving NSCLC. But what about the RAS-family GTPase RIT1? Our recent work at @genentech describing the first mouse model of RIT1-driven NSCLC is out in preprint.

https://t.co/FKloT84685
#KRAS #RIT1 #lungcancer #NSCLC

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

💊 We identified the SHP2 inhibitor migoprotafib as a potent combination partner for treating RIT1 tumors. At the same time, co-occurring RIT1 mutations promote resistance to other therapies and migoprotafib re-sensitizes the tumors to treatment.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

🩰 Dancing appears to be the best treatment, but this intervention had the least number of studies and participants. Dancing was primarily studied in young women (88% female, mean age 31), warranting further investigation with other age groups and men.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

💃 Dancing and other types of vigorous exercise are more effective at treating #depression than SSRIs! As a lifelong dancer and #clinicalscientist, it warms my heart to see how much media attention this meta-analysis has received. But…

doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-075847

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

👀 There is high risk of experimental bias in these comparisons! The confidence rating for the findings is very low without measures like blinding participants and controlling for differences in sample size.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

👩‍🔬 I'm looking forward to volunteering at STEM Girl Day at @UTAustin this Saturday!

🧬 I love participating in Women and Girls in STEM programs all over the country- it's so fun! Let me know if you'll be there!

#girlsinstem #utaustin #AustinTx @UTWiSTEM

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

Doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00028-7
#clinicaltrials #immunotherapy

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

💊 An interesting editorial on balancing the risks and benefits of immunotherapy…

🧐 Takeaway: When you alter the normal function of the immune system to fight cancer, life-threatening adverse reactions can occur, so the risks may outweigh the benefits.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

2️⃣ Overuse of immunosuppressive drugs to mitigate immune-related adverse events may attenuate response to immunotherapy and lead to worse survival. Preventative measures can reduce the incidence of CRS, but the effects on treatment response have not yet been explored.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

@ZacSolomon I love you!!! ❤️🤠🥓

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

🤔 I'd be curious to see the effectiveness of preventing other HPV-associated cancers over time...and how effective will vaccination prove for men?

doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad263
#clinicaltrials #vaccines #cervicalcancer

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

💉 In a recent population-based observational study in Scotland, NO new cases of cervical cancer have been diagnosed in women born between 1988-1996 that received the HPV vaccine at age 12-13!

✅ Check out the green line on the graph ✅

doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad263

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

📈 The major findings: The bivalent HPV vaccine prevents the development of invasive cervical cancer and even 1 or 2 doses given 1 month apart confer benefit, if given at 12-13 years of age. At older ages, 3 doses are required for statistically significant vaccine effectiveness.

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

This may mean that patients with obesity will have to remain on treatment for the rest of their lives. So what will be the economic and emotional impact? 🤔 💉

#clinicaltrials #obesity #healthcare

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

💉🤔 In the age of #Ozempic, there will soon be no shortage of GLP-1R agonists in development for the treatment of obesity.

Treatment with AMG133 from @Amgen led to a dose-dependent decrease in body weight (BW) in preclinical and phase 1 studies...

https://t.co/3rtfJV5Qus

[Ashley DiMarco, Ph.D. @AshleyVDiMarco]

My concerns: When treatment is withdrawn in obese monkeys, BW begins to rebound almost immediately. In humans, a "prolonged weight-reducing effect" is observed after a single dose. However, BW starts to rebound between 60-90 days later in most dose groups.