Browsing by Author "Nguyen, Phuong"

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    Engineering Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus to redirect Macrophages to Tumor Cells
    (Wiley, 2021) Cao, Felicia; Nguyen, Phuong; Hong, Bangxing; DeRenzo, Christopher; Rainusso, Nino C.; Rodriguez Cruz, Tania; Wu, Meng-Fen; Liu, Hao; Song, Xiao-Tong; Suzuki, Masataka; Wang, Lisa L.; Yustein, Jason T.; Gottschalk, Stephen; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, School of Medicine
    Oncolytic virotherapy has been tested in numerous early phase clinical studies. However, the antitumor activity of oncolytic viruses thus far has been limited. Numerous strategies are being explored to enhance their antitumor activity by activating the adaptive arm of the immune system. We reasoned that it might also be possible to engineer oncolytic viruses to redirect tumor-associated macrophages to tumor cells for therapeutic benefit. We engineered an oncolytic vaccinia virus (VV) to disrupt the CD47/SIRPα interaction by expressing a chimeric molecule that consists of the ectodomain of SIRPα and the Fc domain of IgG4 (SIRPα-Fc-VV). SIRPα-Fc-VV readily replicated in tumor cells and redirected M1 as well as M2 macrophages to tumor cells in vitro. In contrast, control VVs that either encoded YFP (YFP-VV) or SIRPα (SIRPα-VV) did not. In vivo, SIRPα-Fc-VV had greater antitumor activity than YFP-VV and SIRPα-VV in an immune competent osteosarcoma model resulting in a significant survival advantage. Pretreatment with cytoxan further augmented the antitumor activity of SIRPα-Fc-VV. Thus, arming oncolytic viruses with SIRPα-Fc may present a promising strategy to enhance their antitumor activity for the virotherapy of solid tumors.
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    Mental Health Among Frontline Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (2021-05-04) Nguyen, Phuong; Bednarski, Julie; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; White, Debra
    Leadership from a local nonprofit organization serving families in Marion County, all of whom face numerous disparities, identified a need for mental health services for their frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys were distributed to employees were used to investigate the impact this pandemic has had on their occupation, their confidence in managing mental health concerns, and areas of interest based on current in-place structures. Weekly in-services were conducted based on these results. Improvements were observed in exit surveys and feedback; participants reported positive attitudes towards the in-services they attended, desires for future in-services, and that the in-services addressed their desired focus areas. These findings suggest that programs and protocols that prioritize mental health in the workplace have a positive effect on perceived mental and physical health as well as confidence levels in addressing mental health at this site.