Thazin Nwe Aung, PhD
Associate Research Scientist in PathologyDownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Appointments
Pathology
Primary
Contact Info
About
Titles
Associate Research Scientist in Pathology
Biography
Dr. Thazin Nwe Aung earned her PhD in Genetics, Genomics, and Evolution from the University of Adelaide, Australia, in 2019. Her doctoral research focused on elucidating cellular signalling, communication, and interactions, focusing on cancer metastases and immune function, using systems biology approaches.
Following her PhD, Dr. Aung joined Yale University, where she is currently an Associate Research Scientist. Her work focuses on identifying prognostic and predictive biomarkers associated with treatment response and resistance in cancer, employing spatial multi-omics, machine learning and computational biology. She is currently funded for two projects investigating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and head and neck cancer, where she leverages the spatial context of tissue architecture to develop biomarkers that predict treatment response and resistance in patients.
Appointments
Pathology
Associate Research ScientistPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- University of Adelaide, Dept of Molecular and Biomedical Science (2019)
- MS
- Yangon Technological University, Biotechnology/Molecular Genetics (2006)
- BS (Hon)
- Yangon Technological University, Biotechnology/Molecular Genetics (2004)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Drug Resistance; Immunotherapy; Melanoma; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms
Public Health Interests
Bioinformatics; Biomarkers; Immunology
ORCID
0000-0003-4150-0426- View Lab Website
Rimm Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Thazin Nwe Aung's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Thazin Nwe Aung's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Thazin Nwe Aung is interested in exploring.
David Rimm, MD, PhD
Harriet Kluger, MD
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD
Barbara Burtness, MD
Jonathan Warrell
Kurt Schalper, MD, PhD
51Publications
939Citations
Melanoma
Immunotherapy
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms
Publications
2024
127 Digital pathology prognostic biomarkers- time for clinical application in melanoma
Saenger Y, Zhang C, Espinoza G, Bracero Y, Kenchappa D, Moon J, Matteo A, Bioh L, Sultana S, Singh A, Aung T, Gartrell R, Leung L, Ferringer T, Chang R, Horst B, Nastiuk K, Rimm D, Geskin L. 127 Digital pathology prognostic biomarkers- time for clinical application in melanoma. 2024, a140-a141. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2024-sitc2024.0127.Peer-Reviewed Original Research109 Development of a novel immuno-metabolic spatial signature to predict response and resistance to immunotherapy in NSCLC patients
Markovits E, Monkman J, Aung T, Reeves J, O’Byrne K, Czertock R, Puig O, Rimm D, Kulasinghe A. 109 Development of a novel immuno-metabolic spatial signature to predict response and resistance to immunotherapy in NSCLC patients. 2024, a119-a119. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2024-sitc2024.0109.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchHigh-throughput transcriptome profiling indicates ribosomal RNAs to be associated with resistance to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Moutafi M, Bates K, Aung T, Milian R, Xirou V, Vathiotis I, Gavrielatou N, Angelakis A, Schalper K, Salichos L, Rimm D. High-throughput transcriptome profiling indicates ribosomal RNAs to be associated with resistance to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Journal For ImmunoTherapy Of Cancer 2024, 12: e009039. PMID: 38857914, PMCID: PMC11168162, DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2024-009039.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNon-small cell lung cancerImmune checkpoint inhibitorsProgrammed cell death protein 1Associated with OSCell lung cancerTissue microarray spotsTissue microarrayValidation cohortLung cancerNon-small cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitorsAssociated with resistance to immunotherapyCell death protein 1Resistance to immunotherapyAssociated with PFSProgression-free survivalSecreted frizzled-related protein 2Cox proportional-hazards model analysisCheckpoint inhibitorsImmunotherapy strategiesTumor compartmentsRetrospective cohortDiscovery cohortLong-term benefitsPatientsCD68Spatially Informed Gene Signatures for Response to Immunotherapy in Melanoma.
Aung T, Warrell J, Martinez-Morilla S, Gavrielatou N, Vathiotis I, Yaghoobi V, Kluger H, Gerstein M, Rimm D. Spatially Informed Gene Signatures for Response to Immunotherapy in Melanoma. Clinical Cancer Research 2024, 30: 3520-3532. PMID: 38837895, PMCID: PMC11326985, DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-3932.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsGene signatureResistance to immunotherapyResponse to immunotherapyPrediction of treatment outcomeResistant to treatmentAccurate prediction of treatment outcomePredictive of responseImmunotherapy outcomesMelanoma patientsMelanoma specimensValidation cohortPatient stratificationDiscovery cohortTreatment outcomesImmunotherapyMelanomaTumorPatientsCohortS100BOutcomesGene expression dataGenesCD68+macrophagesExpression dataCorrelation of eTILs with recurrence free survival (RFS) in stage IIB-IIIA melanoma and use as biomarker for stratification for clinical trials.
Aung T, Zhang C, Espinoza G, Leung L, Moon J, Horst B, Ferringer T, Nastiuk K, Rimm D, Saenger Y. Correlation of eTILs with recurrence free survival (RFS) in stage IIB-IIIA melanoma and use as biomarker for stratification for clinical trials. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 42: 9567-9567. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.16_suppl.9567.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTumor-infiltrating lymphocytesRecurrence free survivalAmerican Joint Committee on CancerFree survivalInfiltrating lymphocytesRetrospective cohortClinical trialsQuantify tumor-infiltrating lymphocytesStage II-III melanomaTumor-infiltrating lymphocytes groupDiagnostic slidesIIb-IIIaRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterEarly-stage melanoma patientsCox modelStage IIB-IIICAdjuvant clinical trialsKaplan-Meier curvesMultivariate Cox modelUnivariate Cox modelCox proportional hazards modelsClinical pathological featuresGeisinger Medical CenterProportional hazards modelClinical trial designHigh-Plex Assessment of Biomarkers in Tumors
Aung T, Bates K, Rimm D. High-Plex Assessment of Biomarkers in Tumors. Modern Pathology 2024, 37: 100425. PMID: 38219953, DOI: 10.1016/j.modpat.2024.100425.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2023
B-cell infiltration is associated with survival outcomes following programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Gavrielatou N, Fortis E, Spathis A, Anastasiou M, Economopoulou P, Foukas G, Lelegiannis I, Rusakiewicz S, Vathiotis I, Aung T, Tissot S, Kastrinou A, Kotsantis I, Vagia E, Panayiotides I, Rimm D, Coukos G, Homicsko K, Foukas P, Psyrri A. B-cell infiltration is associated with survival outcomes following programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Annals Of Oncology 2023, 35: 340-350. PMID: 38159908, DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2023.12.011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsProlonged progression-free survivalTertiary lymphoid structuresPD-L1 expressionB cellsM HNSCCCell death protein 1 inhibitionPD-1-based immunotherapyNeck squamous cell cancerNeck squamous cell carcinomaHigher B cell countsIncreased B cellsB cell infiltrationB-cell countsPD-L1 positivityProgression-free survivalTreatment of recurrentSquamous cell cancerBlood immune cell compositionSquamous cell carcinomaBiomarkers of responseImmune cell compositionB-cell-associated genesProtein 1 inhibitionCell death proteinMetastatic headNew Therapies in Melanoma: Current Trends, Evolving Paradigms, and Future Perspectives.
Shafi S, Challa B, Parwani A, Aung T. New Therapies in Melanoma: Current Trends, Evolving Paradigms, and Future Perspectives. Cutis 2023, 112: e32-e39. PMID: 38091429, DOI: 10.12788/cutis.0911.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsLymphocyte-activating gene-3Early phase clinical trialsPrimary treatment failureAggressive skin cancerNew therapeutic agentsICI therapyCheckpoint inhibitorsNovel immunotherapiesMelanoma patientsTreatment failureMetastatic melanomaPredictive biomarkersLong-term benefitsClinical trialsClinical careNew therapiesTherapeutic strategiesAlternative treatmentSkin cancerTherapy outcomeTherapeutic agentsNovel targetNovel therapeuticsPatientsAutomated scoring of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes informs risk of death from thin melanoma: A nested case-case study
Tan S, Aung T, Claeson M, Acs B, Zhou C, Brown S, Lambie D, Baade P, Pandeya N, Soyer H, Smithers B, Whiteman D, Rimm D, Khosrotehrani K. Automated scoring of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes informs risk of death from thin melanoma: A nested case-case study. Journal Of The American Academy Of Dermatology 2023, 90: 179-182. PMID: 37730017, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2023.09.026.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsPhase II window study of olaparib alone or with cisplatin or durvalumab in operable Head and Neck Cancer
Moutafi M, Koliou G, Papaxoinis G, Economopoulou P, Kotsantis I, Gkotzamanidou M, Anastasiou M, Pectasides D, Kyrodimos E, Delides A, Giotakis E, Papadimitriou N, Panayiotides I, Perisanidis C, Fernandez A, Xirou V, Poulios C, Gagari E, Yaghoobi V, Gavrielatou N, Shafi S, Aung T, Kougioumtzopoulou A, Kouloulias V, Palialexis K, Gkolfinopoulos S, Strati A, Lianidou E, Fountzilas G, Rimm D, Foukas P, Psyrri A. Phase II window study of olaparib alone or with cisplatin or durvalumab in operable Head and Neck Cancer. Cancer Research Communications 2023, 3: 1514-1523. PMID: 37575280, PMCID: PMC10414130, DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0051.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsObjective response rateTumor microenvironmentPD-L1Operable headResponse rateDeath ligand 1 (PD-L1) levelsPathologic complete response ratePhase II window studyNeck squamous cell carcinomaPD-L1 CPSComplete response rateSerious adverse eventsPercentage of patientsInhibitor-based treatmentSquamous cell carcinomaEffective antitumor responseImmunosuppressive tumor microenvironmentInflammatory tumor microenvironmentTumor cell proliferationColony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) genePrimary endpointSecondary endpointsAdverse eventsOpportunity trialAntitumor response
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor $200,000 Grant Support for a Research Project "Integrating multi-omics to predict immunotherapy outcomes: enhancing efficacy by analyzing spatial immune-tumor interactions in Head & Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma"
National AwardRobert E. Leet and Clara Guthrie Patterson Trust Mentored Research Award Bank of America, N.A., TrusteeDetails01/31/2025United Stateshonor $52,000 Grant Support for a Research Project "Mapping the Spatial Landscape of Immune Response and Tumor Heterogeneity to Predict Immunotherapy Efficacy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer."
National AwardLion Heart Foundation, Yale Cancer CenterDetails01/01/2025United Statesactivity Enhancing Immunotherapy Outcomes: Spatial Multi-Omics Predictive Models
Oral PresentationSpatial Biology Symposium - InvitedDetails09/09/2024 - 09/10/2024Germantown, MD, United StatesSponsored by AstraZeneca, BioTracactivity Journal for immunotherapy of cancer
Journal ServiceReviewerDetails2024 - 2024activity Journal of thoracic oncology
Journal ServiceReviewerDetails2023 - 2024
News
News
- December 06, 2024
Thazin Nwe Aung, PhD, Selected for Patterson Mentored Research Award
- June 26, 2024
Yale Study Finds Potential in Predicting Immunotherapy Outcomes in Patients with Melanoma
- April 12, 2024
Yale Cancer Center Faculty and Trainees Present at AACR Annual Meeting
- July 22, 2022
Rimm Lab Validates Objective Prognostic Marker in Patients With Early-stage Melanoma
Get In Touch
Contacts
Email
Locations
Brady Memorial Laboratory
Lab
310 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06510