Wendy Bhatt

Wendy Bhatt investigates how chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, antimalarial drugs that inhibit autophagy, can sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Her research has mechanistically characterized how lysosomal disruption by chloroquine blocks autophagy-mediated survival responses in cancer cells under nutrient stress and drug treatment. She conducts preclinical studies combining chloroquine with RAS pathway inhibitors and immunotherapy to overcome treatment resistance. Her work contributes to ongoing clinical trials evaluating hydroxychloroquine combinations in pancreatic and other cancers.