MC3 Member Spotlight: Nick Salisbury, PhD

MC3 member Nick Salisbury was recently awarded an NCI-sponsored R37 MERIT grant, “Dissecting MCPyV ALTO transcription and tumor suppression.” The five-year award, which began funding August 1, 2026, with the potential for an additional two years, will support Dr. Salisbury as he establishes his own independent lab and pursues faculty positions in the coming academic year. 

The project focuses on ALTO, a poorly understood protein encoded by Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), the virus that can cause Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). The Galloway Lab recently discovered that ALTO acts as a tumor suppressor: although ALTO is typically silenced in MCC tumors, restoring its expression stops MCC cell growth. 

Dr. Salisbury’s research will investigate how ALTO is activated during normal viral infection and why it becomes silenced in MCC. The team will also explore whether ALTO can enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize and kill MCC cells using patient-derived T cells. Together, these studies could uncover a new therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced MCC.