Investigators

Summary

Dr. Wang’s primary areas of research interest include design and statistical analysis of clinical trials and pre-clinical studies, and correlated survival analysis. Other areas of interest include microbiome data analysis, statistical analysis of Multiplex Immunofluorescence (mIF) data, and in vitro and in vivo radiation survival analysis.As a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics, and Biostatistician and former Interim Director of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) Biostatistics Facility, Dr. Wang has been collaborating with HCC medical investigators since…

Summary

The goals of my research program include: (1) define the cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune evasion during cancer development; (2) develop more effective cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and B cell lymphomas; (3) elucidate the basic mechanisms of antibody gene diversification and B cell lymphomagenesis. We employ mouse models, human samples, and novel methodologies to elucidate mechanisms underlying the heterogeneous responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in…

Summary

The Cancer Genome Project Initiatives have generated a daunting amount of genomic and deep sequencing data for tens of thousands of human tumors. An overarching challenge of this post-genomic era is to identify and recognize the cancer drivers and targets from these big genomic data, especially those that can be therapeutically targeted to improve the clinical outcome. The mission of our lab is to apply a multiple disciplinary approach inclusive of integrative bioinformatics, cancer genetics, molecular cancer biology, and translational studies to identify driving genetic aberrations and…

Summary

My research focuses on clinical natural language processing, digital phenotyping, clinical data infrastructure, cohort identification for clinical and translational research. My primary focus lies in leveraging electronic health records (EHRs), with a particular emphasis on unstructured EHR data, including, but not limited to, clinical notes, radiology reports, and pathology reports. I have expertise in developing natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to extract valuable information from these sources, such as cancer stage, histology, tumor grade, cancer subtypes, and treatment…

Summary

I am doing cancer research related to molecular biology, genetics, data mining with bioinformatics and immunology. According to immune relationship with cancers, there are hot tumors and cold tumors including immune cells exclusion and immune cell deserts to influence the progress of cancer patients, the "hot" tumors with immune infiltration has more chance for the carriers to get complete response to ICI therapy and chemotherapy. Our T cell migration test followed by flowcytometry showed the TNBC (Triple negative breast cancer) which has gene fusions of BCL2L14ETV6 has more resistant to T…

Summary

One focus of my lab is to investigate the mechanisms regulating androgen receptor (AR) nuclear localization, particularly androgen-independent AR nuclear localization in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) which is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men.  AR remains to be the key driver in majority of CRPC tumors resistant to the current AR targeting agents. AR nuclear localization is necessary for its function as a transcription factor. According to the classical model of AR nucleocytoplasmic trafficking, AR is present in the cytoplasm in the absence of…

Summary

Optical Microscopy has formed the core of my research career since my graduate training in England.  In the CBI which I founded and direct, we build, test, and use cutting edge optical tools for all types of research microscopic imaging in cells, tissues and animals from the single molecule to the whole animal, the goal being to build highly flexible, maximally effective imaging solutions, to be used by academic researchers.  In fact a major focus of my career and of the Center is to develop, train and imbue researchers at all levels (undergraduate, student, post-doc and faculty)…

Summary

In addition to specializing in pediatric and adult orthopaedic oncology, Dr. Weiss directs a basic science laboratory dedicated to the study of sarcomas ' cancerous tumors that arise in musculoskeletal tissues. As a bone cancer survivor himself, Dr. Weiss brings passion and enthusiasm to the laboratory, clinic, and operating room.

Summary

The Wells Laboratory research program, in close collaboration with its research partners, aims to understand cell migration in terms of how motility processes are regulated, and understand how this regulation of migration plays a role in physiologic and pathologic situations. We are integrating the knowledge gained from our biochemical and biophysical mechanistic studies into our investigations concerning conditions of dysregulated (tumor invasion) and orchestrated (wound healing and organogenesis) cell motility. As part of understanding the motility response, we are investigating both how…

Summary

The focus of my research is the genetics of postoperative symptoms. Specifically, I am studying the association of several genes and postoperative and post-discharge nausea and vomiting in women following surgery for breast and ovarian cancer. We would like to be able to understand why some women do not respond to antiemetic medications, and to predict who is at greatest risk.

Summary

Dr. Whiteside’s research interests are in tumor Immunology and immunotherapy with special focus on mechanisms of tumor-induced immunosuppression, extracellular vesicles, cytokine networks,   immunology of human head and neck cancer, melanoma, acute myelogenous leukemia and breast cancer. Her research is  focused on  mechanisms of tumor escape from the host immune system and the development of therapies designed to eliminate tumor escape. She studies the role of check point inhibitors in cancer progression. Currently she is…

Summary

Despite high prevalence and mortality rates, few research programs focus on breast cancer liver metastasis and little is known about the impact of metastatic breast cancer cells on the liver microenvironment. My research program will fill these gaps in knowledge by testing the impact of breast cancer cell secreted factors on the liver metastatic microenvironment with the overall goal of identifying targetable pathways to enhance immune cell presence and activation at this deadly metastatic site. Current research in my lab builds on my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado…

Summary

Dr. Wilson's research interests include: lung cancer screening and early detection, biomarker development and implementation, chemoprevention, diagnosis, staging and treatment of lung cancer; COPD, especially as it relates to lung cancer; occupational lung diseases; and general pulmonary medicine.

Summary

The Wipf group develops tools of synthetic organic chemistry in the search for innovative new therapies and therapeutics. We identify original synthetic methods, strategies and molecular mechanisms, and we apply them in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, total synthesis, and natural products chemistry. We select target molecules on the basis of their unique architectures and biological activities, as well as for showcasing our synthetic methods. We employ insights from flow and photochemistry, material science and nanoparticle research to improve synthetic access and modify the…

Summary

Norman Wolmark, MD, has spent decades conducting groundbreaking research and early clinical trials in the treatment of breast and bowel cancers.  Many of his early studies were conducted at the University of Pittsburgh alongside the late Dr. Bernard Fisher. Dr. Wolmark serves as Chairman of the NSABP Foundation and as Group Chair and Contact Principal Investigator of the NCI-funded NRG Oncology research organization, which combined the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG). Dr.…

Summary

I am a medical oncologist specializing in genitourinary cancers. My research interests are in symptom management and quality of life for patients with genitourinary cancers, particularly for patients with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy.

Summary

My research interfaces a broad range of interdisciplinary in computational science and medicine for translational and clinical applications. My main research areas include computational biomedical imaging analysis, big (health) data coupled with machine/deep learning, imaging-based clinical studies, radiomics/radiogenomics, and artificial intelligence in clinical informatics/workflows. Current research interests center on computational breast imaging and clinical studies for investigating quantitative imaging-derived biomarkers, models, and systems for breast cancer screening, risk…