The lab has a focus on several topics: 1) It is now appreciated that HGG glioma comprises of several molecular subgroups and that the genetics of pediatric and adult HGG are distinct. Therefore a “one size that fits all” approach to…
The Aird lab focuses on the reciprocal regulation between cellular metabolism and the cell cycle. The interplay between cell cycle and metabolism is bidirectional, although incompletely understood. While proliferating cells require energy and biomass, metabolites can also act as signaling…
Dr. Bailey studies pediatric sarcoma biology. Specifically, Dr. Bailey's lab focuses on understanding the intersection of DNA damage and immunobiology in Ewing sarcoma. She is involved nationally in the Children's Oncology Group Bone Tumor Committee and is national Vice Chair…
Using a combination of multi-omics data integration, machine learning, and computer vision-assisted pathology image recognition, Dr. Bao’s work bridges methodological advances and biomedical applications with a direct impact on accelerating the knowledge discovery to new clinical trials that could benefit…
One of the major long-term research goals of my group is to explore the mechanisms by which environmental exposures increase the risk of liver disease and cancer in experimental and translational studies. Specifically, we explore the role of vinyl chloride…
My lab is focused on development of human Organs-on-Chips (microphysiological systems) and bioinspired robotics in the context of lung and immune pathophysiology. I am interested in applying our Organ-on-a-Chip models to emulate cancer pathobiology preclinically and utilize these platforms for…
My research focuses on understanding how non-coding RNA directs gene regulation. My current research goals are to understand how RNA conformational change within ribonucleoprotein complexes regulates gene transcription and genome replication. To do this, we will utilize complementary biochemical, structural…
My research interest is focused on lncRNAs in breast cancer. I have strong collaborations with other members of the cancer center including Drs. Adrian Lee, Steffi Oesterreich, Partha Roy, and Uma Chandran. However, my primary role in the cancer center…
Ovarian cancer is a disease that has high rates of resistance to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This therapeutic resistance drives a poor prognosis for patients with ovarian cancer. A primary focus of my group is to understand therapeutic resistance and develop therapeutic…
Dr. Camacho’s main research interests focus on modeling the physical interactions responsible for molecular recognition, and in the development of new technologies for structural prediction, their substrates, and supramolecular assemblies. Any progress in these fundamental problems is bound to bring…
I direct the Genomics Analysis Core, a Health Science shared resource and co-direct the Cancer Bioinformatics Services (CBS) for UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. The GAC and CBS’s aims are to 1) provide genomics data analysis, 2) support team science projects such…
Dr. Chen’s research concentrates on developing machine learning methods, especially deep learning models (DLMs) (e.g. Deep Neural Networks, Boltzmann Machine, and topic modeling), to study cancer cell signaling systems, disease mechanisms and cancer pharmacogenomics. Dr. Chen uses the concise representations…
Due to genomic and epigenetic instability of cancer cells, inter-patient and intra-patient heterogeneity in tumors creates formidable challenges in identifying optimal treatments. To address the challenges, I aim to establish comprehensive high-throughput multi-omics single-cell analysis including genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome,…
The Clark lab focuses on determining the molecular and cellular regulators of metastatic dormancy and recurrence within the liver. We utilize a novel all-human ex vivo 3D liver microphysiological system to model metastasis. The system has not only enabled the…
Dr. Cooper is Distinguished Professor, UPMC Endowed Chair, and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, with a secondary appointment in the Intelligent Systems Program. His research focuses on the development and application of methods for probabilistic…
Dr. Daley is a junior faculty physician scientist in the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology with a research focus on the immunobiology of pediatric sarcomas. Her current research focuses on Ewing sarcoma and understanding the tumor immune microenvironment of this rare,…
My research interests include: 1. Immune-oncology and immune microenvironment in Hepatocellular Carcinoma 2. Role of scaffold proteins (e.g., IQGAP1) in liver disease and regeneration. 3. Developing a more accurate model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma that efficiently replicates the human disease. My…
Dr. Vera Donnenberg is an Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Donnenberg’s research focuses on…
Bruce Freeman, PhD is a biochemist and pharmacologist who investigates eukaryotic cell production and actions of chemically-reactive inflammatory and signal transduction mediators (e.g., superoxide, nitric oxide, peroxynitrite, electrophilic lipids). He is presently the Irwin Fridovich Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of…
Most cells can not divide indefinitely due to a process termed cellular senescence. Because cancer cells need to escape cellular senescence in order to proliferate and eventually form tumors, it is well accepted that cellular senescence is a powerful tumor…
My current research focuses on the role of the tumor microenvironment in regulation of kidney cancer. In particular, I am interested in exploring the therapeutic benefit of targeting Profilin-1, an actin-binding protein, in endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment as…
Dr. Gopalakrishnan is a tenured associate professor of biomedical Informatics. Her primary research focus over the past two decades has been on biomarker discovery from multiple types of biomedical data via novel integrative modeling using hybrid machine learning methods being…
My research interests focus on the similarities and differences in chromatin structure among different cell types and how chromatin remodeling factors that modulate these differences regulate cell fate. The longterm goals of my laboratory are to comprehensively understand the functions, targets, regulation,…
Activation of the PI3K pathway, through either oncogenic mutations or loss of tumor suppressors, is arguably the most prevalent transforming event in cancer. Much effort has focused on inhibitors of these pathways, but success to date has been tempered by on-target adverse…
Dr. Hempel's research aims to better understand molecular mechanisms that regulate metastasis and tumor progression, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel targets for therapy of advanced-stage disease. Her research efforts have specifically focused on mechanisms by which tumor cells…
I am a physician-scientist whose research efforts have focused specifically on codon usage, tRNA biology, and amino acid metabolism in colorectal and gastric cancers. Using a combination of computational modeling and wet-lab experiments, I found that amino acid availability directly influences…
How do different organs and tissues arise? What are the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that drive this development? To address these questions, we design statistical methods and algorithms and apply them to large-scale, genome-wide data. Ultimately, our goal is to…
The laboratory studies the molecular basis of breast cancer development and resistance to therapy, with the goal to improve precision medicine and outcomes for breast cancer patients. The laboratory employs a systems biology approach, utilizing a combination of single cell…
We use live-cell experiments and mathematical models to understand how single cells process information in inflammatory diseases and cancer. To decide between irreversible cell fates such as growth, differentiation or death, cells process information about their environment through a network…
The main research interest in Dr. Gang Li's lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the contribution of disease-associated, non-coding functional SNPs to aging-related diseases by focusing on Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. Dr. Li's lab has developed multiple techniques…
My research focuses on studying the protein-protein interactions within the “CBM” signaling complex, composed of CARMA1 (a scaffolding protein), BCL10 (an adaptor protein), and MALT1 (a scaffolding protein with proteolytic activity). In normal lymphocytes, the CBM complex mediates activation of…
Brain Tumor Metabolism and Functional Cancer Genomics Laboratory Laboratory of brain tumor metabolism and functional cancer genomics laboratory are established and directed by Dr. Antony MichealRaj in September 2021 at the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.…
Dr. Monga is the UPMC Endowed Chair for Experimental Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine. He is a Professor of Pathology and Medicine and the Associate Dean of Research for the School. He is the Executive Vice…
The main interest of Dr. Oesterreich's laboratory is to further our understanding of hormone action in women's cancers (including both breast and ovarian cancers), with the ultimate goal to use this knowledge for improved diagnosis and endocrine treatment. These studies…
Our group’s primary focus is on developing integrative machine learning approaches for extracting therapeutic and biological insights from highly heterogeneous omic datasets, clinical and drug response data, with the purpose of advancing precision medicine. Our projects span across the following…
My current cancer-related research is focused on i) RB1 tumor suppressor and ii) nutrient interventions that may suppress tumor growth. RB1 is a tumor suppressor gene that is inactivated in a significant proportion of all cancer cases. A therapeutic approach…
Prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia are two diseases which present a significant burden for older men in the US. Although BPH is not usually life-threatening, the mechanisms contributing to BPH are largely unknown which makes it difficult to develop…
Dr. Prochownik is interested in cancers resulting from the de-regulated expression of the c-Myc oncoprotein. He is using animal models of pediatric and adult liver cancer (hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma) to ascertain the molecular, biochemical and metabolic changes that accompany…
Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD)-related HCC develops without liver cirrhosis and alcohol consumption. Perturbations in liver lipid disposal pathways, in particular dysregulation of hepatic ketogenesis, contributes to the pathogenesis of NAFLD and fibrosis. Conversely, ketogenic diet (KD) supplementation decreases liver lipid…
The overall research focus of the Roy laboratory is studying the role of actin-binding proteins and actin-regulated transcription factors in physiological and pathological events. Specific focus areas are actin-binding proteins (profilin, Ena/VASP) and their regulation, MRTF-SRF transcriptional axis, fundamental mechanisms of cell migration, cancer biology (breast and renal cancer),…
Dr. Rubin is a noted expert on adult stem cells derived from fat tissue and advanced reconstructive surgery. Dr. Rubin leads a program that is devising innovative strategies for the use of adipose (fat)-derived stem cells to not only address…
Jonathan Silverstein, MD, MS, FACS, FACMI, serves as Chief Research Informatics Officer and Professor of Biomedical Informatics at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is internationally known for his expertise, and federally funded research, in the application of advanced…
Dr. Singhi's current research focus is primarily translational in the area of gastrointestinal, pancreatic, hepatobiliary and peritoneal pathology, and can be summarized in the following areas: (1) Clinical diagnostic test development. In conjunction with other members of pathology, gastroenterology, surgical…
The focus of the research in the laboratory is currently split into two major directions which are apparently distinct from each other with respect to the biological systems involved, their relation to the human disease, and experimental models used. However,…
Dr. Stabile's laboratory is focused on the role of growth factors and hormones in the development of non-small cell lung cancer. Estrogen receptor signaling has been shown to be important in inducing proliferation in lung tumor preclinical models as well…
Cell cycle dysregulation is a hallmark of every tumor. My lab uses quantitative single-cell microscopy and machine learning to study how the cell cycle changes during tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug treatment, and the role of tumor microenvironment in regulating the…
Dr. Steinman has interrogated the function and regulation of cdk inhibitors during quiescence and differentiation. His recent research focuses on the contribution of platelets to tumorigenesis and on potential platelet-based urinary biomarkers of treatment efficacy. He also oversees three programs…
We investigate signaling pathways that integrate membrane traffic with the regulation of homeostasis and the onset of disease, including cancer and autism, and we leverage these discoveries to develop targeted therapies. Our studies are grounded by our discovery of the…
I am an ion channel physiologist with long term interests in basic ion channel regulation and activation and the contributions of altered channel function to disease. I have been funded all my career by NHLBI, NIA and NIEHS and have…
Dr. George Tseng is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Departments of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh. He also has secondary appointments in Human Genetics, and Computational and Systems Biology. He received BS (1997) and…
Our research focuses on understanding the cancer systems biology of the tumor microenvironment. We are interested in studying how different cell types with varying lineages, and with different signaling and signal processing capabilities come together within the spatial context of…
Dr. Villanueva's research focuses on the development of medical diagnostic and therapeutic strategies based on ultrasound and ultrasound contrast agents (gas-filled microspheres, or microbubbles). Her work has consistently bridged fundamental imaging sciences with translational biomedical research. As an Established Investigator…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
Da Yang’s lab studies cancer pharmacogenomics by integrating bioinformatics and experimental tools. We are specifically focused on identifying novel disease-driving none-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), modeling ncRNA down-stream regulatory network, and characterizing ncRNAs’ function in cancer therapy using in vivo and in vitro cancer models. Our…
The focus of Dr. Zarnegar’s laboratory is to decipher the molecular mechanisms by which Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) and its receptor MET regulate hepatocyte growth and metabolism. In particular, their focus is on the regulation of hepatic glucose and fat…
Understanding cell behavior in native tumor microenvironments and developing new strategies to deliver therapeutics directly to tumor cells are critical in improving and extending patients’ lives. Our lab employs a quantitative approach that integrates microfluidics, systems biology modeling, and in…
