December 2016 Grantees
Tzu-Pei Chang, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Kitai Kim, PhD
Project Title: Inhibition of tumorigenesis and metastasis by NEPN
Awarding Agency:
Center for Metastasis Research
Jing Hu, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Dissecting the roles of STING signaling pathway in cancer metastasis
Awarding Agency:
Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center
Constantinos Zambrinis, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Hepatopancrea tobiliary Service
Project Title: Development of Novel Imaging and Laboratory Biomarkers to Monitor the Liver Pre-Metastatic Niche and Guide
Awarding Agency:
Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center
November 2016 Grantees
Elham Azizi, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Computational Biology
Lab Head: Dana Pe’er, PhD
Project Title: Bayesian Inference for Single-cell ClUstering and ImpuTing (BISCUIT)
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Simone Becattini, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Computational Biology
Lab Head: Eric G. Pamer, MD
Project Title: Identification of commensal bacterial strains that provide resistance to L. monocytogenes infection
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Geulah Livshits, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Scott W. Lowe, PhD
Project Title: Arid1a loss cooperates with KrasG12D to destabilize acinar cell identity and initiate Kras-driven pancreatic neoplasia
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Dane Lund, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Mary Baylies, PhD
Project Title: In Vitro Human Model for Cancer Cachexia
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Alvin Makohon-Moore, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue, MD., PhD
Project Title: The genetic evolution of metastatic melanoma
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Sophie Morgani, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Anna Katerina Hadjantonakis, PhD
Project Title: Establishing a pluripotent stem cell culture system to model gastrulation
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Ping Mu, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Charles L. Sawyers, MD
Project Title: SOX2 promotes lineage plasticity and antiandrogen resistance in TP53 and RB1 deficient prostate cancer
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
Jonathan Rosen, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Mary Baylies, PhD
Project Title: The Drosophila Ninein homolog bsg25D cooperates with ensconsin in myonuclear positioning
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Oral Talk Winner)
Frederick Streich Jr., PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Structural Biology Program
Lab Head: Christopher D. Lima, PhD
Project Title: Specificity determinants for SUMO Modification of PCNA by the E3 Ligase Siz1
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Oral Talk Winner)
Paulina Wojnarowicz, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Robert Benezra, PhD
Project Title: A small-molecule pan Id antagonist, AGX51, shows strong anti-tumor activity
Awarding Agency:
MSKCC, The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. (2016 Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium Best Poster Winner)
October 2016 Grantees
Marcus A. Ruscetti, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Scott W. Lowe, PhD
Project Title: Novel combination partners for MAPK inhibitors in KRAS mutant tumors
Awarding Agency:
American Cancer Society
September 2016 Grantees
Michiel Boekhout, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Molecular Biology
Lab Head: Scott Keeney, PhD
Project Title: Shedding light on meiotic recombination
Awarding Agency:
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD
Title: Medical Oncology & Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department/Program: Gastrointestinal Oncology Service
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Investigating and Targeting L1CAM in Metastatic Cancer Stem Cells
Awarding Agency:
American Association for Cancer Research
Fiorella Ghisays, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Molecular Biology
Lab Head: John Petrini, PhD
Project Title: RTEL1 and genome stability
Awarding Agency:
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Sara Zarnegar, MD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Pediatrics
Project Title: Characterization of a novel xenotransplantation model to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in MLL-rearranged leukemia
Awarding Agency:
CURE Childhood Cancer
August 2016 Grantees
Eric Brooks, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Jennifer A. Zallen, PhD
Project Title: Control of cell behavior during cranial neural tube closure
Awarding Agency:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Valentina Di Gialleonardo, PhD
Title: Research Scholar
Department/Program: Radiology
Lab Head: Kayvan R. Keshari, PhD
Project Title: In vitro and in vivo evaluation of mTOR inhibitor treatment in gastrointestinal stromal tumor using Multi-modality Metabolic Imaging
Awarding Agency:
American-Italian Cancer Foundation
Jiangbin Ye, PhD
Title: Research Scholar
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Craig B. Thompson, MD
Project Title: Hypoxia induces SHMT2 to regulate cellular redox and epigenetics
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
Xian Zhang, PhD
Title: Research Scholar
Department/Program: Cell Biology
Lab Head: Alan Hall, PhD
Project Title: Study of pancreatic epithelium morphogenesis using a human embryonic stem cell based in vitro differentiation model
Awarding Agency:
Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative
July 2016 Grantees
Elizabeth Adams, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Charles L. Sawyers, MD
Project Title: Characterizing FOXA1 mutations using a novel prostate organoid system
Awarding Agency:
American Association for Cancer Research
Sheng F. Cai, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD
Project Title: Targeting the histone demethylase LSD1 in acute myeloid leukemia
Awarding Agency:
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Kevin Chang, MD
Title: Research Scholar
Department/Program: Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service
Project Title: Role of oncogenic KRAS in gastric adenocarcinoma cancer stem-like cells
Awarding Agency:
Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
Louise Connell, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Gastrointestinal Oncology Service
Project Title: A Phase I study of Nivolumab in combination with drug-eluting bead chemoembolization (deb TACE) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Claire Friedman, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service
Lab Head: Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD
Project Title: The tumor immune microenvironment and response to CTLA-4 blockade in PD-1 refractory metastic melanoma
Awarding Agency:
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer
Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD
Title: Medical Oncology & Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department/Program: Gastrointestinal Oncology Service
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Therapeutically Targeting L1CAM in Metastatic Cancer Stem Cells
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Scott E. James, MD, PhD
Title: Hematology/Oncology Fellow
Department/Program: Immunology
Lab Head: Marcel R. M. van den Brink, MD, PhD
Project Title: Application of inhibitory chimeric antigen receptors (iCARs) in adoptive T cell immunotherapy of B cell leukemia
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Emmet J. Jordan, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Genitourinary Oncology Service/Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: David B. Solit, MD
Project Title: Assessment of genomic alterations in bladder adenocarcinoma and urachal adenocarcinoma
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Danny Khalil, MD, PhD
Title: Medical Fellow
Department/Program: Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service
Lab Head: Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD
Project Title: Potentiating PD-1 blockade in resistant cancers through enforced antigen-presenting cell activation
Awarding Agency:
American Philosophical Society
Project Title: Potentiating PD-1 blockade in resistant cancers through enforced APC activation
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Maria Kleppe, R.Ph., M.S., B.S.
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Ross L. Levine, MD
Project Title: The role of Jak1 in normal hematopoiesis
Awarding Agency:
American Society of Hematology
Ashley Laughney, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Uncovering transcriptional vulnerabilities in latent metastasis
Awarding Agency:
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Stanley C. Lee, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Omar I. Abdel-Wahab, MD
Project Title: Identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in spliceosomal-mutant malignancies
Awarding Agency:
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Avigdor Leftin, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Medical Physics
Project Title: Innate Metabolic MRI of Macrophage Infiltration in Prostate Cancer
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
Brian Madajewski, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Radiology
Project Title: Advancing, translating, and disseminating a suite of ultrasmall (<10 nm), multimodality (PET/optical), core-shell silica nanoparticles
Awarding Agency:
The Tow Foundation
Melissa Mathias, MD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Pediatrics
Project Title: St. Baldrick’s Foundation Fellowship Award
Awarding Agency:
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Jan-Phillip Meyer, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Radiology
Lab Head: Jason S. Lewis, PhD
Project Title: Immune - Microbiota Interaction in defense against Clostridium difficile
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
Hatice Ulku Osmanbeyoglu, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Computational Biology
Project Title: Algorithms to link signaling pathways with transcriptional programs for precision medicine
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
Arjun Sivaraman, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Urology Service
Project Title: Functional outcomes and thermal exposure of the vital structures during MR-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound ablation of prostate cancer
Awarding Agency:
American Urological Association Foundation
Jie Su, PhD
Title: Research Scholar
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Dissecting TGFß-induced lethal EMT in KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer
Awarding Agency:
American Association for Cancer Research
Justin Taylor, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Leukemia Service
Lab Head: Omar I. Abdel-Wahab, MD
Project Title: Biological and Mechanistic Effects of XPO1 Alterations in Hematopoietic Malignancies
Awarding Agency:
American Society of Hematology
Santosha Vardhana, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Lymphoma Service
Project Title: Response and resistance to checkpoint blockade in Hodgkin lymphoma
Awarding Agency:
American Association for Cancer Research
Project Title: Mechanisms of response and resistance to checkpoint blockade in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Awarding Agency:
Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
June 2016 Grantees
Michael C. Abt, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Infectious Disease Service
Lab Head: Eric G. Pamer, MD
Project Title: Immune - Microbiota Interaction in defense against Clostridium difficile
Awarding Agency:
National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Maria I. Carlo, PhD
Title: Fellow
Department/Program: Genitourinary Oncology Service
Lab Head: James J. Hsieh, MD, PhD
Project Title: A Pilot Study of Neoadjuvant Nivolumab in High-Risk, Non-Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
Awarding Agency:
Kidney Cancer Association
Taewan Kim, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Lorenz Studer, MD
Project Title: Defining molecular subtype identity of hPSC-derived midbrain DA neurons for cell therapy
Awarding Agency:
New York Stem Cell Foundation
May 2016 Grantees
Shauna L. Houlihan, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Scott W. Lowe, PhD
Project Title: The role of p53 in constraining pro-tumorgenic reprogramming
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
Roberta Zappasodi, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service
Lab Head: Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD
Project Title: Targeting suppressive CD4+Foxp3-PD1+ T cells to improve the efficacy of CTLA-4 blockade
Awarding Agency:
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
April 2016 Grantees
Yevgeniya Livshits, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Project Title: Mechanisms of tumor suppression by epigenetic regulators in pancreatic cancer
Awarding Agency:
National Cancer Institute
March 2016 Grantees
Maria Kleppe, R.Ph., M.S., B.S.
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Ross L. Levine, MD
Project Title: Role of aberrant cytokine signaling in myeloproliferative disorders
Awarding Agency:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Lilian Lamech, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cell Biology
Lab Head: Cole Haynes, PhD
Project Title: Mitochondrial accumulation and counting in oogenesis via the mitochondrial UPR
Awarding Agency:
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Ryan Williams, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Molecular Pharmacology
Lab Head: Daniel A. Heller, PhD
Project Title: An ovarian cancer biosensor for transient, non-invasive disease detection
Awarding Agency:
Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
February 2016 Grantees
Gerard Brien, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD
Project Title: A combination of proteomic and genomic approaches for the identification of therapeutic targets in synovial sarcoma
Awarding Agency:
European Molecular Biology Organization
January 2016 Grantees
Harihar Basnet, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Cancer Biology & Genetics
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Identifying determinants of latency in brain metastatic breast cancer cells
Awarding Agency:
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Andrew K. Lawton, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Developmental Biology
Lab Head: Alexandra Joyner, PhD
Project Title: Role of granule neuron progenitor dynamics in cerebellar development
Awarding Agency:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Zeena Salman, PhD
Title: Special Fellow
Department/Program: Pediatrics
Project Title: International High Risk Neuroblastoma Project in Morocco
Awarding Agency:
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
Ibrahim Sektioglu, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Immunology
Project Title: Reprogramming Tumor-specific T cells for Cancer Immunotherapy
Awarding Agency:
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
Sai Kiran Sharma, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Radiology
Lab Head: Jason S. Lewis, PhD
Project Title: Preclinical Development of Tn Antigen-Targeted Theranostics for Ovarian Cancer
Awarding Agency:
The Tow Foundation
Eneda Toska, PhD
Title: Research Fellow
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Joan Massagué, PhD
Project Title: Epigenetic regulation of estrogen receptor transcription by the PI3K pathway
Awarding Agency:
Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation
Andrea Tuckett, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Immunology
Lab Head: Andrea Schietinger, PhD
Project Title: A novel method for cancer immunotherapy based on thymic radiation and ultrasound-guided intrathymic injection
Awarding Agency:
Imaging and Radiation Sciences Program Seed Grant
Servin Turcan, PhD
Title: Research Associate
Department/Program: Human Oncology & Pathogenesis (HOPP)
Lab Head: Timothy A. Chan, PhD
Project Title: A study of IDH1 R132H induced radiosensitivity in preclinical mouse models of brain tumors – in vivo MR imaging and spectroscopy biomarkers
Awarding Agency:
Imaging and Radiation Sciences Program Seed Grant