Agarwal Lab
Our laboratory is interested in understanding the interplay between genetic drivers and the factors in the tumor microenvironment so that disease can be identified at early stage and new therapeutic approaches can be uncovered for the treatment of leukemia patients.
Projects
1. Genetic modalities and therapeutic targets in leukemia predisposition syndromes and clonal hematopoiesis models
Clonal evolution in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the stepwise acquisition of secondary mutations starting from the preleukemic stage. Preleukemia is defined by germline mutations in leukemia predisposition syndromes and acquired mutations in clonal hematopoiesis. Understanding the mechanisms of disease transformation from the preleukemic stage is critical to identifying high-risk individuals and for developing early interventions. Our group is implementing cutting-edge methods and multi-parametric single cell analysis to perform comprehensive characterization of preluekemic primary samples and to identify new mechanisms of disease initiation. In addition, we perform functional dissection of identified pathways using in vivo mouse models and identify novel targeted therapies for early interventions.
2. Extrinsic mechanisms that regulate hematopoiesis of healthy and malignant stem cells
We believe that the complex signaling milieu of the bone marrow microenvironment creates a selective pressure at early leukemic stage to promote clonal growth of leukemia cells. Consistent with this, we and others have identified several proinflammatory cytokines that have a paradoxical effect on clonal growth of leukemia cells while suppressing the growth of healthy nonmalignant cells. We are performing omics-based analyses to identify the molecular signature that leads to microenvironment-driven functional differences in nonmalignant and malignant stem cells. This comprehensive approach will allow us to gain insight into the signaling mechanisms that contribute to clonal growth of leukemic stem cells, enabling design of therapeutic strategies to target malignant cells specifically.
3. Mechanisms of molecular conduit between the microenvironment and leukemic cells in conferring drug resistance
It is likely that not only the bone marrow microenvironment but also leukemia cells reprogram their niche. For instance, treatment with cytotoxic therapy promotes the release of signaling mediators from leukemic cells that recruit immune cell responses from the microenvironment to blunt malignant cell killing. Additionally, cytotoxic therapy-mediated reprogramming of the microenvironment may itself promote the survival of leukemic cells by releasing growth-promoting cytokines. We propose that delineating these mechanisms will establish a novel paradigm for designing therapeutic strategies to target aberrant microenvironment-driven signaling in leukemia.
Learn more
Since 2014, the Agarwal lab is generously funded by:
- NIH/NCI K99/R00 Pathways to Independence Award
- NIH/NCI R01
- NIH/NHLBI R01
- V Foundation Scholar Award
- American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant
- The Babich Family Foundation /Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
- EvansMDS foundation
- Pilot funds from the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute - Hillcrest Committee, CEDAR Research Project grant, and NIH Build Exito Pilot Project Award as well as collaborative projects through NCI U54 Drug Resistance and Sensitivity Network (DRSN) and U01 Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC)
July 24, 2019
Onward - Forces of Change
Recognized as one of nine women who are building a world-class team of women scientists at OHSU.
Dec. 27, 2017
Cancer Translated
Knight Cancer signal achievements of 2017
Dec. 22, 2017
Cancer Translated
Solving the problem of drug-resistant cancer
Nov. 8, 2017
Knight News
Knight Cancer scientist earns ACS Research Scholar award
Oct. 13, 2017
KGW Television, Portland Today
Anupriya Agarwal Ph.D., outlined Beat AML, a Knight Cancer Institute initiative backed by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, to viewers of KGW television this week in advance of the Light the Night walk.
June 27, 2017
OHSU News
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team up to focus on a complex form of leukemia
March 28, 2017
OHSU News
In search of treatment for a perilous form of leukemia
Feb. 21, 2017
OHSU News
Gene mutations cause leukemia, but which ones?
Dec. 4, 2015
OHSU News
New leads in the struggle against a formidable leukemia
Dec. 21, 2010
OHSU News
Paper of the Month: Survival of chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells is independent of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase activity
Anupriya Agarwal, Ph.D.
Hematology & Medical Oncology
Molecular & Medical Genetics
Knight Cancer Institute
Education:
M.S., Microbiology, G.B. Pant Univ., India
Ph.D., Microbiology, Dr. R.M.L. Avadh Univ. and ITRC institute, India
Katia Rebola, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Education
B.S., Biological Science, University of Sao Paulo
Ph.D., Biology, Portland State University
Scientific interests
Katia is interested in characterizing how the bone marrow microenvironment contributes to drug resistance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Hobbies
Katia enjoys traveling, assembling jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with my family and friends.
Emily Wolfe, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Education
B.S., The Evergreen State College
Ph.D., Biology, Portland State University
Scientific interests
Emily is interested in environmental influences on clonal evolution, mutation, and cellular heterogeneity in AML.
Hobbies
Emily enjoys ultra running and going on adventures with my family.
Mona M. Hosseini
Ph.D. candidate
Education
B.S., Biology with a minor in Chemistry, Portland State University
Scientific interests
Mona is interested in dissecting new signaling pathways involved in leukemia initiation and progression in the context of microenvironment in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Hobbies
Mona enjoys hiking, finding spectacular spots, and taking pictures. She also enjoys reading and watching movies/documentaries.
Camryn Berry
Research Assistant II
Education
B.A., Anthropology, minors in Biology and Mathematics, Wichita State University
Scientific interests
Camryn is interested in drug resistance in leukemia and the signaling pathways and mechanisms that drive it. She brings a background in veterinary cancer dealing with drug inhibition and DNA work.
Hobbies
She enjoys playing the piano, reading, animals and generally being active.
Joyce Anne Cuenca
Student Research Intern
Education
B.S., in progress, Portland State University
Scientific interests
Joyce is interested in learning the molecular mechanisms in cancer development and understanding how cancer immunotherapies work.
Hobbies
She likes to stay in to read novels and watch movies.
James Vo
Student Research Intern
Education
B.S., in progress, Portland State University
Scientific interests
James is interested in using in vitro 3D tumor models for anticancer drug discovery and testing drug efficiency.
Hobbies
He enjoy playing sports, exploring nature and watching movies.
Ashis Ramtel
Education
B.S., in progress, biology with a minor in chemistry, Portland State University
Ashis is a premed student majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry at Portland State University, and he is a Build Exito Scholar funded by the National Institute of Health.
Scientific interests
His research interests are learning about the various functions and inhibition pathways of precancerous cells. He is specifically looks at acute myeloid leukemia, clonal hematopoiesis models, and looking at inhibitors that can be used to stop cancerous cells.
Hobbies
Ashis loves to spend time with my family, friends, and my Siberian husky. I love to play soccer, and avidly watch the UEFA champions league. I also like to play the drums, and guitar at church.
John McClatchy, B.S.
Graduate Student
Education
B.S., Biology and Bioveterinary Science, minors, Chemistry and Computer Science, Utah State University
Scientific interests
John is interested in developing strategies to identify and prevent leukemia progression at early stage in familial Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He is approaching his research interest by characterizing the function of novel germline mutations and understanding their interactions with the inflammatory microenvironment.
Hobbies
John enjoys ballroom dance, longboarding, gymnastics, reading, skill-based games and free food.
Hsin-Yun Lin, M.S.
Graduate Student
Education
B.S., Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology
M.S., Biological Engineering, University of Missouri
Scientific interests
Hsin-Yun is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of disease progression mediated by inflammatory cytokines in Acute Myeloid Leukemia progression.
Hobbies
She enjoys running with friends, reading short stories and baking coconut macaroons in her free time.
- Adam Duvall, Clinical Fellow
- Rucha Modak, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Andrea Monteblanco, Research Assistant
- Karina Thiel-Klare, Research Assistant
- Ruthey Viver, Student Research Intern
- Alisha Steigerwald, Student Research Intern
- Alyssa Carey, Research Assistant
- Megan Cleary, Sr. Research Assistant
- Swati Garg, Graduate Student, Summer Rotation
- Kristina Halvorson, Research Assistant
- Clayton Hudson, Graduate Student, Rotation
- Bernadette Maertens, Murdock Scholar
- Alka Puri, Visiting Intern
- Rhese Thompson, Murdock Scholar
- Michie Degnin, Senior Research Assistant
- Chris Eden, Research Assistant
- Sherif Abdelhamed, Assistant Staff Scientist
- Gabby Dewson, Murdock Scholar
- Homma Khosroyani, Graduate Student, Rotation
- Gabriel Cohn, Graduate Student, Rotation
- Tiffany Lee, Medical Student Research Intern
Join our team
We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join our lab. If you have a strong background in cell biology and the ability to perform basic computational analysis using large data sets, we'd love to hear from you.