Welcome
The overarching mission of the OHSU Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology is to advance the understanding of problems relevant to human health and disease. To accomplish this mission, research groups in the department have historically focused on questions regarding cell structure, organelles, life cycle, differentiation, and regulated communication between cells and extracellular signals and cues. An ultimate application of knowledge gained from these studies has been to understand important cell physiologic processes that effect human biology. These issues directly link to problems of interest to developmental biologists, including molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating tissue morphogenesis, tissue polarity and patterning. Read full welcome message here.
Featured Stories
The Center for Experimental Therapeutics organized the first Oregon Drug Discovery Symposium (ODDS). The participants included people from academia, pharma/biotech industries and investors. Over 350 people registered for this event.
Dr. Missy Wong has been appointment as the Knight Cancer Institute's associate director of basic science. She steps into this role formerly held by Dr. Lisa Coussens who was named a co-deputy director in the KCI. After conducting a national search for this position, the search committee selected Dr. Wong from a strong slate of internal and external candidates. Missy has been at OHSU and a member of the Knight Cancer Institute for over 20 years. She currently serves as vice chair for the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology in the OHSU School of Medicine, and has served as co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program for three competitive renewals of the KCI P30 grant from the National Cancer Institute, with three different co-leaders. Missy’s accomplishments as a scientist are well-recognized, particularly her laboratory’s research on the physiologic impact of cell fusion hybrids between circulating bone marrow-derived and intestinal tumor epithelial cells in advancing tumorigenesis.
Her history of collaborative team science and mentoring are notable, and her commitment to Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) and DEI add to our confidence in her success in this next chapter of her scientific leadership. In this new role, she will collaborate with Dr. Coussens, as well as Dr. Eneida Nemecek, associate director of clinical research, and Dr. Shelley Tworoger, associate director of population science, to guide the development of innovative policies and programs to further discovery-based science across all four research programs.
Knight Cancer Institute leadership changes
Drs. Shivaani Kummar and Lisa Coussens led a KCI Town Hall this past Thursday, April 17th to discuss their respective appointments to interim Chief Executive and interim Director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, and to cascade their plans for the Knight moving forward. If you were not able to attend the town hall, you can view the recording at the link below.
KCI Trainee Travel Awards
Travel awards are available for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows conducting cancer-focused research with Knight-affiliated faculty. Up to $1500 in funding will be awarded to selected trainees who will present their research at a national meeting but may not have sufficient funds available.
Deadlines for applications in 2025 are:
- January 22, 2025
- April 15, 2025
- July 15, 2025
- October 15, 2025
Learn more about the awards and apply here.
Questions? Email knightedu@ohsu.edu
T32 in Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer - Applications now open!
The Center for Experimental Therapeutics received a T32 training program grant from NIH (PIs: Sanjay Malhotra and Shivaani Kummar). This T32 training program is focused on Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer and bridges basic and clinical research to train future translational oncology scientists in therapeutic development. The deadline for postdoctoral applications is May 1, 2025. Learn more about the program.
Recent Accolades & Funding
We would like to congratulate Dr. Katie Blise, BCCPC Computational Biologist and former Coussens lab trainee, on two recent accolades:
- Her paper, “Machine Learning Links T-cell Function and Spatial Localization to Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy and Clinical Outcome in Pancreatic Cancer” in Cancer Immunology Research, has been selected for the outstanding journal article award authored or co-authored by an OHSU School of Medicine graduate student! The award comes with a certificate and $500 prize, and will be presented at the OHSU SoM Graduate Studies Hooding and Completion Ceremony in June.
- She has been selected as an awardee in the Biomedical Sciences category for a Sigma Xi Outstanding Researcher Award.
We would like to congratulate Dr. Sam Tauchmann, postdoc in the Maxson lab, for two recent accolades:
- She has been selected for a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Career Development Program award for her project, titled "Histone methyltransferases as key dependencies in SETBP1-mutant leukemias". These competitive awards support researchers early and at different stages of their career. They are designed to encourage these promising young investigators to embark on academic careers, offering researchers the opportunity to take part in basic, translational, or clinical research to help understand and treat blood cancers and relevant premalignant conditions.
- Her abstract, titled "Mutations in SETBP1 drive granulocyte lineage output and leukemogenesis via KAT7-mediate epigenetic modulation and transcriptional reprogramming," was selected for a podium presentation at the European Hematology Association's 2025 Congress, to be held in Milan, Italy this June 2025.
Congratulations to Dr. Julie Fischer, Vaseva lab fellow, who was selected to present a short talk at the Society for NeuroOncology pediatric Neuro-Oncology conference in May. Julie will discuss preclinical efficacy of new class MEK inhibitors in NF-associated sarcoma.
The Wong lab has several announcements:
- Dr. Kathryn Fowler, surgical resident, delivered a podium presentation at the National Pancreatic Foundation Annual Meeting in April. Congratulations!
- Welcome to TJ Ekstrom, who joined the Wong and Gibbs labs to conduct her dissertation research.
- Tania Chavez, Wong Lab intern (LSAMP-PSU), won Best Scientific Communicator award for her poster presentation at the LSAMP conference at OSU, titled “Cell proliferative state of Bmi1+ intestinal stem cells in homeostasis and injury regeneration”
Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Ozaki, Schedin lab, who successfully defended her thesis in March!
Congratulations to Dr. Brian Druker who was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read more here.
Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Brody who has been appointed as the Deputy Director of the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care. Dr. Brody has demonstrated outstanding leadership and has made significant contributions to advancing BCCPC's mission.
Recent Publications
Dr. Pepper Schedin, along with expert colleagues from 23 institutions across 7 countries, contributed to an opinion piece on BrCa, titled "Unraveling complexity and leveraging opportunities in uncommon breast cancer subtypes" published in Nature's npj Breast Cancer journal.
Drs. Teresa Zimmers, Lenny Koniaris and their lab published, "Randomized Phase II Study of Nab-Paclitaxel and Gemcitabine With or Without Tocilizumab as First-Line Treatment in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: Survival and Cachexia" in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The Malhotra lab has two publications to announce:
- "Nitrogen-bridgehead compounds: overview, synthesis, and outlook on applications" in the Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry journal.
- "A smart probe for detection of sugar markers for applications in gastrointestinal barrier dysfunction" in the Biosensors and Bioelectronics journal.
The Grossberg lab has two publications to announce:
- "The metabolic basis of cancer-related fatigue" in Neuroscience Behavioral Reviews.
- "Perioperative Radiation for Patients with Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: an Updated Review After the Initial RTOG 0848 Results" in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer.
In collaboration with Dr. Lauren Rodda's lab, the Moreau lab had a review article published in Nature Reviews Immunology titled, "B cells in non-lymphoid tissues." The lead authors were Dr. Abrar Samiea, postdoc in the Moreau lab, and George Celis, graduate student in the Rodda lab.
View all CDCB news and recognitions.
Respect For All Flowchart
CDCB labs recruiting
Careers with an emphasis on preclinical and translational science
CDCB welcomes
CDCB is pleased to welcome Jevon Cutler, Ph.D., who will have a secondary appointment in CDCB along with his primary appointment in Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Working in the disease setting of leukemia, Cr. Cutler's lab aims to better understand therapeutic strategies and drug resistance involving epigenetic-modifying small molecules. Through these efforts we strive to both improve upon these strategies and understand the mechanisms of chromatin-bound protein complex regulation that drive disease. Welcome, Dr. Cutler!
CDCB is excited to welcome Angelina Vaseva, Ph.D. who has joined OHSU as an Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics and a joint appointment with us in the Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology. Dr. Vaseva's research program will focus on targeting oncogenic RAS in pediatric cancers. Welcome, Dr. Vaseva!
CDCB is pleased to announce that Molly Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., will be joining us as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology, with a joint appointment in the Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Thomas is an inflammatory bowel disease specialist and mucosal immunologist. Her lab will focus on understanding gastrointestinal and hepatic complications of immune checkpoint blockade and how these immune related adverse events inform our understanding of tissue-resident memory T cells in these organ systems. Welcome, Dr. Thomas!