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.
Welcoming new members during modified operations
Many new faces have joined us since OHSU's modified operations began in March 2020. We have created a page where you will find a photo and bio for faculty, staff, and students who have joined during this time. Visit the page here.
OHSU Respect For All Flowchart
Events
Upcoming events
Event Highlights
Featured stories
Dr. Lisa Coussens, CDCB Chairwoman and AACR President, was recently interviewed by Healio about her AACR Presidency. The story has now been published and you can read it here.
Dr. Amy Moran organized a day in the KCRB for 50 5th grade students from a local public elementary school. Amy said, "We talked about animal research, toured 5 labs, learned the fundamental components of a cell, and extracted DNA from strawberries. They left wearing DNA necklaces! It was extraordinary and most everyone who volunteered ask how they do it again. Pilot experiment accomplished! DCM vets even presented on animal research and the kids had to decide on research ethics from fruit flies to monkeys. It was so great! My joy for the week!”
Amy was inspired to do this based on her daughter: “No, it was Amy wants to do some outreach day! Actually, inspired by Clare’s classmate who is an 11yr old black girl who wants to be a doctor and doesn’t believe it’s possible for her. So I told her I’d help her see the possibility.”
Recent Accolades & Funding
Congratulations to Dr. Lisa Coussens, Professor and Chairwoman of CDCB, who was recently inducted as the 2022-2023 AACR President at the AACR Annual Meeting this past April.
Congratulations to Michelle Ozaki, graduate student in the Schedin lab, who is the recipient of the 2022 Associate Dean's Award For Exemplary Contributions to the Graduate Program.
The graduate program in Biomedical Sciences (PBMS) held its annual retreat on Friday, April 22. Two of our own graduate students, both in the Integrated Cancer Biology Hub, won awards for their presentations:
- Best poster prize awarded to Jennifer Finan (Jonathan Brody’s Laboratory)
- Best talk prize awarded to Ashley Anderson (Missy Wong’s laboratory)
Recent Publications
Amy Moran, PhD, in conjunction with Dr. Jen Wargo's group, has recently published "Androgen receptor blockade promotes response to BRAF/MEK-targeted therapy" in Nature.
Jonathan Brody, PhD has recently published two papers:
- "Limited nutrient availability in the tumor microenvironment renders pancreatic tumors sensitive to allosteric IDH1 inhibitors" in Nature Cancer.
- "HuR Plays a Role in Double-Strand Break Repair in Pancreatic Cancer Cells and Regulates Functional BRCA1-Associated-Ring-Domain-1(BARD1) Isoforms" in Cancers.
Amy Moran, PhD and the Moran lab has recently published, "Androgen receptor activity in T cells limits checkpoint blockade efficacy" in Nature.
Katie Blise, graduate student in the Goecks lab and predoctoral trainee in the ICSB T32 training program (mentors: Drs. Lisa Coussens and Jeremy Goecks), has a recent 1st author publication titled, "Single-cell spatial architectures associated with clinical outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma" in Nature-Precision Oncology.
View all CDCB news and recognitions.
CDCB labs recruiting
Careers with an emphasis on preclinical and translational science
CDCB welcomes
CDCB is excited to welcome Megan Burger, Ph.D. who will be joining us as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology, with a joint appointment in the Division of Hematology Oncology. Dr. Burger's research program will initially be investigating the interplay of anti-tumor T cell responses in thoracic malignancies with the goal of identifying targets for new therapy. Welcome, Dr. Burger!
CDCB is pleased to announce that Tanaya Shree, M.D., Ph.D., will be joining us as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Shree is a lymphoma specialist and cancer immunologist. Her lab will focus on dissecting the interplay between the immune system and cancer – understanding immune deficiencies in cancer patients and developing novel strategies for activating the immune system against cancer. Welcome, Dr. Shree!
CDCB is pleased to welcome Katelyn Byrne, Ph.D., who will be joining us as a joint faculty along with the Brendon-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care and the Knight Cancer Institute. The main focus of the Byrne Lab is to investigate the immunobiology of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment, with the long-term goal of generating novel therapies for enhancing immune responses in patients. Welcome, Dr. Byrne!