Welcome

Lisa Coussens PhD

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

Respect For All Flowchart

Events

Upcoming events

Event Highlights

Drs. Lisa Coussens and Amy Moran, AACR 2022
Drs. Lisa Coussens (left) and Amy Moran (right) at the AACR Annual Meeting 2022.
Drs. Lisa Coussens and Sanjay Malhotra, AACR Annual Meeting 2022 200x240.jpg
Drs. Sanjay Malhotra (right) and Lisa Coussens (center), during the AACR 2022 New President's Reception celebrating Dr. Coussens' transition into the AACR Presidency.
Drs. Lisa Coussens, Kate Byrne, Amanda Lund, Grad student Grace McCarthy
Drs. Lisa Coussens, Sanjay Malhotra, Amanda Lund, Kate Byrne, and OHSU graduate student Grace McCarthy (Brody lab) at the AACR 2022 Annual Meeting.

Featured stories

Drs. Lisa Coussens, Robert Eil, Alex Bartlett_2024 OHSU Innovation Awards.jpg
(Left-to-right) Drs. Robert Eil, Lisa Coussens, Alex Bartlett following the 2024 OHSU Innovation Awards ceremony.

Two CDCB members are recipients of 2024 OHSU Innovation Awards:

  • Dr. Robert Eil, Assistant Professor jointly appointed in CDCB and Surgical Oncology, is the recipient of this year’s New Innovator of the Year for his work on a new approach to make CAR T-cell therapies useful to more patients.
  • Dr. Alex Bartlett, postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Eil’s, is the recipient of this year’s Early Career Innovator for her work with Dr. Eil and co-founding the start-up company VertaBio, Inc.

Drs. Eil and Bartlett were honored at the ceremony held on March 14th, 2024. Read more here.

Lisa Coussens, Pepper Schedin, Brian Druker at the Schnitzer Investiture event
(Left-to-right) Drs. Lisa Coussens, Pepper Schedin, and Brian Druker during the 2023 summer investiture ceremony.

Congratulations to Dr. Pepper Schedin, Professor of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology, who has been appointed the inaugural recipient of the Leonard Schnitzer Chair in Breast Oncology. The Leonard Schnitzer Family established this endowed chair in Leonard’s memory to help advance clinically relevant cancer research and the work of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute to end cancer as we know it. An investiture ceremony will be held later this summer to honor the family and Schedin. Read more here.

Dr. Lisa Coussens

In recognition of her scientific work and contributions to the field of cancer research, Lisa Coussens, Ph.D. was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, among 143 other newly elected members. Membership is a widely recognized mark of excellence in science, and one of the highest honors that a scientist in the United States can receive. Congratulations, Dr. Coussens! Read more on OHSU Now.

Recent Accolades & Funding

Sanjay Malhotra, PhD was highlighted in the recently published 2019-2023 OCTRI Innovation Program & Awards Report. You can find Dr. Malhotra's work on page 9 under the BIP Drug Discovery Track, "Small molecule restoration of UBA5 to treat early-onset neurodegenerative disease."

Congratulations to Samantha Tauchmann, postdoctoral scholar in the Maxson lab, who has received an MRF Early Clinical Investigator Award for her project, "Understanding and treating mutant SETBP1 in myeloid malignancies." 

Congratulations to Anupriya Agarwal, Ph.D., who is the recipient of the 2023 RUNX1 Award Of X-Cellence for Scientist of the Year. This award celebrates a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of RUNX1-FPD and/or RUNX1 biology.  Read more about the award.

Congratulations to Mona Mohammadhosseini, graduate student in the Agarwal lab, who was selected to present at the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting for her work titled, "Interplay between Inflammatory Microenvironment and RUNX1-Mediated Transcriptomic Changes Drives Defective Hematopoiesis in Familial Platelet Disorder."

Congratulations to Robert Eil, MD who was voted by the OHSU Innovates community as the 2024 New Innovator of the Year. This award is given annually to a researcher on a recently disclosed technology that demonstrates a passion for pursuing innovative technologies and works closely with our network to advance their discoveries. Dr. Eil's nomination noted the tremendous potential of his CAR T-cell technology and his engaged involvement with multiple OHSU Innovates teams to take this technology forward. There will be a celebration at the 2024 OHSU Innovation Awards event March 14.

Recent Publications

CDCB labs recruiting

Careers with an emphasis on preclinical and translational science

CDCB welcomes

Molly Thomas

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!

Joshua Moreau

CDCB is please to welcome Joshua Moreau, Ph.D., who will be joining us as a joint faculty along with the Division of Oncological Sciences, Department of Dermatology, and a member of CEDAR. He aims to explore the earliest interactions between cancer and the immune system, within the tissues where cancer cells arise. Welcome, Dr. Moreau!

Megan Burger

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!