New faculty join CCR each year to contribute to our work of making breakthrough scientific discoveries to find cures and treatments for cancer. We also recognize current faculty who have started new roles within CCR.
Andrea B. Apolo, M.D.
Andrea B. Apolo, M.D., has been awarded tenure at NIH and appointed to Senior Investigator in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch. Dr. Apolo designs and implements clinical trials to test novel agents for the treatment of urologic cancers. Her research focuses on developing targeted therapies for bladder cancer and rare genitourinary tumors.
Michael B. Aregger, Ph.D.
Michael B. Aregger, Ph.D., has joined the Molecular Targets Program as a Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator. Dr. Aregger’s research focuses on metabolic plasticity in cancer cells by mapping genetic interactions and cancer dependencies using CRISPR-based genome engineering tools and functional genomics approaches.
Hans Elmlund, Ph.D.
Hans Elmlund, Ph.D., has joined the Center for Structural Biology as a Senior Investigator. Dr. Elmlund pioneered the use of stochastic 3D reconstruction algorithms for analyzing images obtained with cryo-electron microscopy and graphene-liquid-cell electron microscopy. His laboratory develops novel algorithmic solutions to address the most difficult problems in fields ranging from structural biology to nanoscience.
Freddy E. Escorcia, M.D., Ph.D.
Freddy E. Escorcia, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as an NIH Lasker Scholar Tenure-Track Investigator in the Molecular Imaging Branch and is a member of the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program. Dr. Escorcia aims to develop new agents to help treat and monitor cancer patients by harnessing systemic, targeted radiopharmaceuticals.
Christine M. Heske, M.D.
Christine M. Heske, M.D., has been appointed as a Tenure-Track Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch and is a member of the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program. Dr. Heske is a physician-scientist with a research focus on novel therapeutic agents for pediatric sarcomas. Her program identifies and evaluates new therapeutic targets by understanding the mechanisms behind therapeutic resistance and developing strategies to mitigate resistance through targeting tumor metabolism and DNA damage repair.
Rosandra N. Kaplan, M.D.
Rosandra N. Kaplan, M.D., has been awarded tenure at NIH and appointed to Senior Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch. Dr. Kaplan, a physician-scientist, developed the concept of the pre-metastatic niche, identifying microenvironmental changes occurring early in metastatic sites that regulate metastatic progression. She has recently developed new cell therapy approaches to reprogram these microenvironments to limit cancer progression.
Nicholas D. Klemen, M.D.
Nicholas D. Klemen, M.D., has joined the Surgery Branch as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program. Dr. Klemen is a surgical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, particularly those of the colon, pancreas and liver.
Andra V. Krauze, M.D., F.R.C.P.C., D.A.B.R.
Andra V. Krauze, M.D., F.R.C.P.C., D.A.B.R., has joined the Radiation Oncology Branch as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program. Dr. Krauze is a radiation oncologist with a research interest in harnessing computational analyses of large-scale data to personalize management of patients with cancer and improve oncologic outcomes.
Eros Lazzerini Denchi, Ph.D.
Eros Lazzerini Denchi, Ph.D., has been awarded tenure at NIH and appointed to Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Genome Integrity. Dr. Lazzerini Denchi’s research focuses on two fundamental aspects of telomere biology: the mechanism by which functional telomeres prevent DNA damage activation and the in vivo consequences of telomere dysfunction.
Susan M. Lea, D.Phil., F.Med.Sci.
Susan M. Lea, D.Phil., F.Med.Sci., has been appointed Chief of the Center for Structural Biology. Dr. Lea pioneered the use of mixed structural methods to study host-pathogen interactions and other medically important molecular pathways. Her laboratory uses and develops cutting-edge structural methods to define molecular mechanisms involved in health and disease states.
Troy A. McEachron, Ph.D.
Troy A. McEachron, Ph.D., has been appointed as a Tenure-Track Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch and is a member of the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program. Dr. McEachron leads the Integrated Solid Tumor Biology Section where his team is using various molecular and cellular tools and technology platforms to dissect the metastatic osteosarcoma microenvironment and identify actionable therapeutic targets for clinical translation.
Anandani Nellan, M.D., M.P.H.
Anandani Nellan, M.D., M.P.H., has joined the Pediatric Oncology Branch as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program and is a member of the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program. Dr. Nellan is a pediatric neuro-oncologist specializing in pediatric hematology-oncology and neuro-oncology. Her primary goal is to pioneer new immunotherapies for pediatric brain tumors.
Rosa Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D.
Rosa Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Pediatric Oncology Branch as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program. Dr. Nguyen is a pediatric oncologist and physician-scientist specializing in the discovery and preclinical development of immunotherapies for the treatment of children with neuroblastoma.
Sung-Yun Pai, M.D.
Sung-Yun Pai, M.D., has been appointed Chief of the Immune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program and Medical Director of the NIH Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Clinical Program. Dr. Pai develops tailored cellular therapies for children, adolescents and young adults with genetic diseases of the blood and immune system.
Drew W. Pratt, M.D.
Drew W. Pratt, M.D., has joined the Laboratory of Pathology as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program. Dr. Pratt seeks to use epigenetic and multiomic data to refine the classification of cancer and to discover novel, clinically relevant entities.
Padma Sheila Rajagopal, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc.
Padma Sheila Rajagopal, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., has joined the Cancer Data Science Laboratory as part of CCR’s Physician-Scientist Early Investigator Program and has an adjunct appointment in the Women’s Malignancies Branch. Dr. Rajagopal investigates how genomic and transcriptomic interactions between germline variants, inherited cancer syndromes and somatic development in tumors can improve clinical prediction in patients with cancer.
Gabriel J. Starrett, Ph.D.
Gabriel J. Starrett, Ph.D., has joined the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology as a Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator. Dr. Starrett studies the contributions of tumor viruses, including polyomaviruses and papillomaviruses, to the development of cancer using sequencing, bioinformatics and classical wet-bench molecular biology.
Ismail Baris Turkbey, M.D.
Ismail Baris Turkbey, M.D., has been appointed to Senior Clinician in the Molecular Imaging Branch. Dr. Turkbey’s research focuses on prostate cancer imaging, prostate biopsy techniques, focal therapy for prostate cancer and artificial intelligence.
Marielle E. Yohe, M.D., Ph.D.
Marielle E. Yohe, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as an NIH Lasker Scholar Tenure-Track Investigator in the Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling. Dr. Yohe studies the role of aberrant small GTPase signaling in the development of pediatric solid tumors and RASopathies, using a combination of biochemical, epigenetic, cellular and model organism approaches.
Newly Retired
With appreciation for their service, we recognize these CCR Investigators who have recently retired.
- Dhruba K. Chattoraj, Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Basic Research Laboratory
- George N. Pavlakis, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Vaccine Branch
- Bruce A. Shapiro, Ph.D., Senior Investigator, RNA Biology Laboratory
- David S. Waugh, Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Center for Structural Biology
- Cheryl Ann Winkler, Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Basic Research Laboratory
- Stuart H. Yuspa, M.D., Co-Chief/Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, NIH Scientist Emeritus