Ephs/ephrins signaling is a usual suspect of metastatic cancer initiation. The normal job of this signaling is to interpret cell-cell contacts, translate them and determine self versus counter-self identity in events like tissue separation, boundary formation and axonal path finding in developing organs. In certain metastatic cancers however, Eph/ephrin signaling is de-regulated -- the normal mechanism of signaling goes awry, orders cells to delaminate from their origin and migrate distances. Dr.

Dr. Livak has extensive experience in molecular and developmental immunology and has been using flow cytometry in his research for several decades. Dr. Livak performed independently funded research at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the University of Maryland in Baltimore where from 2009 he was also director of the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center Flow Cytometry Shared Service. Dr.

My research interests are focused on 1) the biology of prostate cancer bone metastasis, and 2) the treatment of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. 

My two primary research areas of interest are (i) understanding the structure-function of splicing factor U2AF-RNA interactions during translation and how its regulation controls gene expression and, (ii) how the cancer associated splicing factor mutations alter RNA fate leading to control of gene expression and their role in cancer biology.

My lab studies cancer-associated kinases in the unexplored kinome, using bioinformatics and functional genomic approaches, to understand the molecular mechanisms by which these kinases promote tumorigenesis. With in vivo patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models, we will translate these findings to the clinic by developing novel compounds, such as PROTACs (proteolysis targeting chimeras), or by repurposing existing drugs to target these kinase drivers of cancer.

Immune cell infiltration is a hallmark in cancer and inflammation and is mediated by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) recognizing pathogen-, tumor- and host-derived chemoattractants. Some chemoattractant GPCRs are also expressed by malignant tumor cells and promote tumor progression.

Dr. Heske is a physician-scientist with a laboratory and clinical research focus on novel therapeutic agents for pediatric sarcomas including rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. Specifically, she seeks to identify and evaluate new therapeutic targets for these cancers by understanding the mechanisms behind therapeutic resistance and developing strategies to overcome such resistance through targeting tumor metabolism and DNA damage repair.

Our laboratory studies the signal and transcriptional networks regulating epithelial proliferation and differentiation, primarily using skin as a model system. The skin epidermis is functionally divided into compartments maintained by stem and transit-amplifying progenitor cells. Environmental assaults and genomic abnormalities can result in the imbalance of the homeostatic functions of epithelial cells, leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation or elimination of tissue-regenerative cells by death, differentiation, or senescence.

Dr. Hamilton is a Staff Scientist and Head of the Immunomodulation Group of the Center for Immuno-Oncology, NCI. This group focuses on the identification and characterization of tumor-specific neoepitopes and their use in combination therapies. This group is also involved in the genetic modification to tumor cells to identify mechanisms of action of specific immunotherapeutic agents.

Dr. Zhang is a structural biologist investigating the molecular mechanisms the of kinase signaling complexes in human health and disease states. Her laboratory applies cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography, and various biochemical and biophysical approaches to uncover the structure and regulation of biological kinase assemblies. Her research has provided structural and molecular mechanisms of a protein kinase A (PKA) fusion J-PKAcα that drives Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dr. Anderson uses complex mouse genetics and advanced imaging analysis to elucidate the signaling requirements for embryonic axis and limb development, with a focus on FGF signaling. Understanding how these pathways signal during development often informs us how they signal in various diseases, including cancer. An example of this work is Dr. Anderson’s identification of a novel signaling requirement for Fgf3 to limit BMP signaling in the forming neural tube.

Dr. Matsuo's research focuses on the structure and function of proteins and their interactions with DNA and RNA, employing advanced techniques such as NMR, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). His current work primarily aims to elucidate the structural basis of the single-stranded DNA cytosine deaminase activity of APOBEC3 proteins, which are crucial in limiting HIV-1 replication and tumorigenesis.

Dr. Jonathan Hernandez is a surgical oncologist/HPB surgeon, chief of the surgical oncology section (Surgical Oncology Program/NCI/NIH), Associate Professor of Surgery (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences), and Clinical Professor of Surgery (George Washington University). He specializes in the treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine tumors, primary biliary tract cancers, as well as other complex abdominal tumors including recurrent and metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma. Dr.

Dr. Dai's laboratory is a pioneer in the field of proteomic instability of cancer. The recent findings from his laboratory have revealed the intimate interactions between the proteotoxic stress response and RAS/MAPK-MEK signaling, cell cycle regulation, protein translation, as well as tumor-suppressive amyloidogenesis. His ongoing research focuses on the molecular mechanisms through which proteomic instability may affect genomic stability, cell invasion, and autophagy, areas which hold promise to unveil new molecular pathways that could be targeted in cancer
therapy.

Dr. Lixin Fan contributes her expertise in small-angle scattering to the user community of the CCR SAXS Core Facility scientifically and technically. Dr. Fan plays a major role in designing and conducting SAXS/WAXS experiments, data collection, processing, analysis/modeling and interpretation for multi-disciplinary, multi-laboratory collaborations. Dr.

Dr. Muppidi is an Earl Stadtman Investigator in the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, NCI. He is interested in understanding the intersection of the immune response and generation of malignancies derived from B cells. The goal of his research is to define how genetic changes found in B cell lymphomas contribute to altered B cell behavior within the microenvironment and the subsequent development of malignancy.

Dr. Armstrong is a trained clinician and scientist, who led the Patient Outcomes Research Program at the Neuro-Oncology Branch (NOB). She strived to understand the impact of both disease and treatment on how a person with a central nervous system (CNS) tumor feels and functions.

Research in the Batista lab aims to understand how the RNA epigenome modulates gene expression during development and in disease. Dr. Batista demonstrated that N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A), the most abundant RNA post-transcriptional modification found on mRNAs and long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), determines transcriptome flexibility and modulates the balance between pluripotency and differentiation.

Dr. Lin is a board-certified physician in the fields of medical oncology and nuclear medicine. Dr. Lin's research interest is in the use of systemic, targeted radionuclides or conjugates as a treatment modality for cancer, and he is head of the Targeted Radionuclide Therapy Section of the Molecular Imaging Branch at NCI. Selected as a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in 2016, Dr. Lin leads several pre-clinical investigations of radionuclide therapy agents as well as being the principal or associate investigator on a number of clinical trials at the NIH involving radionuclide therapy. Dr.

Work in the Antiviral Immunity and Resistance Section, led by Alex Compton, Ph.D., is guided by integrative approaches combining experimental virology, cell biology, and evolutionary biology to reveal dynamic host-virus interactions important for public health.  A focus is placed on mechanisms of host protection mediated by the cell-intrinsic innate immune response, as well as the strategies employed by HIV and emerging viruses to evade or overcome these immune barriers.