Research Abstract

I completed fellowship training in Medical Oncology and Infectious Diseases at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. My postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Maria Jasin at the Sloan-Kettering Institute focused on identifying mechanisms that mediate oncogenic rearrangements induced by site-specific DNA double-strand breaks and V(D)J recombination. In my laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we utilize agnostic approaches to identify therapeutic targets in lymphoid malignancies and interrogate pathways of aberrant DNA repair. Our major findings include the identification of CRLF2 as an oncoprotein in B-cell leukemias, the description of GNB1 mutations across a range of malignancies, the triplication of HMGN1 as a driver of lymphoid leukemia linked to Down Syndrome, the role of tumor suppressor genes on chr. X in male cancer predominance and the role of PARP3 in chromosomal rearrangements. We lead the effort at Dana-Farber, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Boston Children’s Hospital to establish patient-derived xenografts of leukemias and lymphomas. We have utilized these models in pre-clinical phase II-like trials completely in mice and have shared the models with laboratories across the world through an open-source repository (Public Repository of Xenografts; www.PRoXe.org). I lead a Specialized Center of Research focused on targeting Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas that oversees basic research and multiple clinical trials across the country. Several of my former mentees now lead groups in industry and academia.