Welcome
![Lisa Coussens PhD](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Coussens_Lisa%20Coussens%20%28120x151%29.jpg)
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.
Featured Stories
![Missy Wong KCI Leadership](/sites/default/files/2024-10/Missy%20Wong_AD%20of%20BS.jpg)
Dr. Missy Wong has been appointment as the Knight Cancer Institute's associate director of basic science. She steps into this role formerly held by Dr. Lisa Coussens who was named a co-deputy director in the KCI. After conducting a national search for this position, the search committee selected Dr. Wong from a strong slate of internal and external candidates. Missy has been at OHSU and a member of the Knight Cancer Institute for over 20 years. She currently serves as vice chair for the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology in the OHSU School of Medicine, and has served as co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program for three competitive renewals of the KCI P30 grant from the National Cancer Institute, with three different co-leaders. Missy’s accomplishments as a scientist are well-recognized, particularly her laboratory’s research on the physiologic impact of cell fusion hybrids between circulating bone marrow-derived and intestinal tumor epithelial cells in advancing tumorigenesis.
Her history of collaborative team science and mentoring are notable, and her commitment to Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) and DEI add to our confidence in her success in this next chapter of her scientific leadership. In this new role, she will collaborate with Dr. Coussens, as well as Dr. Eneida Nemecek, associate director of clinical research, and Dr. Shelley Tworoger, associate director of population science, to guide the development of innovative policies and programs to further discovery-based science across all four research programs.
Dr. Sanjay Malhotra co-organized the 2024 Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium, an annual event that Dr. Malhotra co-founded in 2016. Notable attendees were a Nobel laureate, the FDA commissioner and leaders of large pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
![Cachexia Keystone Symposia, 2024](/sites/default/files/2024-05/Teresa%20Zimmers%2C%20Cachexia%20Keystone%20Symposia%2C%202024_0.jpg)
Dr. Teresa Zimmers successfully co-organized the recent Keystone Symposia Cachexia and Wasting Syndrome in Cancer and Chronic Diseases. It was held at the Buck Institute in Novato, CA from May 5-7. Congratulations on a successful symposia and for engaging many new labs and investigators!
KCI Trainee Travel Awards
Travel awards are available for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows conducting cancer-focused research with Knight-affiliated faculty. Up to $1500 in funding will be awarded to selected trainees who will present their research at a national meeting but may not have sufficient funds available.
Graduate student travel awards are supported by a generous gift from the Frohnmayer Hicks Sciarretta Cancer Research Scholars Program. Postdoctoral travel awards are supported by the Knight Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination office.
Timeline: Applications to fund attendance at a future meeting will be accepted four times a year. In 2025 the deadlines are:
- January 22, 2025
- April 15, 2025
- July 15, 2025
- October 15, 2025
Eligibility:
Trainees are eligible to apply for this award provided they are:
- conducting cancer-focused research with Knight-affiliated faculty
- first author of a poster or research talk to be presented at a conference
- for doctoral students: enrolled in an OHSU PhD program and have passed their qualifying exam
- for postdoctoral fellows: working with a Knight-affiliated faculty member for at least 6 months
- outstanding cancer trainees of any nationality are eligible to apply.
How to Apply:
The application form can be found here.
In addition to providing information about the conference (name, organization, intended audience, dates and expected cost), applicants must submit the following as a single PDF:
- NIH-style biosketch
- Abstract of research to be presented
- A brief statement from the advisor describing the trainee’s contribution to the research to be presented and how attendance at the selected conference will enhance the student or fellow’s training. The advisor should also indicate the financial need for this award and their commitment to fund any costs over the maximum $1500 travel award. Advisor statement should be no more than ½ page.
Criteria for selection of awardees:
Preference will be given to trainees who will be presenting their work for the first time, have not received a prior travel award, and may otherwise not be able to attend the conference. Other factors that will be considered are the scientific quality of the abstract, the statement of support from the primary mentor, and the relevance and significance of the research to the Cancer Center mission.
Questions may be addressed to knightedu@ohsu.edu
Recent Accolades & Funding
Congratulations to Dr. Missy Wong who has been awarded the Rood Family Endowed Professorship in the School of Medicine, Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology! Endowed Professorships are highly prestigious, and a true testament to Missy's scientific acumen, pioneering spirit, ground-breaking paradigm shifting research, and commitment to the various missions of OHSU and our department. We are lucky to have her amongst our faculty and as our Vice Chair.
Dr. Robert Eil has been selected as a recipient for the 2025 OHSU Faculty Excellence and Innovation Award for his project, "Precision engineered CAR-T cells for refractory gastrointestinal cancer." Congratulations!
Congratulations to Dr. Brittany Counts, postdoc in the Zimmers lab, who has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship in the Integrated Training in Quantitative and Experimental Cancer Systems Biology T32 training program.
Congratulations to Dr. Aishwarya Sahasrabudhe, postdoc in the Agarwal lab, who has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship in the Integrated Training in Quantitative and Experimental Cancer Systems Biology T32 training program.
Dr. Aaron Grossberg presented a lecture, "IL-6 induces early cachexia via hepatic STAT-3,” and co-chaired a session on the neural control of cachexia at the 17th International Conference of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia, & Wasting Disorders this past December in Washington, DC. Congratulations!
Dr. Megan Burger and her lab have been awarded a Knight Pilot grant toward their new collaboration with Gaurav Sahar's lab entitled, “A novel mRNA lipid nanoparticle platform for lung cancer neoantigen vaccines”. Congratulations!
Recent Publications
The Brody lab has two publications to announce:
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"Ongoing replication stress tolerance and clonal T cell responses distinguish liver and lung recurrence and outcomes in pancreatic cancer" in Nature Cancer, with Dr. Coussens as co-author.
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"Challenges and Opportunities in Targeting the Complex Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment" in JCI Oncology Advances.
Congratulations to Dr. Mona Mohammadhosseini, postdoc in the Agarwal lab, who has published "Targeting the CD74 signaling axis suppresses inflammation and rescues defective hematopoiesis in RUNX1-familial platelet disorder" in Science Translational Medicine.
Congratulations to Nicole Giske (Nick Smith, Sid Sengupta and the rest of the Wong lab team) for the acceptance of their manuscript titled, “Dual states of Bmi1-expressing intestinal stem cells drive epithelial development mediated by non-canonical Wnt signaling” in Developmental Cell. This is a collaborative project with Guanming Wu’s and Jared Fischer’s groups—and includes our summer intern.
Dr. Lucie Darmusey, postdoc in the Maxson lab, has had a paper accepted in Blood Advances titled, "Dual ASXL1 and CSF3R mutations drive myeloid biased stem cell expansion and enhance neutrophil differentiation." Congratulations!
Two publications have recently come out of the Grossberg lab - congratulations!
- "GDF15 and LCN2 for early detection and prognosis of pancreatic cancer" in ClinicalKey.
- "Melanocortin-4 receptor antagonist TCMCB07 alleviates chemotherapy-induced anorexia and weight loss in rats" in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
View all CDCB news and recognitions.
Respect For All Flowchart
![Respect For All Flowchart](/sites/default/files/2019-11/1RespectForAllFlowChartGRAFFNLNOV1919.jpg)
CDCB labs recruiting
Careers with an emphasis on preclinical and translational science
CDCB welcomes
![Angelina Vaseva 1.2x1.5](/sites/default/files/2024-08/Vaseva_Vaseva%2C%20Angelina%201.2x1.5_2.jpg)
CDCB is excited to welcome Angelina Vaseva, Ph.D. who has joined OHSU as an Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics and a joint appointment with us in the Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology. Dr. Vaseva's research program will focus on targeting oncogenic RAS in pediatric cancers. Welcome, Dr. Vaseva!
![Molly Thomas](/sites/default/files/2023-06/Thomas_Molly%20Thomas%20%281.2x1.5%29_0.jpg)
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](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Moreau_Joshua%20Moreau%201.2x1.5.jpg)
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!