News
Welcoming Sandro Santagata as the new LSP Associate Director
Pathologist and cell biologist Sandro Santagata, MD, PhD, brings a clinical perspective to the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology
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Sandro’s promotion to Associate Director cements his long-standing commitment to the LSP. Since joining the lab in 2017, he has played a pivotal role in building the LSP’s precision medicine portfolio. Sandro plans to continue this work as Associate director, facilitating teams that can turn molecular discoveries into clinical advancements.
Innovative assays for drug discovery and development
An interview with Caitlin Mills, PhD, the LSP Director of Preclinical Pharmacology
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Caitlin Mills sat down with folks from BioTechniques at the Drug Discovery 2024 conference to discuss Dye Drop – a low-cost, reliable assay for obtaining detailed cell cycle and viability data from single cells.
Did AI Solve the Protein-Folding Problem?
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LSP alumni Nazim Bouatta and Mohammed AlQuraishi were featured in Harvard Magazine last month, sharing their perspectives on the next phase for AI in scientific discovery. Although some headlines suggest that AI has “solved” the protein folding problem, Bouatta and AlQuraishi believe that many larger challenges remain. They hope tools like AlphaFold and OpenFold will shed light on protein dynamics and clarify how proteins interact functionally with other proteins or therapeutic agents.
Dr. Santagata Leads “From Atlas to Practice” Session at NIH
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In September, Dr. Sandro Santagata led an NIH Innovation Lab, “From Atlas to Practice.”
The event brought together clinicians and spatial biologists to find places for synergy. The goal? To translate basic research into innovative & useful tools for better disease diagnosis and treatment in clinics.
Several LSP members attended the weeklong session, including Drs. Kristin Qian, Sankha Chakrabarty, and Andréanne Gagné. Post-doctoral Fellow Kristin Qian shared that the event not only deepened her understanding of translational research but helped her forge lasting friendships with clinicians and scientists from around the globe!
A promising new strategy for treating triple-negative breast cancer
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Published in Nature – research led by Karen Cichowski’s lab in collaboration with several LSP members (including Yilin Xu, Jia-Ren Lin, Peter Sorger, and Sandro Santagata) suggests that combined treatment with AKT and EZH2 inhibitors kills TNBC cells more effectively in in vivo models. This work could provide a promising new therapeutic strategy for treating TNBC.
A Step Toward New Solutions for Inflammatory Pain
Clues may lie in interactions between immune cells and pain-sensing neurons
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A new study from Clifford Woolf and Peter Sorger revealed novel, bi-directional communication between pain-sensing neurons and immune cells, with different inflammatory stimuli leading to unique cellular responses. These findings increase our understanding of the complex interactions that control pain and bring us closer to developing more targeted analgesics.
Alumni Spotlight: Seeing the Human Behind the Data
Graduating physician-scientist Deborah Plana combines passion for analysis, improving patient care
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As Sorger Lab alumna Deb Plana prepared to graduate with her MD-PhD, she reflected on her graduate school journey. Deb seeks to blend the quantitative and human aspects of medicine and hopes to continue using her systems biology background for personalized patient care in the future.
Two Sorger & Santagata lab articles selected as the ‘Best of 2023’
Best in Cell 2023: Multiplexed 3D atlas of state transitions and immune interaction in colorectal cancer
Nature Cancer’s 2023 in Review: High-plex immunofluorescence imaging and traditional histology of the same tissue section for discovering image-based biomarkers
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Multiplexed 3D atlas of state transitions and immune interaction in colorectal cancer selected as the Best in Cell 2023!
This paper showcased one of the first 3-dimensional human tissue atlases, providing a new perspective on the 3D structure and molecular properties of tumors. The nine ‘Best of Cell’ articles represent the most exciting papers published in 2023 and encompass diverse topics from basic science to technological advances to translational projects that will impact human health.
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High-plex immunofluorescence imaging and traditional histology of the same tissue section for discovering image-based biomarkers selected for Nature Cancer’s 2023 in Review!
This paper introduced the Orion method, which enables high-plex immunofluorescence and H&E imaging of the same slide. This paper was featured as one of the most exciting advances in primary cancer literature in 2023.
Live Cell Imaging IDs Bad Actors in Cancer and Finds Possible Ways to Defeat Them
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New research in Science Advances from LSP investigators Patrick Bhola and Anthony Letai makes it possible to identify which cancer cells are primed for cell death via apoptosis. This work could enable future studies to investigate whether targeting poorly primed cancer cells could improve response to therapeutics.
Celebrating a promising Phase II trial for a rare brain tumor treatment
A New England Journal of Medicine article, “BRAF–MEK Inhibition in Newly Diagnosed Papillary Craniopharyngiomas”, describes a Phase II clinical trial and offers some insight into potential targeted treatments for a rare cancer. Papillary Craniopharyngiomas typically occur in the region of the brain near the pituitary gland and optic nerves. Radiation and surgical treatment are often associated with substantial morbidity such as vision loss, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and memory loss. The study team explored whether treatment BRAF–MEK inhibitor combination vemurafenib would lead to better patient outcomes.
For Dr. Sandro Santagata, this work closes a chapter – in 2013, Santagata co-led a team that identified two unique subtypes of craniopharyngiomas and found that papillary craniopharyngiomas nearly always have BRAF-V600E mutations. This discovery stimulated other efforts to repurpose drugs developed for melanoma, resulting in this Phase II clinical trial, in which 15 of 16 patients had a partial response or better to the BRAF-MEK inhibitor. On LinkedIn, Sandro reflected on how this paper represents not only an important step in treating rare cancers but exemplifies how contributions from clinicians, patients, pathologists, philanthropists, and clinical trial experts can move medicine forward.
A New Tool for Diagnosing Cancer
Platform combines structural details with molecular information about a tumor
An Unprecedented Look at Colorectal Cancer
Researchers are building detailed maps of colorectal cancer to better understand the dynamics of the disease
New 3D Atlas of Colorectal Cancer Promises Improved Diagnosis, Treatment
Getting Under Our Skin
Spatial maps of melanoma reveal how individual cells interact as cancer progresses