GASTROENTEROLOGY RESEARCH LAB
718-270-1290/4089
MARTELLO-ROONEY LABORATORY
RESEARCH
The GI Research laboratory is focused on translational research projects with an emphasis on pancreatic cancer and colon cancer. Pancreatic and colon cancers are a primary focus due to the African American population predominant at SUNY Downstate Medical Center/Kings County Hospital Center having a higher incidence of these cancers as well as inferior treatment responses. One current project involves generating patient-derived xenografts and organoids from African American patient’s pancreatic tumors in collaboration with Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as part of a NIH P20 grant on GI cancer health disparities. The creation of these tools will be crucial to investigating the disease at the molecular level.
In addition, we have projects investigating a novel drug delivery approach for pancreatic tumors utilizing mouse models of pancreatic cancer. We also are involved in retrospective (colon tumor fixed tissue slides) and prospective (colon tumor fresh tissue) studies with Stony Brook University directed at colon cancer disparities. miRNA profiling is being performed on the colon tumor fixed tissues, while the colon tumor fresh tissues will be utilized for the generation of novel colon tumor patient-derived xenografts, organoids and cell lines and then those resources used for downstream genetic and epigenetic analyses. In addition, clinical data will be linked to the pancreatic and colon tumor tissues allowing for potential associations with the tumor genotypes and phenotypes.
Furthermore, as part of the P20 grant we are in the process of establishing a Biobank focused initially on GI cancers but with plans to expand to additional tumor types in the near future. We also have initiated a Cancer Health Disparities Training Program with Stony Brook University.
Finally, we organize a Cancer Health Disparities Symposium in March annually, where students are exposed to important cancer health disparities research findings as well as participate in the poster session during the lunch break.
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MEET THE TEAM
Principal Investigator and Graduate Students
Laura Martello-Rooney
Principal Investigator
I accepted my first faculty position in 2009 at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, a Minority-Serving Institution, and since then I have been developing a translational research program focused around pancreatic cancer. We have research projects concentrating on different aspects of pancreatic cancer including generating pancreatic organoids and patient-derived xenografts from African American patient samples (in collaboration with Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), performing cytokine profiling on pancreatic cyst fluid, and testing local delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in mouse models of pancreatic cancer. I have guided various research projects performed by the GI Fellows, Residents and Medical students.
Jenny Paredes
Graduate Student
My current project investigates the inflammatory patterns of African American colon tumors and their role in health disparities. We were awarded with a P20 Diversity Supplement grant from the National Institutes of Health in collaboration with Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to investigate the tumor biology of colon cancer in African Americans. In addition, we are creating novel research tools including patient-derived xenografts and cell lines that will allow us to address colon cancer disparities.
Marzia Spagnardi
Graduate Student
My current research interests are in the field of cancer biology and health disparities. The main goal of this project is to study the mechanisms of colon cancer from both a molecular and immunological perspective. I propose to investigate the correlation between miRNAs and the inflammatory processes that play an important role in colon cancer and to integrate my findings with the field of health disparities to better understand the differences in the impact of this disease among the African-American population.
Stanley Soroka
Graduate Student
My current research interests include drug resistance of pancreatic cancer and drug delivery to pancreatic tumors. I am investigating a novel drug delivery approach for cancer therapeutics as well as working toward increasing our available patient samples for genetic analysis. The goal of the research is to decrease systemic toxicity of neo-adjuvant therapies for pancreatic cancer so that patient’s are better candidates for surgery.
Mubarak Akadri
MD
I assess patients who may qualify for our studies and seek their written consents to be recruited as part of our study population.Â
As part of our collaborative effort with Cold Spring Harbor laboratories and Stony Brook university to generate patient derived organoids and xenografts, I coordinate with surgeons, interventional endoscopists and pathologists for collection of pancreatic and colon cancer surgical and biopsy specimens.
I also review patients' clinical data and ensure efficient blood and tissue sample processing, storage and transportation, in line with ethical guidelines of research protocols.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Garai J, Alshal M, Imtiaz S, Paredes Sanchez JE, Akadri M, Gupta R, Agaronov M, Li M, Zabaleta, Martello-Rooney L. African American pancreatic cancer microRNAs profile to identify links to drug resistance and tumor progression. Accepted for Poster Presentation at the 2018 Eleventh AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Okome O, Paredes Sanchez JE, Palileo A, Burkhart C, Martello-Rooney L. Drug-loaded microparticles as a treatment approach for pancreatic cancer. Cancer Res 2018 78 (13 Suppl) 3878; DOI:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2018-3878
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Paredes Sanchez JE, Ji P, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Imtiaz S, Barrera K, Gupta R, Agaronov M, Talus H, Zabaleta J, Williams J, Martello-Rooney L. Immune checkpoints and inflammation in colon tumors from African Americans. Cancer Res 2018 78 (13 Suppl) 646; DOI:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2018-646
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Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Tiriac H, Vignesh S, Paredes Sanchez J, Somma J, Li E, Bucobo JC, Tzimas DJ, Wu M, Martello-Rooney L, Tuveson D, Buscaglia J. (2017) Living biobank of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy- derived PDAC organoids: A study of two contrasting populations. Accepted for Poster Presentation at the Tenth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
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Paredes Sanchez J, Ji P, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Agrawal M, Williams J, Martello-Rooney L. (2017) Role of Microsatellite Stability and Mismatch DNA Repair Mechanism in the Response to 5-Fluorouacil Treatment in African American Colon Cancer Cell Lines. Accepted for Poster Presentation at the Tenth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
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Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Moshchinsky A, Okome O, Paredes Sanchez JE, Gupta R, Martello-Rooney L. (2017) Paclitaxel-loaded microparticles in combination with gemcitabine-loaded microparticles decreases gemcitabine resistance and promotes cell death in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1091. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1091.
Paredes Sanchez JE, Ji P, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Martello-Rooney L, Williams J. (2017) Inflammatory patterns exhibited by African American colon tumor-derived cell lines. Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2692. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2692.
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Paredes J, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Ji P, Martello-Rooney L, Williams J. (2016) Differential inflammatory cytokine secretion between African American and Caucasian colon cancer cell lines. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr C35.
Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Martello-Rooney L. (2016) Paclitaxel-loaded microparticles promote cancer cell death and reduce gemcitabine resistance in a pancreatic cancer cell line. Cancer Res December 14 2016 76 (24 Suppl) Abstract nr B56.
Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Kurbatov V, Dynes S, Caceres J, Chen M, Gupta R, Burkhart C, Martello-Rooney L. (2016) Gemcitabine-loaded microparticles promote cancer cell death in subcutaneous pancreatic cancer xenografts. Cancer Res July 2016; 76(14 Suppl): Abstract nr 2070.
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Caceres J*, Munoz-Sagastibelza M*, Hossian N, Paredes J, Barrera K, Mattheolabakis G, Martello LA, Vignesh S. Evaluation of the feasibility of intrapancreatic delivery of drug-loaded microparticles via EUS-guided fine needle injection using a swine model. Accepted in Endoscopy International Open 2019; 07: E1–E10
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Paredes J, Ji P, Lacomb JF, Shroyer KR, Martello LA, Williams JL. Establishment of three novel cell lines derived from African American patients with colorectal carcinoma: A unique tool for assessing racial health disparity. International journal of oncology. 2018 Oct 1;53(4):1516-28.
PMID: 30066857
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Tiriac H, Belleau P, Engle DD, Plenker D, Deschênes A, Somerville T, Froeling FE, Burkhart RA, ... Martello, L... Tuveson DA. Organoid profiling identifies common responders to chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Cancer discovery. 2018 Jan 1:CD-18
PMID: 29853643
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Tiriac H, Bucobo JC, Tzimas D, Grewel S, Lacomb JF, Rowehl LM, Nagula S, Wu M, Kim J, Sasson A, Vignesh S, Martello L, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Somma J, Tuveson DA, Li E, Buscaglia JM. Successful Creation of Pancreatic Cancer Organoids by means of EUS-guided Fine-Needle Biopsy for Personalized Cancer Treatment. Gastrointest Endosc. 2018 Jan 8. pii: S0016-5107(18)30019-1. PMID: 29325707
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Pakpour, S., Bhanvadia, A., Zhu, R., Amarnani, A., Gibbons, S.M., Gurry, T., Alm, E.J. and Martello, L.A. Identifying predictive features of Clostridium difficile infection recurrence before, during, and after primary antibiotic treatment. Microbiome. 2017 Nov 13;5(1):148. PMID: 29132405
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Burkhart C, Fleyshman D, Kohrn R, Commane M, Garrigan J, Kurbatov V, Toshkov I, Ramachandran R, Martello L, Gurova KV. Curaxin CBL0137 eradicates drug resistant cancer stem cells and potentiates efficacy of gemcitabine in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. Oncotarget 2014; 5(22): 11038-11053. PMCID: PMC4294371.
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Martello LA, Verdier-Pinard P, Shen H-J, He L, Torres K, Orr GA and Horwitz SB. Elevated levels of microtubule destabilizing factors in a Taxol-resistant/dependent A549 cell line with an alpha-tubulin mutation. Cancer Research 2003; 63:1207-1213.
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Martello LA, LaMarche MJ, He L, Beauchamp TJ, Smith AB, III and Horwitz SB. The relationship between Taxol and (+)-discodermolide: synthetic analogs and modeling studies. Chemistry & Biology 2001; 8:843-855.
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Martello LA, McDaid HM, Regl DL, Yang CP, Meng D, Pettus TR, Kaufman MD, Arimoto H, Danishefsky SJ, Smith AB, Horwitz SB. Taxol and discodermolide represent a synergistic drug combination in human carcinoma cell lines. Clinical Cancer Research. 2000 May 1;6(5):1978-87.
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AWARDS AND HONORS
LAURA MARTELLO-ROONEY
Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD program Executive Committee (2019)
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Conference Program Committee for the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award (April 2016)
AACR Annual Meeting New Orleans
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NIH P20 grant (2015-2019)
Partnership to study racial/ethnic differences in GI cancer biology.
Role: Co-Investigator
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NIH P20 Diversity Supplement (2016-2018)
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
Role: Downstate PI
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NIH P20 Administrative Supplement (2016-2017)
Generation of novel cell lines, PDXs, and a living organoid biobank derived from racial diverse American colorectal carcinomas.
Role: Downstate PI
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SUNY Health Network of Excellence Planning Grant (2015-2016)
SUNY partnership to study racial ethnic differences in GI cancer biology.
Role: Co-Investigator
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Patent
2003 Method for Treating Neoplasia Using Combination Chemotherapy US Patent 6,541,509
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MARIA MUNOZ-SAGASTIBELZA
The Liberalitas Award for academic altruism (2019)
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Scholar-In-Training Award (Sept 2018) Eleventh AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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School of Graduate Studies Annual Research Travel Fellowship (2018)
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SUNY Student Assembly (SUNY SA) Representative for SUNY DMC 2017-2018
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CDRN Early Career Cancer Health Disparities
Travel Scholarship (Sept 2017)
Tenth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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SUNY Graduate Research Today and Tomorrow (March 2017)
Representative for SUNY Downstate Medical Center
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Certificate of Scholar in Biomedical Sciences-Cancer Health Disparities Training Program (2016-2017)
Stony Brook University, School of Medicine and SUNY Downstate Medical Center
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NIH Clinical Center’s Clinical and Translational Research Course for Ph.D. Students (July 2016)
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School of Graduate Studies Annual Research Travel Fellowship (2016)
AACR Annual Meeting Washington D.C. 2017
JENNY PAREDES
Minority Student in Training Travel Award (April 2019) AACR Annual Meeting Atlanta, GA
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CDRN Early Career Cancer Health DisparitiesTravel Scholarship (September 2018) Eleventh AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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School of Graduate Studies Annual Research Travel Fellowship (2018)
CDRN Early Career Cancer Health Disparities
Travel Scholarship (April 2018)
AACR Annual Meeting Chicago, IL
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Minority Student in Training Travel Award (September 2017)
Tenth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
NIH Clinical Center’s Clinical and Translational Research Course for Ph.D. Students (July 2017)
Certificate of Excellence and Travel Award (June 2017)
Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences Program, National Cancer Institute, NIH
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CDRN Early Career Cancer Health Disparities
Travel Scholarship (April 2017)
AACR Annual Meeting Washington D.C.
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SUNY Graduate Research Today and Tomorrow (March 2017)
Representative for SUNY Downstate Medical Center
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Scholar in Training Travel Award (September 2016)
Ninth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
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NIH P20 Diversity Supplement (2016-2018)
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research PA-15-322
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FORMER LAB MEMBERS
Graduate Students, Medicine Residents and GI Fellows
Maria Munoz-Sagastibelza, PhD
Medical Science Liaison
Jennifer Caceres, MD
Medicine Resident (2011-2014)
GI Fellow/Chief Fellow (2014-2017)
Instructor in Medicine Digestive and Liver Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center (2017-present)
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Albert Palileo, MD
OB/GYN Resident (2011-2015)
Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship at SUNY Downstate (2015-2018)
Sayed Imtiaz, MD
Surgical Resident at SUNY Downstate (2015-2022)
Amit Bhanvadia, MD
Medicine Resident/Chief Resident (2012-2016)
GI fellow at Lenox Hill Hospital (2016-present)
Vadim Kurbatov, MD
SUNY Downstate Medical Student (2010-2015)
Surgical Resident at Yale University (2015-present)
Rajesh Ramachandran, MD
GI Fellow at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (2012-2015)
Larry Siu, MD
GI Fellow at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (2011-2014)
Sherif Andrawes, MD
GI Fellow at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (2010-2013)
Xiaosong Song, MD
GI Fellow at SUNY Downstate Medical Center (2009-2012)
Amon Asgharpour, MD
Medicine Resident (2009-2012)
GI Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University (2012-2016)
Alicia Gooding, MD
Volunteer 2010-2011
Aileen Raizner, MD
Volunteer 2009-2010
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
High School, Undergraduate and Medical Students
Kemi Okome
Undergraduate Student
2016-2017
Abhi Amarnani
MD/PhD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Ariella Moshchinsky
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2016
Sophia Dynes
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2015
Michael Chen
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2015
Arthi Reddy
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2015
Bryan Flores
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2014
Paul Lee
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2014
Raag Agrawal
Pre Med Student at Columbia University
Summer 2014
Ahuva Cices
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2013
Zhaonan Liu
MD Student SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Summer 2012
Justin Ulrich-Lewis
Undergraduate Student
Summer 2012
Jing Ling
BME Masters Student at NYU Polytechnic Institute
2011-2012
COLLABORATORS
Ellen Li, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University
David Tuveson, MD, PhD
Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Jennie Williams, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Assistant Dean for Student Diversity
Stony Brook University
Jovanny Zabaleta, PhD
Associate ProfessorÂ
Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LSU)
Georgios Matthaiolampakis, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics, University of Louisiana at Monroe
Catherine Burkhart, PhD
Director, Therapeutic Validation, Buffalo BioLabs
Hayley M. McDaid, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein University
This is your Team Section closing paragraph. It’s a great place to sum up the essence of your team and invite your visitors to contact you.
CONTACT
Address:
450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
Email:
Phone:
718-270-1290/4089
Fax:
718-270-7201