CCR Connections

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Glenn Merlino, Ph.D.
Glenn Merlino has been named a Deputy Director of CCR. Merlino received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1980 and began his career at NCI as a Postdoctoral Fellow under Ira Pastan, M.D. He was named Chief of CCR’s Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis in 2004 and Co-Chief of CCR’s Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics in 2006. Merlino’s research career has made contributions in the areas of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, oncogenic transformation, transcriptional regulation, cell cycle regulation, multiple drug resistance, and genomic instability. He was the first to report the amplification/rearrangement of the EGFR gene in human cancer. Using transgenic mouse models, he was among the first to show that growth factors could function in vivo as oncogenes. Currently, Merlino and his colleagues in the Cancer Modeling Section—using genetically engineered mouse models of human cancer—are seeking to elucidate the complex molecular programs governing melanomagenesis and progression.

Christina M. Annunziata, M.D., Ph.D.
Christina Annunziata is now a tenure-track investigator in CCR’s Medical Oncology Branch. Her research investigates NF-kB signaling in an ovarian cancer model, and she maintains her clinical focus in the translational clinical studies of ovarian cancer.

Isaac Brownell, M.D., Ph.D. Isaac Brownell joins CCR’s Dermatology Branch. His research focuses on the regulation of stem cells in the skin and the use of mouse genetics to model carcinogenesis in the skin.

Udayan Guha, M.B.B.S, Ph.D.
Udayan Guha joins CCR’s Medical Oncology Branch. His clinical interest is thoracic malignancies and his research interest is studying cancer- signaling networks using integrated proteomics, genomics, and mouse modeling approaches.

Rosandra N. Kaplan, M.D.
Rosie Kaplan joins CCR’s Pediatric Oncology Branch. She is a clinician and physician-scientist with active translational and clinical research interests focused on the mechanism of cancer metastasis.

Teri N. Kreisl, M.D.
Teri Kreisl is now a tenure-track investigator in CCR’s Neuro- Oncology Branch. Her research focuses on imaging biomarkers in primary brain tumors.

Ashish Lal, Ph.D.
Ashish Lal joins CCR’s Genetics Branch. His laboratory focuses on elucidating the function of specific cancer-associated microRNAs using molecular and genetic approaches. His lab is also investigating the role of mutations in tumor suppressor proteins such as p53 on microRNA biogenesis in cancer cells.

Daniel R. Larson, Ph.D.
Dan Larson joins CCR’s Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression. His laboratory focuses on the regulation and function of RNA in a cell-biological context, including transcription, splicing, post-transcriptional processing, and decay.

Jayne Stommel, Ph.D.
Jayne Stommel joins CCR’s Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology. Her research focuses on oncogenic kinase signaling in glioblastoma multiforme.

Philip Tofilon, Ph.D.
Philip Tofilon joins CCR’s Radiation Oncology Branch. His research investigates radiation- induced translational control of gene expression, as well as the radiobiology of glioblastoma stem cells.

Christopher Westlake, Ph.D.
Chris Westlake joins CCR’s Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Signaling. His research investigates membrane trafficking pathways important in ciliopathy, diseases linked to primary cilia dysfunction, and cancer.