School of Medicine


Showing 601-610 of 777 Results

  • Christopher John Russell

    Christopher John Russell

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Hospital Medicine)

    BioDr. Russell is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and a board-certified academic pediatric hospitalist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. His clinical responsibilities include caring for children hospitalized for a variety of illnesses. His research focuses on developing evidence-based care for hospitalized children with medical complexity, including acute respiratory infections (such as pneumonia and bacterial tracheitis). His research efforts have been recognized through receipt of the University of Southern California’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Award (2014-16), the Academic Pediatric Association’s Young Investigator Award (2015-16), the NIH Loan Repayment Program (2017-2021) and a large grant from the Gerber Foundation (2020-2022). In August 2021, he received a five-year R01 award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study bacterial respiratory infections in child with tracheostomy. Outside of his clinical and research responsibilities, Dr. Russell focuses on research mentorship of medical students, pediatric residents, and pediatric hospital medicine fellows as well as improving representation of underrepresented minorities in medicine throughout the continuum of physician training. Dr. Russell is the chair of the Academic Pediatric Association’s Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and is on the Executive Committee for the Pediatric Research in Inpatient Settings research network. Dr. Russell is active in the AAP and currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Hospital Pediatrics.

  • Raya Saab

    Raya Saab

    Lindhard Family Professor of Pediatric Cancer Biology

    BioOur laboratory focuses on investigating molecular mechanisms of oncogene-induced tumorigenesis and tumor suppressor pathways, and oncogenic signaling in the pediatric solid tumor rhabdomyosarcoma. Our earlier work identified the tumor suppressors p53 and p18Ink4c as inhibitors of Cyclin D1-driven tumorigenesis in a pineoblastoma model, through senescence induction, and highlighted distinct roles for the the RB and p53 pathways in induction and maintenance of oncogene-induced senescence. We also identified CDK2 as a potential target for inducing senescence in premalignant lesions to inhibit tumor progression.
    Our current focus is on studying oncogenic signaling and tumor suppression in the childhood tumor rhabdomyosarcoma, to identify key mediators of invasion and metastasis, which is the most common cause of treatment failure clinically. We use preclinical in vitro and in vivo models, including murine and human cell lines, and mouse models of disease.
    We have recently uncovered a paracrine role for rhabdomyosarcoma-secreted exosomes in impacting biology of stromal cells. Rhabdomyosarcoma-derived exosomes carry specific miRNA cargo that imparts an invasive and migratory phenotype on normal recipient fibroblasts, and proteomic analysis revealed specific and unique pathways relevant to the two different molecular rhabdomyosarcoma subtypes that are driven by distinct oncogenic pathways. We identified that the driver oncogene in fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma, PAX3-FOXO1, modulates exosome cargo to promote invasion, migration, and angiogenic properties, and identified specific microRNA and protein cargo acting as effectors of PAX3-FOXO1 exosome-mediated signaling, including modulation of oxidative stress response and cell survival signaling.
    Our ongoing work is focused on interrogating specific paracrine signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms of metastatic disease progression in rhabdomyosarcoma, for potential therapeutic targeting.

  • Rebecca Saenz

    Rebecca Saenz

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Immunology and Allergy

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAllergy, Immunology, Bioengineering and Biodesign

  • Julien Sage

    Julien Sage

    Elaine and John Chambers Professor of Pediatric Cancer and Professor of Genetics
    On Partial Leave from 04/22/2024 To 06/24/2024

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe investigate the mechanisms by which normal cells become tumor cells, and we combine genetics, genomics, and proteomics approaches to investigate the differences between the proliferative response in response to injury and the hyperproliferative phenotype of cancer cells and to identify novel therapeutic targets in cancer cells.

  • Debbie C. Sakaguchi Sakai

    Debbie C. Sakaguchi Sakai

    Clinical Professor, Pediatrics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMedical education, shared decision making, resuscitation.

  • Kathleen M. Sakamoto

    Kathleen M. Sakamoto

    Shelagh Galligan Professor in the School of Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on the molecular pathways that regulate normal and aberrant blood cell development, including acute leukemia and bone marrow failure syndromes. We are also studying novel drugs for treatment of cancer.