Stanford University
Showing 1-9 of 9 Results
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Raya Saab
Lindhard Family Professor of Pediatric Cancer Biology
BioI am a pediatric oncologist, and I primarily treat children who are diagnosed with soft tissue sarcomas including rhabdomyosarcoma, and children diagnosed with the eye tumor retinoblastoma, as well as children with other solid tumors.
I have two very different areas of primary research interest, both of which I pursue with passion. One focuses on global oncology, including clinical and research resource capacity building towards effective treatment and improving outcomes of children with cancer worldwide. I work with collaborators across the globe towards a common goal of improving access to diagnostic and clinical care, training of multidisciplinary teams, and building clinical resources and research capacity to develop context-informed approaches to improving cancer care and achieving better outcomes for children diagnosed with cancer irrespective of where they happen to live.
My parallel research interest, which is the focus of my laboratory, is understanding oncogenic signaling in pediatric soft tissue sarcomas, in an effort to clarify the driving biology and determinants of metastatic disease, to uncover novel targets for more effective treatment. We use preclinical in vitro and in vivo models, including murine and human cell lines, and mouse models of cancer. 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. -
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.
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Kavita Sarin, MD, PhD
Professor of Dermatology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research encompasses two main areas: 1) Using next-generation RNA, whole genome, and exome sequencing, we are investigating the genetic alterations involved in skin cancer progression, response to therapy, and other clinical outcomes and 2) We are developing and implementing genome-wide genetic risk prediction assessments for skin cancer into clinical use and studying the impact of this information on patient care.
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Shagufta Shaheen
Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Oncology
BioDr. Shaheen specializes in the gastrointestinal malignancies and she has expertise in treating neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Following her fellowship in Hematology and Oncology, Dr Shaheen completed an advanced fellowship in Neuroendocrine tumors from Stanford University. The NET advanced fellowship is first of its kind in United State started under the leadership of Dr Pamela Kunz who is the founding Director of the Stanford Neuroendocrine Tumor Program established in 2015. After completing her advanced fellowship, Dr Shaheen joined Stanford Oncology division as Clinical Assistant Professor. Dr Shaheen is involved in further developing the neuroendocrine oncology program at Stanford which serves as a centre of excellence in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. Dr Shaheen is actively involved in clinical research and clinical trials. Dr Shaheen is also involved in taking care of patients admitted to the oncology service as well as resident and fellow teaching.
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Joseph Shrager
Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsIn clinical research, Dr. Shrager studies outcomes in a variety of areas within Thoracic Surgery including: parenchyma-sparing operations and minimally invasive resections for lung cancer, transcervical thymectomy for myasthenia gravis, diaphragm plication, and surgical treatment of emphysema.
Dr. Shrager's lab is focused on the impact of disease states upon the diaphragm. His group published the seminal paper (NEJM) describing diaphragm atrophy assoc'd with mechanical ventilation. -
Branimir I. Sikic, M. D.
Professor of Medicine (Oncology), Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch Interests: cancer pharmacology, mechanisms of resistance to anticancer drugs, regulation and function of MDR1 and tubulin genes, CD47 as a target for activation of anticancer macrophases, Phase I trials of new drugs, gene expression profiling of cancers
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Eila C. Skinner
Thomas A. Stamey Research Professor of Urology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on outcomes in the treatment of muscle invasive and high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. This includes identifying markers of prognosis, predictive markers for response to surgery and chemotherapy, and working toward an individualized, multidisciplinary approach to disease management. I have also focused on optimizing the use of lower urinary tract reconstruction in patients undergoing cystectomy, and developing interventions to improve patient quality of life.
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Sandy Srinivas
Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and, by courtesy, of Urology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsClinical interests: general oncology, genito-urinary malignancy Research interests: conducting clinical trials in advanced prostate cancer, bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma
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James Swartz
James H. Clark Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering and of Bioengineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProgram Overview
The world we enjoy, including the oxygen we breathe, has been beneficially created by biological systems. Consequently, we believe that innovative biotechnologies can also serve to help correct a natural world that non-natural technologies have pushed out of balance. We must work together to provide a sustainable world system capable of equitably improving the lives of over 10 billion people.
Toward that objective, our program focuses on human health as well as planet health. To address particularly difficult challenges, we seek to synergistically combine: 1) the design and evolution of complex protein-based nanoparticles and enzymatic systems with 2) innovative, uniquely capable cell-free production technologies.
To advance human health we focus on: a) achieving the 120 year-old dream of producing “magic bullets”; smart nanoparticles that deliver therapeutics or genetic therapies only to specific cells in our bodies; b) precisely designing and efficiently producing vaccines that mimic viruses to stimulate safe and protective immune responses; and c) providing a rapid point-of-care liquid biopsy that will count and harvest circulating tumor cells.
To address planet health we are pursuing biotechnologies to: a) inexpensively use atmospheric CO2 to produce commodity biochemicals as the basis for a new carbon negative chemical industry, and b) mitigate the intermittency challenges of photovoltaic and wind produced electricity by producing hydrogen either from biomass sugars or directly from sunlight.
More than 25 years ago, Professor Swartz began his pioneering work to develop cell-free biotechnologies. The new ability to precisely focus biological systems toward efficiently addressing new, “non-natural” objectives has proven tremendously useful as we seek to address the crucial and very difficult challenges listed above. Another critical feature of the program is the courage (or naivete) to approach important objectives that require the development and integration of several necessary-but- not-sufficient technology advances.