The following speakers were selected for their profound leadership and accomplishments in the areas of cancer biology and neuroscience research.
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Nika Danial, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Nika Danial, Ph.D., is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Cancer Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is co-director of the National Cancer Institute-funded T32 Training Program in Cancer Chemical Biology and Metabolism at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She received an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in molecular, cellular and biophysical studies from Columbia University. Her postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of the late Stanley J. Korsmeyer, M.D., at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute focused on the role of BCL-2 family proteins in mitochondrial apoptosis. There she discovered a molecular link between cell survival/death regulatory pathways and metabolism. Dr. Danial's laboratory investigates how cellular fuel metabolism, fuel flexibility and nutrient signaling shape cellular physiology. Within this context, the lab studies fundamental aspects of metabolic biology, including causes and consequences of cellular fuel utilization patterns and metabolic signals that shape cell fate, function and stress responses. This research program has led to advances in understanding anabolic and catabolic mechanisms that link altered fuel metabolism and nutrient signaling to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and seizure disorders.
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Morgan DeSantis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Dr. DeSantis' lab focuses on understanding the rules that govern microtubule-based cellular trafficking. By providing the platform and power to move cellular contents efficiently throughout the cell, microtubule-based trafficking is critical to innumerable biological processes. Unsurprisingly, the dysfunction of microtubule-based trafficking can cause various and divergent diseases, including numerous neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, many kinds of viruses hijack microtubule motors to navigate the crowded host cytoplasm and support infection. Despite its central role, the molecular mechanism of how microtubule-motor proteins function is only beginning to be understood. Dr. DeSantis' group is particularly interested in retrograde-directed trafficking, nearly all of which is powered by a single kind of motor protein called dynein. As the primary retrograde-directed microtubule motor, dynein must traffic hundreds of different cargoes. The overarching goal of Dr. DeSantis' group is to understand how dynein can recognize and meet the unique trafficking demands of hundreds of unique cargos. To achieve this end, Dr. DeSantis takes a multidisciplinary approach to learn how a vast network of binding proteins regulates dynein. Dr. DeSantis' group uses proteomic approaches to identify new types of dynein regulatory proteins and determine mechanisms of dynein regulation by building complex in vitro reconstituted systems to directly query dynein-driven trafficking. Dr. DeSantis couples these approaches with cell-based imaging to test the mechanistic models generated in vitro in the crowded cellular environment. Using these approaches, Dr. DeSantis' group moves back and forth between discovery and hypothesis testing.
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Fabienne Fiesel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Fiesel's main research focus is on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying age-related neurodegenerative disorders. She received a Master of Science from the University of Stuttgart and a Ph.D. from Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany. Her earlier work focused on identifying molecular targets of TDP-43, a protein associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. She also was part of the team that discovered the PINK1-PRKN mitophagy pathway. Dr. Fiesel joined the Mayo Clinic lab of Wolfdieter Springer, Ph.D., in 2011 to further investigate the disease relevance of this pathway. In addition to mitochondrial autophagy, Dr. Fiesel's research interests broadly revolve around selective autophagy pathways that are driven by ubiquitin-like modifiers. She is currently working to understand the physiological and pathological role of the ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 cascade in the context of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Fiesel received a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Parkinson Disease Association, a Younkin Scholar Award and a Gerstner Family Career Development Award. Her program is further supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Florida Department of Health. Dr. Fiesel is a recipient of the 2024 Research Equity Catalyst Award sponsored by the Center for Biomedical Discovery and the Office of Research Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at Mayo Clinic.
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Boa Kim, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, McAllister Heart Institute
University of North Carolina
Dr. Kim's laboratory focuses on understanding the role of endothelial cell metabolism in health and disease. Endothelial cells, which form the innermost lining of all blood vessels, play a crucial role in a wide range of metabolic and cardiovascular conditions. Dr. Kim has dedicated her research career to studying endothelial biology, with a particular emphasis on endothelial metabolism, function and angiogenesis. During her graduate work, she explored the effect of shear stress on mitochondrial remodeling in endothelial cells and its impact on hypertension. In her postdoctoral training, she led multiple projects centered on endothelial metabolism. Given that endothelial cells are highly glycolytic, she investigated the role of PKM2, a key rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis. She discovered that it is critical for angiogenesis and to maintain vessel integrity — remarkably, in a manner independent of its pyruvate kinase activity. She then studied the role of glutamine — the most abundant amino acid in the blood — during angiogenesis. Her research revealed that carbon and nitrogen from glutamine are crucial for biomass production, fueling the proliferation but not the migration of endothelial cells and suggesting compartmentalized metabolism of glucose versus glutamine. Dr. Kim also has investigated lipid metabolism within endothelial cells and its impact on cardiovascular disease and systemic metabolism. She has reported on the mechanisms of fatty acid uptake into endothelial cells. Recently, Dr. Kim discovered that high fat consumption leads to the accumulation of lipid droplets in the endothelium, which contributes to the development of various vascular pathologies, including endothelial dysfunction, elevated blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Her lab is dedicated to uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which endothelial lipid droplet metabolism drives these vascular diseases.
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Nora Kory, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Molecular Metabolism
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Kory completed her undergraduate and master's studies in chemistry and biochemistry at Munich University before moving to the U.S. At Yale University, she combined her passions for metabolism and cell biology to study the molecular mechanisms of how cells store fat. Her doctoral research identified factors that determine lipid droplet protein composition. During her postdoctoral studies at Whitehead Institute, Dr. Kory discovered elusive transport proteins responsible for bringing critical metabolites into mitochondria. Her current research focuses on how mitochondria exchange metabolites with the rest of the cell while maintaining their unique chemical environment. Motivated by the consequences of mitochondrial dysfunction on numerous diseases, Dr. Kory's overarching goals are to understand how alterations in mitochondrial transport influence aging and age-related diseases, and to leverage this knowledge for therapeutic development. Her groundbreaking contributions have earned her a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Cancer Institute, a R35 Maximizing Investigators' Research Award from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences, a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, and recognition as a STAT Wunderkind. Beyond research, Dr. Kory is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists and creating a more inclusive scientific community.
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Enis Kostallari, Ph.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Kostallari earned her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Paris-Est University in 2014, where she studied how perivascular cells support skeletal muscle postnatal development. Shortly after, she came to Mayo Clinic for her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Vijay Shah, M.D. In Dr. Shah's lab, she studied how perivascular cells in the liver transdifferentiate to promote liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. In 2019, Dr. Kostallari was awarded with the Pinnacle Research Award, a career development award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Dr. Kostallari established her laboratory at Mayo Clinic in 2023 after being awarded the federal R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. She continues to study the biology of liver perivascular cells called hepatic stellate cells. In addition to her science, Dr. Kostallari holds several leadership positions at Mayo Clinic and is a member of the institution's Associate Consultant Council. She also holds leadership positions outside of Mayo Clinic, such as Special Interest Group Steering Committee member at the AASLD. In this capacity, she participates in the annual liver meeting scientific program. Dr. Kostallari also is a course instructor and mentor of students at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. Finally, Dr. Kostallari supports women in science, technology, engineering and math, and she advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion through her activities at Mayo Clinic and outside organizations.
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Utthara Nayar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Breast Cancer Biologist
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Utthara Nayar, Ph.D., is a cancer biologist, and assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). She holds a joint appointment in the Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Program in the JHU School of Medicine and is also a member of the Breast and Gynecologic Malignancies Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at JHU. Prior to her current appointment, she was a research fellow in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Her initial scientific training was in herpesviral oncology laboratories at Cornell University and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She earned her Ph.D. in immunology and microbial pathogenesis from Cornell University and B.S. degree with honors in biochemistry and molecular biology (double major) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Nayar employs multi-omics technologies to investigate mechanisms of clinical resistance to targeted therapies in breast and ovarian cancer. Her group works at the intersection of basic and translational research, in close collaboration with physician-scientists, computational biologists and patient advocates. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, the AACR-Aflac Inc. Scholar-in-Training Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the Women-in-Cancer-Research Award from the AACR, and the National Cancer Institute K22 Transition Career Development Award, along with internally competitive awards from JHU. She also serves as an ad hoc member on NCI R03/R21 and DoD Breast Cancer study sections. Dr. Nayar also has a lifelong commitment to mentorship and service. She is the faculty co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee in her department. Previously, she co-authored a white paper that informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's revision to blood donation policies nationwide in 2023. She also is passionate about using genomics to drive equity in cancer care. Dr. Nayar's research interests are therapeutic response and resistance in breast and ovarian cancer. The primary reason for breast cancer mortality is the development of endocrine resistance, through largely unknown mechanisms, to therapies targeting the estrogen receptor. Endocrine resistance also is an emerging problem in the treatment of ER-expressing ovarian cancer. Dr. Nayar identified a novel class of clinical endocrine resistance, designated "MAPK-active" tumors, that account for about 13% to 20% of resistant breast tumors. This finding was highlighted as one of the top four stories of interest at the AACR Annual Meeting in 2018, and the incidence of these therapeutically-intractable MAPK-active tumors continues to rise in the clinic. The scientific objective of Dr. Nayar's research program is to study tumor cell-intrinsic signaling, transcriptional rewiring and phenotypic plasticity, tumor evolution and acquired therapeutic vulnerabilities, and the tumor (+immune) microenvironment of therapy-resistant breast and ovarian cancer. Toward this end, the lab uses cell, molecular, animal model and large-scale multi-omic approaches to understand the mechanistic basis of resistance, with a view to enabling future clinical translation and improving patient outcomes.
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Allyson F. O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. O'Donnell received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of New Brunswick and her Ph.D. from Dalhousie University in Canada. Dr. O'Donnell began researching a-arrestins, a class of selective protein trafficking adaptor conserved from yeast to man, during her postdoctoral work in the labs of Martha S. Cyert, Ph.D., and Jeremy Thorner, Ph.D., of Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, respectively. Dr. O'Donnell started at the University of Pittsburgh as a research assistant professor in 2012 before moving to Duquesne University for a tenure-track assistant professor position in 2015. Then she was recruited back to the University of Pittsburgh as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2018. Throughout these transitions, her lab's focus has continued to be on defining the cellular mechanisms governing protein targeting and trafficking. Dr. O'Donnell's lab primarily uses yeast as a model organism to understand how a-arrestins control selective protein trafficking in response to cell signaling. The lab is defining the impact of altered a-arrestin-mediated trafficking on cellular metabolism. One focus of her lab is on a-arrestins as master regulators of protein trafficking. Using systematic approaches, Dr. O'Donnell has greatly expanded the repertoire of membrane proteins regulated by a-arrestins and defined the broad reaching function for this class of trafficking adaptor. She finds that a-arrestins regulate many membrane proteins — from single-pass to 14-pass transmembrane, domain-containing proteins. Dr. O'Donnell is working to map the interaction-interface between a-arrestins and the membrane proteins they control to gain molecular insight into how these trafficking complexes form. Another focus of her lab is the nexus of cell signaling and protein trafficking. Dr. O'Donnell finds that key signaling regulators, including Snf1/AMPK and TORC1/mTOR, control the activity of a-arrestins, defining a key integration point for how cell signaling cues drive protein trafficking outcomes. Dr. O'Donnell's lab also focuses on linking protein trafficking and metabolism. Inappropriate retention of nutrient and other transporters at the cell surface — as arises in the absence of a-arrestins — leads to metabolite imbalances that have devastating consequences on organelle function and cellular health. The a-arrestins are emerging tumor suppressors, and this is likely due to their critical function in controlling the surface abundance of key membrane transporters, including glucose and amino acid transporters.
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Karen Reue, Ph.D.
Professor
University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
Dr. Reue's research goal is to identify novel genes and pathways that are required for metabolic homeostasis, which are dysregulated in conditions such as obesity, lipodystrophy, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Her recent work focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying sex differences in obesity and cardiovascular disease using mouse models. Using genetic manipulation in mouse models, her findings have revealed independent roles for gonadal hormones and genetic sex (XX versus XY chromosomes) in white and brown fat development and function, atherosclerosis, dietary lipid absorption, fatty liver, physiological response to exercise, mitochondrial function, and adverse drug effects. Dr. Reue is investigating the molecular mechanisms by which sex chromosomes influence these traits, including histone modifications, DNA methylation and RNA expression.
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Autumn J. Schulze, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Schulze obtained her Ph.D. in anatomy and cell biology from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2010, after which she joined Mayo Clinic as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2017, Dr. Schulze transitioned into her faculty position in the Department of Molecular Medicine. Dr. Schulze's research program focuses on developing novel RNA-based therapeutics to treat cancer. Her program emphasizes the formulation of oncolytic picornavirus therapeutics as "infectious" RNA and creating innovative combinations of RNA-based therapies that work synergistically. Dr. Schulze's team concentrates on understanding the basic biology of picornaviruses. The team seeks to identify host-virus interactions that influence therapeutic efficacy, develop mechanisms of regulating these interactions and evaluate the impact of combination therapies on anti-cancer activity in vivo. Dr. Schulze evaluates messenger RNA, self-amplifying RNA and small interfering RNA-based platforms and uses lipid nanotechnology for local and systemic delivery. She leverages insights from viral evolution and innate cellular processes to replicate these natural phenomena, aiming to develop safe, synthetic therapies with improved clinical outcomes. Dr. Schulze is an active member in the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (MCGSBS). She is director of the Virology and Gene Therapy (VGT) Graduate Program, a member of the VGT Education Committee and the VGT Admissions Committee chair. She also is the leader of the VGT Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, a lecturer and tutorial leader for various VGT courses, a graduate student adviser, and a mentor and advocate for many students enrolled in MCGSBS. As a Hispanic female and mother of two, Dr. Schulze is highly focused on promoting inclusive, safe and supportive research environments to enhance the diversity of the scientific workforce while emphasizing the importance of mental health and well-being. She works not only to positively impact the scientific community for the betterment of patient healthcare, but also with the vision of genuinely expanding the presence of underrepresented minorities with leadership positions in the biomedical sciences.