Current Trainees (all email addresses end in partners.org)
John Albin, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Infectious Diseases Email: jalbin I grew up in Nebraska and completed a BA in microbiology and Spanish at the University of Kansas. I then joined the University of Minnesota's MD-PhD program, where my thesis research focused on HIV molecular virology and host cell restriction factors. Beyond residency, I plan to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases with the ultimate goal of establishing a career combining basic
retrovirology and retroviral eradication strategies with the care of chronically infected patients. When not absorbed in these endeavors, I enjoy reading something unrelated to science/medicine and playing double bass. Selected Publications: Bohn MF*, Shandilya SM*, Albin JS, Kouno T, Anderson BD, McDougle RM, Carpenter MA, Rathore A,
Evans L, Davis AN, Zhang J, Lu Y, Somasundaran M, Matsuo H, Harris RS, Schiffer CA. Crystal structure of
the DNA cytosine deaminase APOBEC3F: the catalytically active and HIV-1 Vif-binding domain. Structure.
2013 Jun 4; 21(6):1042-50.
View in: PubMed
Albin JS, Anderson JS, Johnson JR, Harjes E, Matsuo H, Krogan NJ, Harris RS. Dispersed sites of HIV Vif-
dependent polyubiquitination in the DNA deaminase APOBEC3F. J Mol Biol. 2013 Apr 12; 425(7):1172-
82.
View in: PubMed
Albin JS, LaRue RS, Weaver JA, Brown WL, Shindo K, Harjes E, Matsuo H, Harris RS. A single amino acid in
human APOBEC3F alters susceptibility to HIV-1 Vif. J Biol Chem. 2010 Dec 24; 285(52):40785-92.
View in: PubMed
Pierre Ankomah, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Infectious Diseases Email: pankomah I was born in Ghana, and grew up wanting to be, at various times, an economist, yam farmer, sports journalist and marine biologist, the latter slightly complicated by the fact that I couldn’t (and still can’t) swim. Upon realizing that a liberal arts education would be tolerant of my indecision, I moved to the Amish wonderland of Lancaster, PA to study at Franklin & Marshall College. Afterwards, I sought
warmer pastures in Atlanta, where I did an MD/PhD at Emory, exploring the pharmacodynamics of antibiotic combinations and resulting effects on infection clearance and evolution of resistance. I braved the trek to the Boston cold partly to keep my warm-cold-warm-cold transitions consistent, but also because I really want to figure out how one looks fashionable in snowshoes. I often jokingly say that am a professional soccer fan whose career has been blighted by occasional forays into science and medicine; if you can tolerate my animation while watching games, you may be rewarded by some Ghanaian cooking. Selected Publications: Ankomah P, Levin BR. Exploring the collaboration between antibiotics and the immune response in the
treatment of acute, self-limiting infections. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jun 10; 111(23):8331-8.
View in: PubMed
Ankomah P, Johnson PJ, Levin BR. The pharmaco -, population and evolutionary dynamics of multi-drug
therapy: experiments with S. aureus and E. coli and computer simulations. PLoS Pathog. 2013;
9(4):e1003300.
View in: PubMed
Ankomah P, Levin BR. Two-drug antimicrobial chemotherapy: a mathematical model and experiments
with Mycobacterium marinum. PLoS Pathog. 2012; 8(1):e1002487.
View in: PubMed
Allison Betof, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2013 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: abetof Originally from Philadelphia, PA, I graduated from Cornell University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and the College Scholar Program. While at Cornell, I was also a varsity gymnast and pursued biomechanics research. Subsequently, I completed my MD and PhD degrees at Duke University. My Doctoral research focused on the effects of aerobic exercise on tumor hypoxia and angiogenesis in
mouse models of breast cancer. I am thrilled to be joining the housestaff at MGH, and I plan to pursue an academic career in solid tumor oncology. In my spare time, I am an enthusiastic athlete (coaching and competing in Cross Fit. Selected Publications: Betof AS, Lascola CD, Weitzel D, Landon C, Scarbrough PM, Devi GR, Palmer G, Jones LW, Dewhirst MW.
Modulation of murine breast tumor vascularity, hypoxia and chemotherapeutic response by exercise. J
Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 May; 107(5).
View in: PubMed
Betof AS, Rabbani ZN, Hardee ME, Kim SJ, Broadwater G, Bentley RC, Snyder SA, Vujaskovic Z,
Oosterwijk E, Harris LN, Horton JK, Dewhirst MW, Blackwell KL. Carbonic anhydrase IX is a predictive
marker of doxorubicin resistance in early-stage breast cancer independent of HER2 and TOP2A
amplification. Br J Cancer. 2012 Feb 28; 106(5):916-22.
View in: PubMed
Kelly Burke, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: kburke18 I was adopted from South Korea and grew up outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. I attended Kenyon College and recently graduated from Johns Hopkins where I earned my MD/PhD. In my spare time, I love cooking, eating, exploring farmer's markets, long-distance running, and international travel. I'm also a fan of Scrabble and number or word puzzles.
Selected Publications: Burke KP, Munshaw S, Osburn WO, Levine J, Liu L, Sidney J, Sette A, Ray SC, Cox AL. Immunogenicity and
cross-reactivity of a representative ancestral sequence in hepatitis C virus infection. J Immunol. 2012
May 15; 188(10):5177-88.
View in: PubMed
Burke KP, Cox AL. Hepatitis C virus evasion of adaptive immune responses: a model for viral persistence.
Immunol Res. 2010 Jul; 47(1-3):216-27.
View in: PubMed
Raghu Chivukula, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Pulmonary / Critical Care Email: rchivukula After growing up outside New York City and attending high school in Wichita, KS I
spent 12 years in Baltimore as an undergraduate, MD, and PhD student at Johns
Hopkins. My dissertation work focused on microRNA roles in oncogenic
transformation and tissue regeneration. I went on to complete an internship in
general surgery at the MGH before making the switch to internal medicine and a
science-focused career within pulmonary and critical care medicine. My core interests remain in
understanding how epithelia respond and renew after acute injury, and how failed or abortive
regeneration may alternatively promote fibrosis. Outside the hospital and the lab I enjoy spending time
with my fiancée and our 2 Italian Greyhounds, rock climbing, exploring the Boston food and cocktail
scene, and Law & Order reruns.
Selected Publications: Chivukula RR, Shi G, Acharya A, Mills EW, Zeitels LR, Anandam JL, Abdelnaby AA, Balch GC, Mansour JC,
Yopp AC, Maitra A, Mendell JT. An essential mesenchymal function for miR-143/145 in intestinal
epithelial regeneration. Cell. 2014 May 22; 157(5):1104-16.
View in: PubMed
Kent OA, Chivukula RR, Mullendore M, Wentzel EA, Feldmann G, Lee KH, Liu S, Leach SD, Maitra A,
Mendell JT. Repression of the miR-143/145 cluster by oncogenic Ras initiates a tumor-promoting feed-
forward pathway. Genes Dev. 2010 Dec 15; 24(24):2754-9.
View in: PubMed
Kota J, Chivukula RR, O'Donnell KA, Wentzel EA, Montgomery CL, Hwang HW, Chang TC, Vivekanandan
P, Torbenson M, Clark KR, Mendell JR, Mendell JT. Therapeutic microRNA delivery suppresses
tumorigenesis in a murine liver cancer model. Cell. 2009 Jun 12; 137(6):1005-17.
View in: PubMed
Jason Cooper, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2013 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: jpcooper
Selected Publications: Cooper JP, Hwang K, Singh H, Wang D, Reynolds CP, Curley RW Jr, Williams SC, Maurer BJ, Kang MH. Fenretinide metabolism in humans and mice: utilizing pharmacological modulation of its metabolic pathway to increase systemic exposure. Br J Pharmacol. 2011; 163(6):1263-75. View in: PubMed
Victor Fedorov, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology, Endocrinology Email: vfedorov Victor was born in Moscow, Russia, but eventually landed below the Mason-Dixon line in Richmond, Va. High school was a blur of track meets, improv/stage theater, and an early punctuated descent into the scientific realm. Attending the University of Richmond, he fully explored all corners of a liberal arts education, while playing water polo, participating in a fraternity, and still descending deeper
into scientific nerd-dome. Missing a worldly metropolitan city, he completed the MD/PhD program at Cornell in NYC, with a PhD from MSKCC focused on T and stem cell cellular therapies. More importantly, he survived all the endless options NYC had to offer. During this time, Victor tried his hand at a few entrepreneurial ventures in health tech, but still only drives an old Saab. He loves all things outdoors (climbing, biking, hiking, and snow), indoors (theater, arts, and food (i.e.)), and most importantly good times with friends. He knows almost nothing about Boston, but is very excited to learn doctoring there. Selected Publications: Fedorov VD, Themeli M, Sadelain M. PD-1- and CTLA-4-based inhibitory chimeric antigen receptors
(iCARs) divert off-target immunotherapy responses. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Dec 11; 5(215):215ra172.
View in: PubMed
Julie Fiore, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Undeclared Email: jlfiore Originally from Pittsburgh, I completed my undergraduate studies in Chemistry and German at the University of Pittsburgh. The lure of the mountains drew me westward for my graduate studies in Chemical Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, where I investigated RNA folding. I then landed in Milwaukee for medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I am now thrilled to
continue my journey in Medicine at MGH. In my free time, you may catch me doing long runs (especially on trails), snowboarding, “reading” (I love audible), and exploring the local selection of IPAs. Selected Publications: Fiore JL, Holmstrom ED, Fiegland LR, Hodak JH, Nesbitt DJ. The role of counterion valence and size in
GAAA tetraloop-receptor docking/undocking kinetics. J Mol Biol. 2012 Oct 19; 423(2):198-216.
View in: PubMed
Fiore JL, Holmstrom ED, Nesbitt DJ. Entropic origin of Mg2+-facilitated RNA folding. Proc Natl Acad Sci U
S A. 2012 Feb 21; 109(8):2902-7.
View in: PubMed
Michael Forrester, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2013
Fellowship Interests: Cardiology Email: mtforrester Originally from Chicago, I completed my undergraduate degree at Northwestern
University where I studied synthetic organic chemistry and found my intellectual
home in the laboratory. Figuring an MD/PhD program would provide a nice
challenge, I next found myself at Duke for medical school and my thesis. The
latter focused on proteomics and assay development, with a particular emphasis on stress signaling and
nitric oxide biology. My brief postdoctoral work focused on protein lipid modifications where I further
expanded my expertise in proteomics and mass spectrometry. Selecting a residency was not a
particularly tough decision, as internal medicine was one of the few fields providing the degree of
intellectual breadth and physical intensity that I desired. Coming to MGH seemed a very natural decision
and unquestionably one of the finest opportunities of my life. Outside of medicine and science, my
hobbies include spending time with my wife and our two dogs, travelling around Maine, bass guitar and
postmodern literature such as Vonnegut and Hemingway
Selected Publications:
Forrester MT, Seth D, Hausladen A, Eyler CE, Foster MW, Matsumoto A, Benhar M, Marshall HE, Stamler
JS. Thioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip) is a feedback regulator of S-nitrosylation. J Biol Chem. 2009
Dec 25; 284(52):36160-6.
View in: PubMed
Forrester MT, Thompson JW, Foster MW, Nogueira L, Moseley MA, Stamler JS. Proteomic analysis of S-
nitrosylation and denitrosylation by resin-assisted capture. Nat Biotechnol. 2009 Jun; 27(6):557-9.
View in: PubMed
David Gross, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Cardiology Email: dgross3 I grew up in upstate NY in a town called Niskayuna, a small suburb of Albany. After undergrad at Stanford, I moved to NYC to complete my MD/PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In between defending my thesis and M3, I lived in Singapore for several months doing basic research as my mentor's lab moved there. Outside of work, I'm an avid skier and biker and love to travel.
Selected Publications: Gross DA, Silver DL. Cytosolic lipid droplets: from mechanisms of fat storage to disease. Crit Rev
Biochem Mol Biol. 2014 Jul-Aug; 49(4):304-26.
View in: PubMed
Gross DA, Zhan C, Silver DL. Direct binding of triglyceride to fat storage-inducing transmembrane
proteins 1 and 2 is important for lipid droplet formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 6;
108(49):19581-6.
View in: PubMed
Gross DA, Snapp EL, Silver DL. Structural insights into triglyceride storage mediated by fat storage-
inducing transmembrane (FIT) protein 2. PLoS One. 2010; 5(5):e10796.
View in: PubMed
Vikas Gupta, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014
Fellowship Interests: Gastroenterology Email: vgupta0 I was born in Washington, DC; however, I primarily grew up in Allentown, PA.
After attending Penn State University, I matriculated into the MD/PhD program at
Duke University. In Ken Poss’ lab, my graduate studies were focused upon a
multicolor clonal analysis of cardiomyocytes during zebra fish heart regeneration
and morphogenesis. Outside of science and medicine, I enjoy going to
restaurants, being outdoors, am an avid sports fan, movie buff, and love to workout!
Selected Publications:
Gupta VK, KD Poss. Clonally dominant cardiomyocytes direct heart morphogenesis. Nature. 2012;
484(7395):479-484.
View in: PubMed
Jessica Hennessey, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Cardiology Email: jahennessey I am originally from Milford, Connecticut, which is right outside New Haven. I have two sisters and we are part of a large Italian family. With my family we have many Italian traditions centered around food for the holidays, especially Christmas and Easter. I went to NYU for undergrad, where I majored in biology and then moved
down to Durham for my MD/PhD. I am married to my husband, Tom, who is an attorney and a realtor. We love basketball (yes I am a Duke fan), which we play together often. I enjoy running and have run a fair amount of half marathons. Additionally, I greatly enjoy carrying on the traditions of my family with cooking and get-togethers! Selected Publications: Hennessey JA, Marcou CA, Wang C, Wei EQ, Wang C, Tester DJ, Torchio M, Dagradi F, Crotti L, Schwartz
PJ, Ackerman MJ, Pitt GS. FGF12 is a candidate Brugada syndrome locus. Heart Rhythm. 2013 Dec;
10(12):1886-94.
View in: PubMed
Hennessey JA, Wei EQ, Pitt GS. Fibroblast growth factor homologous factors modulate cardiac calcium
channels. Circ Res. 2013 Aug 2; 113(4):381-8.
View in: PubMed
Benjamin Herzberg, MD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: bherzberg I was born at Albert Einstein Hospital in the Bronx, raised in Westfield, New
Jersey, and attended high school at Solomon Schechter Day School. I received my
AB from Princeton University in Chemistry and Quantitative and Computational
Biology, where I studied cancer metabolomics with Joshua Rabinowitz and aging
in C. elegans with Coleen Murphy. I then took a brief interlude to get a degree in the History of Science
and Medicine at Imperial College, London, focusing on 20th-century organic chemistry and the career of
Robert Robinson, the 1947 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. I then moved on to Harvard Medical School
and the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, where I spent my research time in the
laboratory of James Bradner. There I studied the mechanism of action of lenalidomide in multiple
myeloma and applied novel chemical techniques to drug target identification problems. I am broadly
interested in chemical biology, cancer, and genetics, and will be pursuing a fellowship in
hematology/oncology.
Selected Publications: Herzberg B, Gainor J. Immune checkpoint blockade in lung cancer. The Oncologist. 2015: in press Fluorous drug-affinity proteomics for cancer drug discovery. Thesis submitted to the HST program and
for Honors at HMS.
Metabolomic exploration of pyruvate kinase variants in yeast and cancer. Thesis in Chemistry and
Genomics at Princeton University. 2010.
Nikolaus Jilg, MD, PhD Year Entered: 2013 Fellowship Interests: Infectious Diseases Email: njilg Prior to residency at MGH, I trained in internal medicine in Germany and did a postdoctoral fellowship on innate immunity in hepatitis C. In my spare time, I enjoy soccer, hiking and skiing.
Selected Publications: Jilg N, Lin W, Hong J, Schaefer EA, Wolski D, Meixong J, Goto K, Brisac C, Chusri P, Fusco DN, Chevaliez S,
Luther J, Kumthip K, Urban TJ, Peng LF, Lauer GM, Chung RT. Kinetic differences in the induction of
interferon stimulated genes by interferon-α and interleukin 28B are altered by infection with hepatitis C
virus. Hepatology. 2014; 59(4):1250-61.
View in: PubMed Jilg N, Lin W, Hong J, Schaefer EA, Wolski D, Meixong J, Goto K, Brisac C, Chusri P, Fusco DN, Chevaliez S,
Luther J, Kumthip K, Urban TJ, Peng LF, Lauer GM, Chung RT. Kinetic differences in the induction of
interferon stimulated genes by interferon-a and interleukin 28B are altered by infection with hepatitis C
virus. Hepatology. 2014 Apr; 59(4):1250-61.
View in: PubMed
(Peter) Geon Kim, MD
Year Entered: 2015
Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology I was born in South Korea but I grew up mostly in Lexington, MA. I attended
college and medical school at Harvard. My recent research has been in the field of
embryonic hematopoietic transplantation. Specifically, I use genomics and
computation for insight into signaling pathways that promote hematopoietic stem
cell emergence. My past research includes fluid dynamics of antibubble
formation/extinction and sessile evaporating drops.
Selected Publications:
Kim PG, Nakano H, Das PP, Chen MJ, Rowe RG, Chou SS, Ross SJ, Sakamoto KM, Zon LI, Schlaeger TM,
Orkin SH, Nakano A, Daley GQ. Flow-induced protein kinase A-CREB pathway acts via BMP signaling to
promote HSC emergence. J Exp Med. 2015 May 4; 212(5):633-48.
View in: PubMed
Kim PG, Albacker CE, Lu YF, Jang IH, Lim Y, Heffner GC, Arora N, Bowman TV, Lin MI, Lensch MW, De Los
Angeles A, Zon LI, Loewer S, Daley GQ. Signaling axis involving Hedgehog, Notch, and Scl promotes the
embryonic endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jan 8; 110(2):E141-
50.
View in: PubMed
Jacob Lazarus, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Infectious Diseases Email: jlazarus1 North Jersey native and lover of pugs, I am growing to love Boston and its terriers.
I also like biking, running, gin and tonics, fulminant bacterial infections, and cell
biology.
Selected Publications: Ayloo S, Lazarus JE, Dodda A, Tokito M, Ostap EM, Holzbaur EL. Dynactin functions as both a dynamic
tether and brake during dynein-driven motility. Nat Commun. 2014; 5:4807.
View in: PubMed
Lazarus JE, Moughamian AJ, Tokito MK, Holzbaur EL. Dynactin subunit p150(Glued) is a neuron-specific
anti-catastrophe factor. PLoS Biol. 2013 Jul; 11(7):e1001611.
View in: PubMed
Hendricks AG*, Lazarus JE*, Perlson E, Gardner MK, Odde DJ, Goldman YE, Holzbaur EL. Dynein tethers
and stabilizes dynamic microtubule plus ends. Curr Biol. 2012 Apr 10; 22(7):632-7.
View in: PubMed
Jacob Lemieux, MD, DPHil
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Infectious Diseases Email: jelemieux I was born and raised in New York City. I attended college at Stanford, graduate school at Oxford, and medical school at Harvard. My clinical and research interests are in global health, infectious disease, malaria, and babesiosis. In my free time, I enjoy running, cooking, reading, and spending time with my wife, Amy, and our chocolate lab, Huxley.
Selected Publications: Lemieux JE, Kyes SA, Otto TD, Feller AI, Eastman RT, Pinches RA, Berriman M, Su XZ, Newbold CI.
Genome-wide profiling of chromosome interactions in Plasmodium falciparum characterizes nuclear
architecture and reconfigurations associated with antigenic variation. Mol Microbiol. 2013 Nov;
90(3):519-37.
View in: PubMed
Lemieux JE, Gomez-Escobar N, Feller A, Carret C, Amambua-Ngwa A, Pinches R, Day F, Kyes SA, Conway
DJ, Holmes CC, Newbold CI. Statistical estimation of cell-cycle progression and lineage commitment in
Plasmodium falciparum reveals a homogeneous pattern of transcription in ex vivo culture. Proc Natl
Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 5; 106(18):7559-64.
View in: PubMed
Darrick Li, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Gastroenterology Email: dkli I'm originally from Acton, MA and have finally come back home via stops at Yale for undergrad and Columbia for med school. At Columbia, my PhD research
focused generally on the role of non-coding RNAs in disease pathogenesis, specifically neurodegeneration. Clinically, I'm interested at this early point in Cardiology, Heme/Onc, GI in no particular order. Outside of the hospital, I love to perform all sorts of music (I was in an 80s cover band in med school), go for long runs, eat awesome food, travel to far off lands, and cheer riotously and unabashedly for Boston sports teams (for better or for worse). Selected Publications: Li DK, Tisdale S, Lotti F, Pellizzoni L. SMN contro of RNP assembly: from post-transcriptional gene
regulation to motor neuro disease. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2014: 32:22-9.
View in: PubMed
Li DK*, Tisdale S*, Espinoza-Derout J*, Saieva L, Lotti F, Pellizzoni L. A cell system for phenotypic
screening of modifiers of SMN2 gene expression and function. PLoS One. 2013; 8(8):e71965.
View in: PubMed
Scott Millman, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: smillman Originally from Long Island, New York, I completed my undergraduate training at Cornell University. I then moved to New York City, where I completed my MD/PhD at the NYU School of Medicine. My thesis research was focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of hematologic malignancies. When not in the hospital or laboratory, I am an avid sports fan, and enjoy both
baseball and hockey. I also enjoy trying new restaurants, attempting my own creations in the kitchen, and exploring new places with my fiancée. Selected Biography: Busino L*, Millman SE*, Pagano M. SCF-mediated degradation of p100 (NF-?B2): mechanisms and
relevance in multiple myeloma. Sci Signal. 2012 Dec 4; 5(253):pt14.
View in: PubMed
Busino L, Millman SE, Scotto L, Kyratsous CA, Basrur V, O'Connor O, Hoffmann A, Elenitoba-Johnson KS,
Pagano M. Fbxw7a- and GSK3-mediated degradation of p100 is a pro-survival mechanism in multiple
myeloma. Nat Cell Biol. 2012 Apr; 14(4):375-85.
View in: PubMed
Brian Rosborough, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Pulmonary / Critical Care Email: brrosborough I grew up near Harrisburg, PA and attended Bucknell University as a cell biology/biochemistry major. I went on to complete my MD, PhD at the University of Pittsburgh with a research focus in immunology. In my free time, I enjoy cooking and trying new restaurants. I have been learning French for several years in my spare time. I also enjoy playing golf, exercising, reading, and watching ice
hockey and college football. Selected Publications: Rosborough BR, Mathews LR, Matta BM, Liu Q, Raïch-Regué D, Thomson AW, Turnquist HR. Cutting
edge: Flt3 ligand mediates STAT3-independent expansion but STAT3-dependent activation of myeloid-
derived suppressor cells. J Immunol. 2014 Apr 15; 192(8):3470-3.
View in: PubMed
Rosborough BR*, Raïch-Regué D*, Liu Q, Venkataramanan R, Turnquist HR, Thomson AW. Adenosine
triphosphate-competitive mTOR inhibitors: a new class of immunosuppressive agents that inhibit
allograft rejection. Am J Transplant (Brief Communication). 2014; 14(9):2173-2180.
View in: PubMed
Rosborough BR, Raïch-Regué D, Matta BM, Lee K, Gan B, DePinho RA, Hackstein H, Boothby M,
Turnquist HR, Thomson AW. Murine dendritic cell rapamycin-resistant and rictor-independent mTOR
controls IL-10, B7-H1, and regulatory T-cell induction. Blood. 2013 May 2; 121(18):3619-30.
View in: PubMed
Johannes Scheid, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Gastroenterology Email: fscheid Born in New York I left the US at the age of 7, grew up in Germany and went to
medical school in Berlin. I came back to New York during medical school for my
PhD at Rockefeller and for my last year rotations at Cornell. I am excited to have
the chance to translate some of my research in the field of HIV immunology into
clinical application at the moment. I hope to find many new friends in Boston and
maybe have some time to pursue my two hobbies, playing the cello and cooking with friends.
Selected Publications: Scheid JF, Mouquet H, Ueberheide B, Diskin R, Klein F, Oliveira TY, Pietzsch J, Fenyo D, Abadir A, Velinzon K, Hurley A, Myung S, Boulad F, Poignard P, Burton DR, Pereyra F, Ho DD, Walker BD, Seaman MS, Bjorkman PJ, Chait BT, Nussenzweig MC. Sequence and structural convergence of broad and potent HIV antibodies that mimic CD4 binding. Science. 2011; 333(6049):1633-7. View in: PubMed Scheid JF, Mouquet H, Feldhahn N, Seaman MS, Velinzon K, Pietzsch J, Ott RG, Anthony RM, Zebroski H, Hurley A, Phogat A, Chakrabarti B, Li Y, Connors M, Pereyra F, Walker BD, Wardemann H, Ho D, Wyatt RT, Mascola JR, Ravetch JV, Nussenzweig MC. Broad diversity of neutralizing antibodies isolated from memory B cells in HIV-infected individuals. Nature. 2009; 458(7238):636-40. View in: PubMed Scheid JF, Mouquet H, Kofer J, Yurasov S, Nussenzweig MC, Wardemann H. Differential regulation of self-reactivity discriminates between IgG+ human circulating memory B cells and bone marrow plasma cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011; 108(44):18044-8. View in: PubMed
Zirui Song, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Academic Medicine Email: zsong I was raised by two wonderful parents, my mom an English teacher and my dad an oral surgeon. Growing up in Wisconsin, I became a fan of the Green Bay Packers. My foam cheese head traveled with me to upstate New York, where I finished high school, then to Baltimore for college at Johns Hopkins. Studying public health and economics there inspired me deeply, leading me to become fascinated by the issues facing our health care system and, in turn, our society. I
was fortunate to pursue these interests as a medical student and graduate student in the Health Policy PhD program at Harvard, where my dissertation focused on the economics of payment reform for physician organizations, Medicare fee changes, and the Medicare financing system. Fond memories of the past 8 years include working with the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in Boston, and the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball and ultimate Frisbee, as well as spending time with my better half, Katie Koh, who is starting in the MGH-McLean Psychiatry residency. We are grateful for the opportunity to train together and excited for the journey ahead. Selected Publications: Song Z, Rose S, Safran DG, Landon BE, Day MP, Chernew ME. Changes in health care spending and
quality 4 years into global payment. N Engl J Med. 2014 Oct 30; 371(18):1704-14.
View in: PubMed
Song Z, Landon BE. Controlling health care spending--the Massachusetts experiment. N Engl J Med.
2012 Apr 26; 366(17):1560-1.
View in: PubMed
Song Z, Safran DG, Landon BE, He Y, Ellis RP, Mechanic RE, Day MP, Chernew ME. Health care spending
and quality in year 1 of the alternative quality contract. N Engl J Med. 2011 Sep 8; 365(10):909-18.
View in: PubMed
Sean Spencer, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Gastroenterology Email: spspencer I was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin and attended college at University of Wisconsin where I studied microbiology & immunology and was on the triathlon team. For medical school, I traveled to Philadelphia to study at University of Pennsylvania. I temporarily relocated to Washington D.C. for my PhD research looking at dietary influences on the immune system. In my free time, I enjoy all things outdoors and am looking forward to exploring New England. When not in
the hospital you’ll likely find me running or biking around Boston. Selected Publications: Spencer SP*, Wilhelm C*, Yang Q, Hall JA, Bouladoux N, Boyd A, Nutman TB, Urban JF Jr, Wang J, Ramalingam TR, Bhandoola A, Wynn TA, Belkaid Y. Adaptation of innate lymphoid cells to a micronutrient deficiency promotes type 2 barrier immunity. Science. 2014; 343(6169):432-7. View in: PubMed
Spencer SP, Belkaid Y. Dietary and commensal derived nutrients: shaping mucosal and systemic
immunity. Curr Opin Immunol. 2012 Aug; 24(4):379-84.
View in: PubMed
Klebanoff CA, Spencer S P, Torabi-Parizi P, Grainger J R, Roychoudhuri R, Ji Y, Sukumar M, Muranski P, Scott C D, Hall J A, Ferreyra G A, Leonardi A J, Borman ZA, Wang J, Palmer DC, Wilhelm C, Cai R, Sun J, Napoli JL, Danner RL, Gattinoni L, Belkaid Y, Restifo NP. Retinoic acid controls the homeostasis of pre-cDC-derived splenic and intestinal dendritic cells. J Exp Med. 2013; 210(10):1961-76. View in: PubMed
Molly Thomas, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Gastroenterology Email: mfthomas I was born and raised in San Francisco and ventured all of 35 miles to Stanford for college. Between college and medical school I did research at the NIH, and then returned to the west coast to start an MD PhD program at UCSF. For my doctoral work I studied microRNA regulation of lymphocyte differentiation and effectors function. When I finally grow up I hope to be a gastroenterologist. I love eating
and cooking, and when I’m not thinking about food I enjoy riding my road bike, hiking up mountains, and throwing Frisbees. I’m excited to be moving eastward to a land of seasons with my wife, who is finishing her PhD in epidemiology. Selected Publications: Thomas MF, L’Etoile ND, Ansel KM. Eri1: a conserved enzyme at the crossroads of multiple RNA-
processing pathways. Trends Genet. 2014; 30(7):298-307.
View in: PubMed
Thomas MF, Abdul-Wajid S, Panduro M, Babiarz JE, Rajaram M, Woodruff P, Lanier LL, Heissmeyer V,
Ansel KM. Eri1 regulates microRNA homeostasis and mouse lymphocyte development and antiviral
function. Blood. 2012; 120(1):130-42
View in: PubMed
Steiner DF, Thomas MF, Hu JK, Yang Z, Babiarz JE, Allen CD, Matloubian M, Blelloch R, Ansel KM.
MicroRNA-29 regulates T-box transcription factors and interferon-gamma production in helper T cells.
Immunity. 2011; 35(2):169-81.
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Diane Tseng, MD, PhD Year Entered: 2013 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: dtseng My name is Diane Tseng and I was born in California to parents who are engineers
and now farmers. I went to Stanford for undergrad and majored in Biology, and
then went on the MD/PhD program in Irv Weissman’s lab studying the
mechanism of action of anti-CD47 antibody. I plan to pursue heme/onc in the
future and my interest lies in cancer immunotherapy. Outside the hospital, I enjoy
playing tennis, figure skating, and sailing.
Selected Publications:
Tseng D, Volkmer JP, Willingham SB, Contreras-Trujillo H, Fathman JW, Fernhoff NB, Seita J, Inlay MA,
Weiskopf K, Miyanishi M, Weissman IL. Anti-CD47 antibody-mediated phagocytosis of cancer by
macrophages primes an effective antitumor T-cell response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jul 2;
110(27):11103-8.
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Tseng D, Vasquez-Medrano DA, Brown JM. Targeting SDF-1/CXCR4 to inhibit tumour vasculature for
treatment of glioblastomas. Br J Cancer. 2011 Jun 7; 104(12):1805-9.
View in: PubMed
Patrick Ward, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2014 Fellowship Interests: Endocrinology Email: psward After undergrad at Dartmouth and a year in Cambridge, UK, I started and ended
my MD/PhD at Penn, with a hiatus of 2 years spent at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
My Ph.D. work was in the field of cancer metabolism, where I focused on
characterizing mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) metabolic enzymes, now known to be
prevalent in multiple cancers. I determined that IDH mutations do not act via dominant negative
inhibition, contrary to what had been initially reported in Science. Instead, the common feature of IDH1
and IDH2 mutations is the acquisition of a neomorphic enzymatic activity that results in production of an
onco-metabolite, 2-hydoxyglutarate (2HG). 2HG was previously believed to play a minimal role in
cellular metabolism, but in IDH mutant cancers this metabolite accumulates to 5-20 mM and acts as an
oncogenic effector by inhibiting enzymes involved in histone and DNA demethylation. I plan to continue
following my passion for studying metabolism through a fellowship in endocrinology.
Selected Publications: Dang L, White DW, Gross S, Bennett BD, Bittinger MA, Driggers EM, Fantin VR, Jang HG, Jin S, Keenan
MC, Marks KM, Prins RM, Ward PS, Yen KE, Liau LM, Rabinowitz JD, Cantley LC, Thompson CB, Vander
Heiden MG, Su SM. Cancer-associated IDH1 mutations produce 2-hydroxyglutarate. Nature. 2009 Dec
10; 462(7274):739-44.
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Ward PS, Patel J, Wise DR, Abdel-Wahab O, Bennett BD, Coller HA, Cross JR, Fantin VR, Hedvat CV, Perl
AE, Rabinowitz JD, Carroll M, Su SM, Sharp KA, Levine RL, Thompson CB. The common feature of
leukemia-associated IDH1 and IDH2 mutations is a neomorphic enzyme activity converting alpha-
ketoglutarate to 2-hydroxyglutarate. Cancer Cell. 2010 Mar 16; 17(3):225-34.
View in: PubMed
Ward PS, Thompson CB. Metabolic reprogramming: a cancer hallmark even warburg did not anticipate.
Cancer Cell. 2012 Mar 20; 21(3):297-308.
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Lauren Zeitels, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2015 Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: lzeitels I grew up in New Jersey before moving to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduation I pursued an MPhil in Medical Genetics as a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. I returned to the US to complete my MD/PhD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (by way of UTSW). My research focused on the role of miR-26 in colorectal cancer. In my free time I try to travel:
explore new places, try new foods, and experience new cultures. On a sunny day you might find me on the tennis courts or attempting a run along the water. Selected Publications: Zeitels LR, Acharya A, Shi G, Chivukula D, Chivukula RR, Anandam JL, Abdelnaby AA, Balch GC, Mansour
JC, Yopp AC, Richardson JA, Mendell JT. Tumor suppression by miR-26 overrides potential oncogenic
activity in intestinal tumorigenesis. Genes Dev. 2014 Dec 1; 28(23):2585-90.
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Tao Zou, MD, PhD
Year Entered: 2013
Fellowship Interests: Hematology / Oncology Email: tzou I was born in Shanghai, China and immigrated to the US as a child. I grew up
mostly in Newton, MA, but have lived in East Lansing, MI, Atlanta, GA for college,
and Philadelphia, PA for medical school. I enjoy food, sports, traveling, and
science.
Selected Publications:
Zou T, Caton AJ, Koretzky GA, Kambayashi T. Dendritic cells induce regulatory T cell proliferation through
antigen-dependent and -independent interactions. J Immunol. 2010; 185(5):2790-9.
View in: PubMed
Zou T, May RM, Koretzky GA. Understanding signal integration through targeted mutations of an
adapter protein. FEBS Lett. 2010; 584(24):2901-9.
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