WELCOME TO THE PITARRESI LAB
We study cellular plasticity and tumor-host interactions in pancreatic cancer
The Pitarresi Lab focuses on mechanisms of cellular plasticity that drive tumorigenesis, metastasis, and cell fate decisions. We also develop mouse models to study tumor-host interactions, including cancer cachexia and immunosuppression. We leverage our expertise in mouse modeling, 3D organoid technologies, multi-omic profiling, and state-of-art screening approaches to study the functional consequences of cellular plasticity in pancreatic cancer. We actively seek to translate our basic science discoveries into new therapeutic avenues for pancreatic cancer patients.
To date, our efforts have been applied to discover new drivers of pancreatic cancer metastasis, to unveil the epigenetic landscape of acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM), and to build new pancreatic cancer mouse models that more faithfully represent the human disease.
—
Latest News
August 2024: Congrats to postdoc Nikita Bhalerao who was awarded the 2024 Hopper-Belmont Inspiration Award for her work on pancreatic cancer cachexia!
June 2024: Congrats to graduate student Calvin Johnson who was awarded an oral presentation at the UMass Chan GI Research job for his work in PDAC immunosuppression.
May 2024: The Pitarresi lab welcomes summer undergraduate student Helen Varughese to the lab, where she will be dissecting immune cell recruitment in pancreatic cancer. Head over to the Team page to learn more about Helen and her passion for Bollywood dance!
April 2024: Congrats to postdoc Nikita Bhalerao who was awarded an oral presentation at the Cancer Metabolism Showcase. She did a fantastic job presenting her work on tumor-derived factors that mediate adipose tissue wasting in PDAC-associated cancer cachexia.
Mar 2024: Congrats to Jessica Peura on passing her Qualifying Exam! She is building and characterizing a new highly metastatic mouse model of pancreatic cancer for her thesis work!
Mar 2024: Congrats to Calvin Johnson on passing his Qualifying Exam! He is the first official PhD Candidate in the Pitarresi lab and will be tackling immunosuppression in PDAC for his thesis work!
Mar 2024: Congrats to Max Wengyn, the first Pitarresi lab tech, who just matched in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s for his residency!
Mar 2024: We welcomed a new rotation student, Kelly Ward, to the lab group. Check out her bio on the Team page to learn more about her and her love for classic rock!
Feb 2024: The Pitarresi lab was notified that their Department of Defense (DOD) grant to study pancreatic cancer cachexia will be funded!
Feb 2024: The Pitarresi lab went on a lab ski trip to a local mountain with a few other UMass Chan labs and it was a blast!
Dec 2023: The Pitarresi lab had a holiday party along with the Ruscetti and other UMass labs! We ate, drank, did a white elephant gift exchange, and played some other games. What a great time to reflect on what we have accomplished in 2023 and what will come in 2024!
Nov 2023: Jason and Marcus Ruscetti sang at the Pancreatic Cancer Alliance (PCA) Karaoke For a Cure event to raise money and awareness for pancreatic cancer research at UMass Chan!
We took home the Best Performance award for our song “Soul Man” by the Blues Brothers. It was a great event enjoyed by our labs!
Oct 2023: Jason presented our lab’s work at the UMass Chan Medical School Research Retreat. Jess and Calvin also presented and Calvin won a presentation award. Congrats to Calvin and Jess!
Oct 2023: Jason presented our lab’s work at the UMass Cancer Center Retreat, and graduate students Jess and Calvin also presented posters!
Sept 2023: Jason presented our pancreatic cancer cachexia story at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Pancreatic Cancer Conference in Boston! The whole lab attended, with Jess and Calvin presenting their work during the poster sessions!
—
The Pitarresi Lab is affiliated with the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Molecular Cell & Cancer Biology, and UMass Cancer Center at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Interested in joining?
We are constantly looking for passionate and talented researchers (postdocs, graduate students, MD and MD/PhD students, undergraduates, and research technicians). Contact Dr. Pitarresi if interested.