Lewis A. Chodosh, M.D., Ph.D.

faculty photo
Perelman Professor in Cancer Biology
Member , Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Attending Staff Physician, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Member, Center for Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Director, NCI-UPENN Mouse Models for Human Cancers Consortium
Director, Cancer Genetics, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute
Executive Committee, Abramson Cancer Center
Executive Committee , Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute
Associate Director, Basic Science, The Abramson Cancer Center
Invesitgator, The Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania
Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Professor, Dept of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania
Chair, Department of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Co-Director , 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence in Breast Cancer
Department: Cancer Biology

Contact information
614 BRB II/III
421 Curie Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 898-1321
Fax: (215) 573-6725
Lab: (215) 898-0006
Education:
B.S. (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry)
Yale University, 1981.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988.
M.D.
Harvard Medical School, 1989.
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Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests
Mechanisms of cancer development and progression.
Tumor dormancy and recurrence.
Cancer biology.
Genomics and computational biology.
Cancer genetics.
Oncogene and tumor suppressor gene function.
Genetically engineered mouse models for human cancer.
Breast cancer.
Endocrinology.
Stem cells in cancer biology.


Non-invasive imaging.

Key words: Cancer biology, cancer genetics, genomics, computational biology, oncogenes, targeted therapy, functional imaging, stem cells, development.

Description of Research
Breast cancer is the most common cancer as well as the leading cause of death from cancer among women worldwide. The Chodosh laboratory uses genetically engineered mouse models, patient samples and computational biology to study the mechanisms by which breast cancers develop, become resistant to therapy, and ultimately contribute to cancer mortality. A broad array of basic and translational research approaches are used to address problems of fundamental clinical importance to cancer patients by elucidating pathways and principles common to human cancers. Particular areas of interest include: pathways regulating cancer development, metastasis, tumor dormancy and recurrence; the use of genomics and computational approaches to understand genetic programs in cancer; the impact of obesity on cancer recurrence; the mechanisms by which pregnancy protects against breast cancer; and the use of non-invasive imaging approaches to study tumor biology. These approaches employ molecular, cellular, animal, human, and in silico model systems to study the function of key regulatory molecules in tumor biology using genetics, genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, computational biology, functional imaging, animal studies, preclinical trials and clinical investigation.


Rotation Projects
Rotation projects are available in each of the main areas of the lab.

Lab personnel:
Sarah Acolatse – Graduate Student
George Belka - Research Project Manager
Brian Benz - Graduate Student
Yan Chen - Research Specialist
Beth Chislock – Sr. Research Investigator
Jewell Graves - Research Specialist
Katherine Huang - Graduate Student
Morgan Kuczler – Graduate Student
Jennifer McCallum - Lab Manager (Jennifer.McCallum@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)
Heather Martin - Sr. Research Investigator
Nathan Mears - Lab Animal Technician
Tien-chi Pan – Staff Computational Biologist
Dhruv Pant – Staff Computational Biologist
Matt Paul – Postdoctoral Researcher
Ashvathi Raghavakaimal – Graduate Student
Emily Shea – Combined Degree (MD-PhD) Student
Amulya Sreekumar – Research Associate
Chris Sterner - Project Manager
Jianping Wang - Research Specialist



Assistant Director, Administrative and Faculty Affairs:
Katelyn Carlin
kwichert@upenn.edu

Description of Clinical Expertise

Endocrinology.

Selected Publications

Maxwell KN, Soucier-Ernst D, Tahirovic E, Troxel AB, Clark C, Feldman M, Colameco C, Kakrecha B, Langer M, Lieberman D, Morrissette JJD, Paul MR, Pan TC, Yee S, Shih N, Carpenter E, Chodosh LA and DeMichele A: Comparative clinical utility of tumor genomic testing and cell-free DNA in metastatic breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 164: 627-638, 2017.

Winkels RM, Sturgeon KM, Kallan MJ, Dean LT, Zhang Z, Evangelisti M, Brown JC, Sarwer DB, Troxel AB, Denlinger C, Laudermilk M, Fornash A, DeMichele A, Chodosh LA and Schmitz KH: The women in steady exercise research (WISER) survivor trial: The innovative transdisciplinary design of a randomized controlled trial of exercise and weight-loss interventions among breast cancer survivors with lymphedema. Contemporary Clinical Trials 61: 63-72, 2017.

Abravanel DL, Belka GK, Pan TC, Pant DK, Collins MA, Sterner CJ and Chodosh LA: Notch promotes recurrence of dormant tumor cells following HER2/neu-targeted therapy. Journal of Clinical Investigation 125: 2484-96, 2015.

Alvarez JV, Belka GK, Pan TC, Chen CC, Blankemeyer E, Alavi A, Karp JS and Chodosh LA: Oncogene pathway activation in mammary tumors dictates FDG-PET uptake. Cancer Research 74: 7583-7598, 2014.

Feng Y, Pan TC, Pant DK, Chakrabarti KR, Alvarez JV, Ruth JR and Chodosh LA: SPSB1 promotes breast cancer recurrence by potentiating c-MET signaling. Cancer Discovery 4: 790-803, 2014.

Alvarez JV, Pan TC, Ruth J, Feng Y, Zhou AY, Pant D, Grimley JS, Wandless TJ, DeMichele A, I-SPY 1 Trial Investigators and Chodosh LA: Par-4 down-regulation promotes breast cancer recurrence by preventing multinucleation following targeted therapy. Cancer Cell 24: 30-44, 2013.

Chen CC, Stairs DB, Boxer RB, Belka GK, Horseman ND, Alvarez JV and Chodosh LA: Autocrine prolactin induced by the Pten-Akt pathway is required for lactation initiation and provides a direct link between the Akt and Stat5 pathways. Genes & Development 26: 2154-2168, 2012.

Sarkisian CJ, Keister BA, Stairs DB, Boxer RB, Moody SE, and Chodosh LA: Dose-dependent oncogene-induced senescence in vivo and its evasion during mammary tumorigenesis. Nature Cell Biology 9: 493-505, 2007.

Boxer RB, Stairs DB, Dugan KD, Notarfrancesco KL, Portacarrero CP, Keister BA, Belka GK, Cho H, Rathmell J, Thompson CB, Birnbaum MJ, and Chodosh LA: Isoform-specific requirement for Akt1 in the developmental regulation of cellular metabolism during lactation Cell Metabolism 4: 475-490, 2006.

Moody SE, Perez D, Pan TC, Sarkisian CJ, Portocarrero C, Sterner CJ, Notarfrancesco K, Cardiff RD and Chodosh LA: The transcriptional repressor, Snail, promotes mammary tumor recurrence. Cancer Cell 8: 197-209, 2005.

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Last updated: 08/18/2023
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