Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests

Cellular Plasticity
Pancreatic Cancer
Tumor Immunology
Metastasis

Key words: Metastasis, Pancreatic Cancer, Tumor Immunology, Cell Plasticity

Description of Research
Pancreas Cancer
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is poised to become the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. This poor outcome is attributable to two facts: (1) pancreatic cancers metastasize early, before clinical detection, and (2) current anti-cancer therapies are inadequate. Our laboratory tackles these problems by understanding how tumors metastasize and identifying vulnerabilities that will lead to better therapies. Our efforts include studies of the tumor microenvironment (including the immune microenvironment), metabolism, cellular plasticity and metastasis biology. We rely on genetically engineered mice that recapitulate salient features of the human disease, functional genomics, epigenetics, and in vitro culture methods that recapitulate the unique microenvironment of the tumor. In addition, we maintain a strong interest in liver plasticity and the pathogenesis of type I diabetes.

Rotation Projects
Rotation projects may be available based upon applicant interest. Please contact Dr. Stanger directly to discuss potential projects.

Lab personnel:
Ben Stanger, MD, PhD - Principal Investigator
Chenghua Yang, MA - Research Specialist, Lab Manager
Will Vostrejs - Research Specialist
Austin Good, MD PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher
Samantha Kemp, PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher
Il-Kyu Kim, PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher
Feiyan Mo, PhD - Postdoctoral Research
Kia Perez-Vale, PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher
Minh Than, MD PhD - Postdoctoral Researcher
Erin Hollander - Graduate Student
Benjamin Kahn – Graduate Student
Jayne McDevitt - Graduate Student
Margo Orlen - Graduate Student
Jane Xie - Graduate Student
Cody Eskandarian - Penn Undergraduate
Rosemary Flock - Penn Undergraduate

Executive Administrator:
Fran Tucker
215-746-5519
ftucker@upenn.edu

Description of Other Expertise

I am the author, most recently, of a book entitled FROM ONE CELL, which tells the incredible story of embryonic development through the eyes of the scientists who shaped our knowledge over the past century. See www.bstanger.com for more information.