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Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD
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Franklin Payne Professor of Pathology in Obstetrics & Gynecology
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Director, Gynecologic Cancer Research, Basser Center for BRCA, University of Pennsylvania
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Director, Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center, University of Pennsylvania
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Co-Director, SPORE, Penn-Hopkins NIH P50 SPORE in Ovarian Cancer
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Co-Director, Translational Center of Excellence, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania
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Director, The Penn Legacy Tissue Program - A Research Rapid Autopsy Program
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Director, The BioTrust Collection - Repository of Gynecologic Oncology
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Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology
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Graduate Group Affiliations
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Contact information
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University of Pennsylvania
24 Biomedical Research Building
3c 421 Curie Blvd., Rm. 1215
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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24 Biomedical Research Building
3c 421 Curie Blvd., Rm. 1215
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Office: 215-746-3973
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Publications
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Links
a1 Search PubMed for articles
5f The Drapkin Lab
8e The BioTrust Collection - the biorepository of the Penn OCRC
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a1 Search PubMed for articles
5f The Drapkin Lab
8e The BioTrust Collection - the biorepository of the Penn OCRC
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Education:
21 7 BA 34 (Biochemistry, Advisor: James Haber, PhD) c
2c Brandeis University, 1990.
21 8 PhD 37 (Biochemistry, Advisor: Danny Reinberg, PhD) c
47 Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1996.
21 7 MD 1d (General Medicine) c
43 Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 1998.
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Permanent link21 7 BA 34 (Biochemistry, Advisor: James Haber, PhD) c
2c Brandeis University, 1990.
21 8 PhD 37 (Biochemistry, Advisor: Danny Reinberg, PhD) c
47 Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1996.
21 7 MD 1d (General Medicine) c
43 Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 1998.
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12b The Drapkin lab is driven by a shared passion for advancing scientific discovery, fostering mentorship, and building a collaborative community. Guided by these core values, we are dedicated to unraveling the complexities of gynecologic cancers with the goal of transforming patient outcomes.
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24e Our mission is to conduct high-impact research that deepens our understanding of cancer pathogenesis, genetics, and tumor microenvironment dynamics. We are particularly focused on the origins of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), the most lethal subtype of ovarian cancer, and have played a pivotal role in uncovering its roots in the Fallopian tube epithelium. Our innovative approach includes developing and utilizing cutting-edge models, such as genetically engineered mouse models (GEMs), Fallopian tube-derived cell lines, and patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDXs).
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155 We strive to foster an environment where team science thrives—embracing collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and communities to drive innovation. Mentorship is a cornerstone of our lab’s ethos, and we are committed to training the next generation of scientists and clinicians through meaningful engagement and support.
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117 By advancing fundamental knowledge and translating discoveries into actionable strategies, we aim to improve the lives of cancer patients while inspiring a future where diversity, curiosity, and collective effort empower the next wave of breakthroughs in cancer research.
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ed KEYWORDS: Ovarian cancer, Fallopian tube, Spatial Multi-Omics Pre-Cancer Atlas, Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Innervation, Cyclin E, BRCA1/2, DNA Repair, Protein complexes, Master Transcription Factors, Biomarkers, Animal models.
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1a ROTATION PROJECTS:
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98 Rotation projects are open to students in each of the areas the lab focuses on. Please see Ronny Drapkin to discuss potential rotation projects.
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16 LAB PERSONNEL:
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2e Yelena Zhuravlev, PhD, Program Manager
33 Matthew Knarr, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
3e Pamela Rojas de Santiago, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
33 Gabriel Mingo, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
34 Dusan Racordon, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
37 Katherine Cummins, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
3c Camille Mccallister, MD, Gynecologic Oncology Fellow
29 Sarah Kimmel, Research Specialist
2d Sristhi Chowdhury, Penn undergraduate
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23 ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR:
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15 Denise Curley
14 215-573-9476
23 denise.curley@uphs.upenn.edu
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Description of Research Expertise
24 RESEARCH INTERESTS:8
12b The Drapkin lab is driven by a shared passion for advancing scientific discovery, fostering mentorship, and building a collaborative community. Guided by these core values, we are dedicated to unraveling the complexities of gynecologic cancers with the goal of transforming patient outcomes.
8
24e Our mission is to conduct high-impact research that deepens our understanding of cancer pathogenesis, genetics, and tumor microenvironment dynamics. We are particularly focused on the origins of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), the most lethal subtype of ovarian cancer, and have played a pivotal role in uncovering its roots in the Fallopian tube epithelium. Our innovative approach includes developing and utilizing cutting-edge models, such as genetically engineered mouse models (GEMs), Fallopian tube-derived cell lines, and patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDXs).
8
155 We strive to foster an environment where team science thrives—embracing collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and communities to drive innovation. Mentorship is a cornerstone of our lab’s ethos, and we are committed to training the next generation of scientists and clinicians through meaningful engagement and support.
8
117 By advancing fundamental knowledge and translating discoveries into actionable strategies, we aim to improve the lives of cancer patients while inspiring a future where diversity, curiosity, and collective effort empower the next wave of breakthroughs in cancer research.
8
ed KEYWORDS: Ovarian cancer, Fallopian tube, Spatial Multi-Omics Pre-Cancer Atlas, Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Innervation, Cyclin E, BRCA1/2, DNA Repair, Protein complexes, Master Transcription Factors, Biomarkers, Animal models.
8
1a ROTATION PROJECTS:
8
98 Rotation projects are open to students in each of the areas the lab focuses on. Please see Ronny Drapkin to discuss potential rotation projects.
8
16 LAB PERSONNEL:
8
2e Yelena Zhuravlev, PhD, Program Manager
33 Matthew Knarr, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
3e Pamela Rojas de Santiago, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
33 Gabriel Mingo, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
34 Dusan Racordon, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
37 Katherine Cummins, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
3c Camille Mccallister, MD, Gynecologic Oncology Fellow
29 Sarah Kimmel, Research Specialist
2d Sristhi Chowdhury, Penn undergraduate
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23 ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR:
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15 Denise Curley
14 215-573-9476
23 denise.curley@uphs.upenn.edu
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14f Kader T, Lin JR, Hug CB, Coy S, Chen YA, de Bruijn I, Shih N, Jung E, Pelletier RJ, Lopez Leon M, Mingo G, Omran DK, Lee JS, Yapp C, Satravada BA, Kundra R, Xu Y, Chan S, Tefft JB, Muhlich JL, Kim SH, Gysler SM, Agudo J, Heath JR, Schultz N, Drescher CW, Sorger PK, Drapkin R*, Santagata S*. f2 *co-senior authors: Multimodal Spatial Profiling Reveals Immune Suppression and Microenvironment Remodeling in Fallopian Tube Precursors to High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Discovery 15(6), June 2025.
fb Beddows I, Djirackor S, Omran DK, Jung E, Shih NN, Roy R, Hechmer A, Olshen A, Adelmant G, Tom A, Morrison J, Adams M, Rohrer DC, Schwartz LE, Pearce CL, Auman H, Marto JA, Drescher CW*, Drapkin R*, Shen H*. f7 * denotes co-corresponding senior authors: Impact of BRCA mutations, age, surgical indication, and hormone status on the molecular phenotype of the human Fallopian tube. Nature Communications 16(1): 2981, March 2025.
10a Knarr MJ, Moon J, Rawat P, DiFeo A, Hoon DSB, Drapkin R.: Repurposing colforsin daropate to treat MYC-driven high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Science Signaling 17(863): eado8303, Nov 2024.
17b Reavis HD, Gysler SM, McKenney GB, Knarr M, Lusk HJ, Rawat P, Rendulich HS, Mitchell MA, Berger DS, Moon JS, Ryu S, Mainigi M, Iwanicki MP, Hoon DS, Sanchez LM, Drapkin R.: Norepinephrine induces anoikis resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer precursor cells. JCI Insight 9(5): e170961, March 2024.
32c Taylor MS, Wu C, Fridy PC, Zhang SJ, Senussi Y, Wolters JC, Cajuso T, Cheng WC, Heaps JD, Miller BD, Mori K, Cohen L, Jiang H, Molloy KR, Chait BT, Goggins MG, Bhan I, Franses JW, Yang X, Taplin ME, Wang X, Christiani DC, Johnson BE, Meyerson M, Uppaluri R, Egloff AM, Denault EN, Spring LM, Wang TL, Shih IM, Fairman JE, Jung E, Arora KS, Yilmaz OH, Cohen S, Sharova T, Chi G, Norden BL, Song Y, Nieman LT, Pappas L, Parikh AR, Strickland MR, Corcoran RB, Mustelin T, Eng G, Yilmaz OH, Matulonis UA, Skates SJ, Rueda BR, Drapkin R, Klempner SJ, Deshpande V, Ting DT, Rout MP, LaCava J, Walt DR, Burns KH: Ultrasensitive detection of circulating LINE-1 ORF1p as a specific multi-cancer biomarker. Cancer Discov 13(12): 2532-2547, Dec 2023.
1a3 Chaves-Moreira D, Mitchell MA, Arruza C, Rawat P, Sidoli S, Nameki R, Reddy J, Corona RI, Afeyan LK, Klein IA, Ma S, Winterhoff B, Konecny GE, Garcia BA, Brady DC, Lawrenson K, Morin PJ, Drapkin R: The transcription factor PAX8 promotes angiogenesis in ovarian cancer through interaction with SOX17. Science Signaling 15(728): eabm2496, Apr 2022.
d0 Gysler SM, Drapkin R: Tumor innervation: peripheral nerves take control of the tumor microenvironment. J Clin Invest 131(11), Jun 2021.
141 Labidi-Galy SI, Papp E, Hallberg D, Niknafs N, Adleff V, Noe M, Bhattacharya R, Novak M, Jones S, Phallen J, Hruban CA, Hirsch MS, Lin DI, Schwartz L, Maire CL, Tille JC, Bowden M, Ayhan A, Wood LD, Scharpf RB, Kurman R, Wang TL, Shih IM, Karchin R, Drapkin R*, Velculescu VE*. b3 * Co-senior/corresponding authors: High grade serous ovarian carcinomas originate in the fallopian tube. Nature Communications 8(1): 1093, Oct 2017.
1bb Perets R, Muto KW, Bijron JG, Poole BB, Chin KT, Kwak S, Chen JYH, Karst AM, Setlur SR, Hirsch MS, Crum CP, Dinulescu DM, Drapkin R: Transformation of the fallopian tube secretory epithelium leads to high-grade serous ovarian cancer in Brca;Tp53;Pten models. *Highlighted in Nature Reviews Cancer, Cancer Discovery, and Cancer Research. Cancer Cell 24: 751-65, Dec 2013.
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Selected Publications
200 de Santiago PR, Sato S, Zhang SJ, Dougher MC, Devins KM, Bilecz AJ, Rayamajhi S, Mingo G, Rendulich HS, Feng Y, Wu C, Taylor MS, Zhuravlev Y, Jung E, Omran DK, Wang TL, Shih IM, Schwartz LE, Kim S, Morgan MA, Tanyi JL, Burns KH, Lengyel E, Parra-Herran C, Godwin AK, Walt DR, Drapkin R.: LINE-1 ORF1p expression occurs in clear cell ovarian carcinoma precursors and is a candidate blood biomarker. NPJ Precis Oncology 9(1): 62, March 2025.14f Kader T, Lin JR, Hug CB, Coy S, Chen YA, de Bruijn I, Shih N, Jung E, Pelletier RJ, Lopez Leon M, Mingo G, Omran DK, Lee JS, Yapp C, Satravada BA, Kundra R, Xu Y, Chan S, Tefft JB, Muhlich JL, Kim SH, Gysler SM, Agudo J, Heath JR, Schultz N, Drescher CW, Sorger PK, Drapkin R*, Santagata S*. f2 *co-senior authors: Multimodal Spatial Profiling Reveals Immune Suppression and Microenvironment Remodeling in Fallopian Tube Precursors to High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Discovery 15(6), June 2025.
fb Beddows I, Djirackor S, Omran DK, Jung E, Shih NN, Roy R, Hechmer A, Olshen A, Adelmant G, Tom A, Morrison J, Adams M, Rohrer DC, Schwartz LE, Pearce CL, Auman H, Marto JA, Drescher CW*, Drapkin R*, Shen H*. f7 * denotes co-corresponding senior authors: Impact of BRCA mutations, age, surgical indication, and hormone status on the molecular phenotype of the human Fallopian tube. Nature Communications 16(1): 2981, March 2025.
10a Knarr MJ, Moon J, Rawat P, DiFeo A, Hoon DSB, Drapkin R.: Repurposing colforsin daropate to treat MYC-driven high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Science Signaling 17(863): eado8303, Nov 2024.
17b Reavis HD, Gysler SM, McKenney GB, Knarr M, Lusk HJ, Rawat P, Rendulich HS, Mitchell MA, Berger DS, Moon JS, Ryu S, Mainigi M, Iwanicki MP, Hoon DS, Sanchez LM, Drapkin R.: Norepinephrine induces anoikis resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer precursor cells. JCI Insight 9(5): e170961, March 2024.
32c Taylor MS, Wu C, Fridy PC, Zhang SJ, Senussi Y, Wolters JC, Cajuso T, Cheng WC, Heaps JD, Miller BD, Mori K, Cohen L, Jiang H, Molloy KR, Chait BT, Goggins MG, Bhan I, Franses JW, Yang X, Taplin ME, Wang X, Christiani DC, Johnson BE, Meyerson M, Uppaluri R, Egloff AM, Denault EN, Spring LM, Wang TL, Shih IM, Fairman JE, Jung E, Arora KS, Yilmaz OH, Cohen S, Sharova T, Chi G, Norden BL, Song Y, Nieman LT, Pappas L, Parikh AR, Strickland MR, Corcoran RB, Mustelin T, Eng G, Yilmaz OH, Matulonis UA, Skates SJ, Rueda BR, Drapkin R, Klempner SJ, Deshpande V, Ting DT, Rout MP, LaCava J, Walt DR, Burns KH: Ultrasensitive detection of circulating LINE-1 ORF1p as a specific multi-cancer biomarker. Cancer Discov 13(12): 2532-2547, Dec 2023.
1a3 Chaves-Moreira D, Mitchell MA, Arruza C, Rawat P, Sidoli S, Nameki R, Reddy J, Corona RI, Afeyan LK, Klein IA, Ma S, Winterhoff B, Konecny GE, Garcia BA, Brady DC, Lawrenson K, Morin PJ, Drapkin R: The transcription factor PAX8 promotes angiogenesis in ovarian cancer through interaction with SOX17. Science Signaling 15(728): eabm2496, Apr 2022.
d0 Gysler SM, Drapkin R: Tumor innervation: peripheral nerves take control of the tumor microenvironment. J Clin Invest 131(11), Jun 2021.
141 Labidi-Galy SI, Papp E, Hallberg D, Niknafs N, Adleff V, Noe M, Bhattacharya R, Novak M, Jones S, Phallen J, Hruban CA, Hirsch MS, Lin DI, Schwartz L, Maire CL, Tille JC, Bowden M, Ayhan A, Wood LD, Scharpf RB, Kurman R, Wang TL, Shih IM, Karchin R, Drapkin R*, Velculescu VE*. b3 * Co-senior/corresponding authors: High grade serous ovarian carcinomas originate in the fallopian tube. Nature Communications 8(1): 1093, Oct 2017.
1bb Perets R, Muto KW, Bijron JG, Poole BB, Chin KT, Kwak S, Chen JYH, Karst AM, Setlur SR, Hirsch MS, Crum CP, Dinulescu DM, Drapkin R: Transformation of the fallopian tube secretory epithelium leads to high-grade serous ovarian cancer in Brca;Tp53;Pten models. *Highlighted in Nature Reviews Cancer, Cancer Discovery, and Cancer Research. Cancer Cell 24: 751-65, Dec 2013.
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