Lab-News

November 1, 2024

The team at the monthly Basser Center for BRCA seminar.


October 31, 2024


August 1, 2024

We bid farewell to our Summer Research Interns (L to R): Daniel Schneider, Manny Gonzalez, Shira Segman, Sristhi Chowdhury, and Zoe Sandela. They gave their end-of-summer presentations and knocked it out of the park! The whole lab was impressed with what they learned and accomplished this summer. We also thank their mentors (L to R): Drs. Dusan Racordon, Katherine Cummins, Yelena Zhuravlev, Pamela Rojas De Santiago, and Gabriel Mingo for teaching, supporting, and encouraging the interns.


July 2024

We are delighted to welcome two new research specialists to the lab. Sarah Kimmel recently graduated from Middlebury College and Edwin Sedodo recently graduated from Hampshire College. They are now part of our Penn family!

Sarah Kimmel

 

Edwin Sedodo

 


July 2024

Congratulations to Ronny on his promotion to Full Professor! He is now the Franklin Payne Professor of Pathology in Gynecologic Oncology. He thanks all his former and current trainees for their dedication and enthusiasm for science. They have made it a wonderful journey.


June 2024

We bid farewell to Srishti Rathore as she departs our BioTrust Collection team and embarks on her medical school journey. We wish you the best Srishti!


June 2024

Fun lab outing to Top Golf in King of Prussia. We clearly have some budding golfers ready for the US PGA Tour!

Top Golf King of Prussia, PA


June 2024

The Bio Trust Collection (https://www.med.upenn.edu/OCRCBioTrust/) welcomes Thomas (TJ) Fazio. TJ will work closely with our clinicians and the Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center to advance tissue-based research on campus and beyond.

March 2024

Congratulations to Ronny. He was awarded the 2024 Innovation Award from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) at the annual meeting in San Diego.

 

 

November 2023

Congratulations to Katherine Cummins for winning one of only three Flash Talk prizes ($500) at the 2023 Ovarian Cancer Midwest Focus (OCMF) conference in Minneapolis!

Katherine Cummins

Katherine also came in 2nd at the OCMF Bowling tournament!

bowling image 1 bowling image 2

July 2023

Ronny recently joined the Board of the Powell-Drescher Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.  In addition to supporting research into this deadly disease, the organization champions the important role of patient advocates and collaboration with clinicians, researchers, and survivors.

In August, Ronny will get on his road bike to help support the important mission of the Powell-Drescher Foundation. His goal is to ride 300 miles through parts of Vermont and Western Massachusetts and raise $3,000 ($10/mile). All the funds raised will go directly to support ovarian cancer research and advocacy.

Ronny rides to raise money for ovarian cancer research


April 2023

Ronny was inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP), an honorary medical society founded in 1885 by Sir William Osler. The black-tie induction ceremony dinner was held in Chicago. Ronny was nominated by Drs. Chi Van Dang and Edward Benz.

Ronny Drapkin Inducted to Association of American Physicians (AAP)


April 2023

Congratulations to Dr. Hunter Reavis for successfully defending her PhD dissertation! We are very proud of you! We are grateful to her committee (Wenqin Luo, Sandra Ryeom, Ben Stanger, Ellen Pure, and Rugang Zhang) for their support and encouragement.

Hunter's PhD dissertation celebration.

 


April 2023

Katherine Cummins, PhD

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Katherine Cummins to the team! Katherine earned her bachelor's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her PhD from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She is joining us for her postdoctoral fellowship.


March 2023

Congratulations to Dr. Adam Ferrari for successfully defending his PhD dissertation! Well done Adam!

We are grateful to his thesis committee (Drs. Rugang Zhang, Sandra Ryeom, Shelley Berger, and Luca Busino) for their support and encouragement.

Adam Ferrari Thesis


Dusan Racordon

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Dusan Racordon to our team! Dusan is from Chile and received in PhD in Biological Sciences from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. He is joining us as a postdoctoral fellow.


February 2023

Gabriel and Yelena

We are excited to welcome Gabriel Mingo Orsini, PhD and Yelena Zhuravlev, PhD to the lab. Gabriel hails from Santiago, Chile where he did his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Gareth Owen at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Gabriel is joining our lab for his postdoctoral training. Dr. Zhuravlev hails from Ukraine. She earned her PhD from Columbia University in New York City and did her postdoctoral training there as well. She is joining our Penn team as a Program Manager.


January 2023

It was so great to re-instate our traditional holiday basketball party (Penn vs Princeton) at the Palestra!

holiday basketball party - January 2023

 

June - August 2022

summer students 2022

summer students 2022

We have four amazing interns working with us this summer: Peter Deraska (University of Buffalo - Jacobs School of Medicine), Ashlyn Yeuteuh (University of Delaware), Isaac Mittman (Lower Merion High School), and Jack Marcus (Paul D. Schreiber High School). It is awesome to see their excitement and enthusiasm to learn. Their futures are very bright!"


May 2022

Adam Birthday Lunch and Grace McKinney graduation.

Lab outing at the New Deck Tavern to celebrate Adam's birthday and the graduation of our fantastic undergrad student, Grace McKinney. Always fun to celebrate together. Congratulations to both!

December 2021

The Drapkin lab was awarded the Omics Consortium Award from the Department of Defense (DOD) Ovarian Cancer Research Program. This is a four-year, multi-institutional grant to support studies on the origins of ovarian cancer, with an emphasize on early detection and screening. The multidisciplinary research team is made up of investigators from the University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania, and includes patient advocates. Dr. Drapkin is the lead PI of the consortium."

CDMRP


December 2021

pamela award photo

Congratulations to Pamela for being awarded the Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award from the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA).
Click here - Get to know our 2022 grantees and their innovative projects.


October 2021 -

halloween

 

 


July 2021 -

adam ferarri photo

The incredible and inspiring story of our very own Adam Ferrari - a cancer survivor who is now on the front lines of cancer research. Read Adam's cancer story.


June 2021 -

hannah photo

We are delighted to welcome Hannah Rendulich to the lab. Hannah will be a Research Specialist working primarily with Pat Morin.Welcome aboard Hannah!


April 2021 -

Tina's Wish

Dr. Drapkin was appointed Co-Chair of The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research (Tina’s Wish) Scientific Advisory Board. Tina’s Wish is an ovarian cancer non-profit organization dedicated to funding groundbreaking scientific research for the prevention and early detection of ovarian cancer.Dr. Drapkin looks forward to working with the Foundation on this important mission.

Click here for the scientific advisory board.


January 2021 -

Hunter AACR Talk

Congratulations to Hunter for giving a fantastic talk at the AACR Virtual Special Conference on the Evolving Tumor Microenvironment! Her abstract was selected among many for a talk.


January 2021 -

Virtual Holiday Party

Despite being separated by the pandemic, the Drapkin lab enjoyed the holiday season with a virtual lab party that included a guided chocolate tasting, an engrave wine glass, and a cozy blanket for the cold winter months. It was great to see everyone.

December 2020 -

Matt Knarr

Congratulations to Matt! His DOD pilot award was recommended for funding. This is a substantial award and we are thrilled for Matt.


November 2020 –

Adam Ferrari

We welcome Pamela Rojas de Santiago, as a new postdoctoral researcher in the lab. We are thrilled to have you on the team Pamela!


July 2020 –

Adam Ferrari

We are thrilled to welcome Stefan Gylser, a gynecologic oncology fellow, as a new postdoctoral researcher in the lab!


July 2020 –

Adam Ferrari

We are delighted to welcome Adam Ferrari, our newest graduate student, to the lab. Welcome aboard Adam!


May 2020 -

Hunter Reavis

Congratulations to Hunter Reavis (@Hunter_Reavis) for crushing her preliminary/qualifying exam! Now she is officially a PhD candidate in the Penn Cell and Molecular Biology (CAMB) program. Very proud of Hunter for her focus and determination and doing it 'virtually' during the pandemic!


January 2020 -

Holiday party at the Palestra with lab members, families, and friends to watch Penn take on rival Princeton.

So much fun!

Penn Versus Princeton Get Together


 

 

 

December 2019 -

The Drapkin lab is delighted to welcome Dr. Matt Knarr as a postdoctoral fellow.

matt knarr


Summer 2019 -

We had three fantastic interns this summer: Sara Hobday, Jordan Rahm, and David Givand.
They learned a ton and it was a pleasure having them in the lab.

summer interns


May 2019 -

We are thrilled to welcome Hunter Reavis, a Penn graduate student, to the lab!.

Hunter Reavis


May 2019 -

The Ovarian Cancer Research Center hosts a MainLine event to highlight discoveries in the fight against ovarian cancer. Click here.

OCRC Donor Event

OCRC Donor Event


April 2019 -

The Ovarian Cancer Research Center is excited to announce the launch of the recently funded Ovarian Cancer Translational Center of Excellence (TCE) website. The TCE is supported by the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine. The Ovarian Cancer TCE is transforming ovarian cancer research by eliminating the separation that sometimes occurs between research and patient care. It links the scientists who develop therapies in the lab with patient care we provide in the clinic and hospital. The TCE bridge will make it easier than ever before, to rapidly translate new laboratory findings into clinical practice and allow us to provide patients with new therapeutic options.


January 2019 -

We are thrilled to welcomes Alvin Sanchez and Drs. Natalia Tulina and Priyanka Rawat to the lab.

photos


October 2018 -

OCRC Tumor BioTrust Collection Website

 

The Ovarian Cancer Research Center launches the Tumor BioTrust Collection as a comprehensive tissue-based resource for collaborative research in gynecologic cancers.


April 2018 -

Jagmohan HoodaCongratulations to Jagmohan Hooda for having been accepted into the Visiting Scientist Program at the Cell Circuits Center of the Broad Institute in Boston. Acceptance into this four-week program is highly competitive and offers participants the opportunity to work side-by-side with Center scientists to learn the latest in genome-editing and computational methods.

 


March 2018 -

Daniele Chaves-MoreiraCongratulations to Daniele Chaves-Moreira! She is the recipient of the AACR-Takeda Oncology Scholar-in-Training Award. Scholar-in-Training Awards are highly competitive and are presented to those with high-quality abstracts and applications from a large candidate pool. The award will support her attendance at the annual meeting.

 

 

 


March 2018 -

Yasuto KinoseCongratulations to Yasuto Kinose! He was awarded a 2018 grant from the Kaleidoscope of Hope Ovarian Cancer Foundation!

 

 

 


January 2018-

OCRFA logo

Congratulations to Sarah Stuckelberger and Daniele Chaves-Moreira for receiving a 2018 Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Award!' Click here to learn more.


October 2017 -

Congratulations to Sarah for being awarded Best Poster Presentation – 3rd Place at the 16th Annual University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Symposium!

3rd Place at the 16th Annual University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Symposium


consortium grant from the Tina’s Wish Foundation

We recently received a new consortium grant from the Tina’s Wish Foundation Read more.


July 2017 -

OCRFA, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, honors Dr. Ronny Drapkin from the University of Pennsylvania for cutting-edge work on diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Dr. Drapkin will receive the Rosalind Franklin Award for Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research. Read more about the Rosalind Franklin Award

OCRFA logo

 

Dr. Drapkin awarded the 2017 Rosalind Franklin Prize for Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research. Read more about this award


June 2017 -

Congratulations to Paul Kroeger for being awarded an NIH/NCI F32 Postdoctoral Research grant to support his studies on Cyclin E in ovarian cancer.

Paul Kroeger
Paul Kroeger

We are delighted to welcome four outstanding summer interns to the Drapkin Lab!

summer interns


January 2017 -

We are delighted to welcome three Penn undergraduates to the lab:

Penn undergraduates


The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Sarah Stuckelberger as a postdoctoral fellow.

 

Dr. Sarah Stuckelberger


December 2016 -

Tina's Wish

The Drapkin lab is delighted to announce that it was selected by the Tina’s Wish Foundation as one of eight national labs to receive funding to identify novel biomarkers for ovarian cancer detection. Read more.


November 2016 -

Dr. Yasuto Kinose

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Yasuto Kinose as a Visiting Assistant Professor!


Women’s Health Research Award for 2016

The Drapkin lab is delighted to announce that they were just awarded the Women’s Health Research Award for 2016 from the Foundation for Women’s Wellness.This award will support their work on epigenetic dysfunction in ovarian cancer.


Congratulations to Jagmohan for being awarded the Best Oral Presentation award at the 15th Annual University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Symposium!

15th Annual University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Symposium


October 2016 -

Dr. Sho Sato

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Sho Sato as a postdoctoral fellow!


Jagmohan Hooda

Congratulations to Jagmohan Hooda!! He is the recipient of the 2017 Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (OCRFA) - Ann Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award!!!”


August 2016 -

Daniele Chaves

The Drapkin lab welcomes Daniele Chaves as a postdoctoral fellow!


July 2016 -

Dr. Paul Kroeger

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Paul Kroeger as a postdoctoral fellow!


June 2016 -

Anna Budina

Congratulations to Anna Budina for being selected as the recipient of the Penn Presbyterian George L. And Emily McMichael Harrison Fund for Research in Obstetrics and Gynecology!


June 1, 2016 -The Drapkin labs welcomes Justin Skiba and Jake Riordan as summer interns!


May 2016 -

mailinline logo

Penn Medicine doctor invites colleagues, patients and donors to talk about strides in cancer research.


ASCI logo

Ronny Drapkin is among four Penn Medicine Physicians Elected to Prestigious American Society for Clinical Investigation.


January 2016 -

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Ovarian Cancer National Alliance

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) have led the way in advocacy, research and support for patients and their families for over 22 years. In January 2016, we are pleased to announce we are joining together to form Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance (OCRFA), the largest global organization dedicated to advancing ovarian cancer research while supporting women and their families.


Ocotber 2015 -

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Jagmohan Hooda as a postdoctoral fellow and Marilyn Mitchell as a lab manager!!


September 2015 -

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Anna Budina-Kolomets as a postdoctoral fellow!


March 2015 -

The Drapkin lab welcomes Dr. Kai Doberstein as a postdoctoral fellow!


February 2015 -

The Drapkin Lab moves to the University of Pennsylvania! Dr. Drapkin assumes leadership of the Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC) and joins the Executive Leadership Committee of the Basser Center for BRCA.

November 2014 -

10 big breakthroughs coming soon.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute “We’ve created almost 50 mouse avatar models for ovarian cancer, for example,” says pathologist Ronny Drapkin, the lead investigator, ... read more.

July 2014 -
Congratulation to Meg on receiving the notice of award for her NIH F31 grant!!

May 2014 -
Ronny hosted the 33rd Annual Susan Swerling Lectures at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Guest speakers included David Bowtell, Joan Brugge, and Ernst Lengyel.

February 2014 -    
Kudos to Ruth and the rest of the team for the nice coverage of the Cancer Cell paper!

October 2013 -
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for winning the 2013 World Championship!!

August 2013 -
Congratulations to Paul for getting accepted into the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. We wish him all the best!

May 2013 -
Research Discussion, SSC Executive Council Breakfast | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

April 2013 -
We are terribly saddened by the tragic events of the Boston Marathon bombings. We hope that those responsible are brought to justice and peace returns to the great city of Boston. Please consider supporting the victims of the bombing with a donation to The One Fund Boston - onefundboston.org

April 2013 -
Congratulations to Kevin Elias - he is the recipient of a Firefly BioWorks Frontiers Grant Award to study SICU serum miRNAs.

January 2013 -
The Drapkin lab receives an NIH research grant to study Elafin as a biomarker for breast and ovarian cancers.

January 2013 -
The Drapkin lab receives a research grant from the Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation (Tina’s Wish) to develop novel biomarkers for the early detection of ovarian cancers.

October 2012 -

The Drapkin lab receives a research grant from the Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) to support studies on the role of mutant p53 in ovarian cancer and the development of tumor ‘avatar’ animal models from primary patient samples.

December 2012 -
Congratulations to Adam Clauss on the birth of his daughter, Sigrid Ragna Victoria Clauss, on December 5, 2012.

October 2012 -
The Drapkin lab survived hurricane Sandy! Sadly, the storm wrecked havoc in many parts of the tri-state area. Our hearts go out to those who have been displaced from their homes or whose homes have been destroyed and those still without power and heat. Please consider making a donation to the relief efforts. Red Cross

September 2012 -
Team 'Ovca Busters' raised nearly $4,000 for the 14th Annual National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) walk-run to Break the Silence of Ovarian Cancer! Our team was made up of lab members, collaborators, and family. The event was held in South Boston at Carson Beach.

April 2012 -
Congratulations to Ruth Perets for winning 1st prize at the annual retreat of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Molecular and Cellular Oncology Division!

April 2012 -
Congratulations to Alison Karst – she is the recipient of the 2012 Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation Research Award!

February 2012 -
Congratulations to Ruth on receiving the AACR - Women in Cancer Research (WICR) Scholar Award for the AACR 103rd Annual Meeting!

August 2011 -
Ronny completed his 4th Pan Mass Challenge and raised over $6,400 for cancer research and patient care.

June 2011 -
Drapkin lab receives funding from the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation to study the fallopian tube epithelium as a novel cell-of-origin for biomarker discovery in serous ovarian cancer.

June 2011-
Team Drapkin raises over $2,800 for Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer during the 4th annual Walk-and Run (W.A.R) against ovarian cancer.

June 2011 -
Research Highlighted in National Cancer Institute Benchmarks Series.

Spring 2010 -
Robert Wood Johnson Medicine; Young Alumni by Kate O’Neil p 69.

October 2010 -
Congratulations to Ruth Perets on receiving the Ann Schreiber Program of Excellence grant from the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF).

October 2010 -
Congratulations to Ronny on receiving a Travel Award to the Helene Harris Memorial Trust 12th International Forum on Ovarian Cancer.

August 2010 -
Ronny completed his 3rd Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) ride and raised $4,500 for cancer research.

Congratulations to Ronny for being selected as a recipient of the 2010 Research Award from the Mary Kay Foundation.

May 2010 -
Alison Karst wins the 'Poster of Distinction' at the Annual Research Celebration Day at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Four awards were selected from over 65 posters presented. Congratulations Alison!  

Congratulation to Adam on the publication of his research in Neoplasia where his image was selected for the journal cover. read paper

Keren Levanon’s recent paper in Oncogene was the 'highlighted' article. read paper


 

 

August 1, 2024

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