Seminar Series
The Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research Seminar Series occurs weekly and provides an opportunity for the Mass General research community to learn from national and international leaders in cancer research on topics such as: cancer genetics and epigenetics, signaling and molecular therapeutics, developmental and stem cell biology, genetic model organisms, DNA damage and genomic stability, immunotherapy, hematopoiesis, lymphocyte biology and miRNA regulation, among other areas.
Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
Location: In-Person at CNY 7 Auditorium and Broadcast to Simches 3120 and to Jackson 9 Conference Room
Time: Wednesdays, 12:00 PM–1:00 PM. Please see schedule and dates below.
Intended Audience: For Center for Cancer Research-affiliated lab members and internal Mass General Cancer Center Faculty and Staff.
The seminars are structured as a 45-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of discussion and interaction. Please see below for weekly topics and presenters.
Recordings of select past seminars can be viewed here (must be on the MGB network to view).
The Seminar Series is chaired by:
Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD
Scientific Director, Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research
Laurel Schwartz Professor of Oncology, Mass General Cancer Center & Harvard Medical School
Associate Member, Broad Institute
September 2023
September 13
Gustavo Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD
What Immunotherapy, Prions and Organoids Have in Common: iPSC in Disease Modeling and Regenerative Medicine
Professor of Medicine and Microbiology
Co-Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM)
Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Boston University
(Host: Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD)
September 20
John Blenis, PhD
MMA is a Oncometabolite linking Aging and Propionate Metabolism to Cancer Metastasis
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Professor in Cancer Research
Associate Director of Basic Science, The Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center; Professor of Pharmacology
Weill Cornell Medicine
(Host: Mo Motamedi, PhD)
October 2023
October 4
Jared Rutter, PhD
Metabolism, Cellular Decisions and the Language That Unites Them
Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry
HHMI Investigator
University of Utah School of Medicine
(Host: Liron Bar-Peled, PhD)
October 11
Jennifer Trowbridge, PhD
Hematopoietic stem cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic contributions to aging and clonal hematopoiesis
Professor and Dattels Family Endowed Chair
The Jackson Laboratory
(Host: Timothy Graubert, MD)
November 2023
November 1
Marcia Haigis, PhD
Title TBA
Professor, Department of Cell Biology, HMS
Member, Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging and Ludwig Center at HMS
Focus: role that mitochondrial sirtuins play in metabolism and disease.
(Host: Liron Bar-Peled, PhD)
November 8
Katie E. Galloway, PhD
Title TBA
W. M. Keck Career Development Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
MIT School of Engineering
Focus: synthetic biology, mol sys biology, stem cells, cellular reprogramming, 3D genome organization & structure, single cell analysis, genetic control systems, oncogenesis & metastasis
(Host: Max Jan, MD, PhD)
November 15
Liza Makowski, PhD
Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, and Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer
Professor of Medicine
Division of Hematology-Oncology
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
(Host: Francesca Gazzaniga, PhD)
November 29
Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD
Title TBA
Robert H. Ebert Professor of Medicine
Jules L. Dienstag, MD and Betty and Newell Hale Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology, HMS
Chief of Gastroenterology, MGH
Harvard Medical School and Mass General
(Host: Andi McClatchey, PhD)
December 2023
December 6
Scott W. Lowe, PhD
Title TBA
Chair, Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, SKI
Chair, Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute
Focus: p53 tumor suppressor network, cellular senescence, identifying tumor maintenance genes, accelerating cancer discovery using mouse models
(Host: David T. Ting, MD)
January 2024
January 10
Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD
Title TBA
George P. Canellos, MD and Jean S. Canellos Professor of
Medicine, HMS
Chair of Medical Oncology, DFCI
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Focus: Drivers of Myeloid Malignancies, Clonal Hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, Therapeutic targeting of Protein Degradation
(Hosts: Peter Miller, MD, PhD & Timothy Graubert, MD)
January 17
Kivanç Birsoy, PhD
Title TBA
Chapman Perelman Associate Professor
Rockefeller University
Focus: regulation of cellular metabolism in the context of cancer and genetic disorders
(Host: Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD)
January 31
Michael Kharas, PhD
Title TBA
Associate Member, Cell Biology Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Focus: identify critical pathways in both normal and leukemic hematopoietic cells
(Host: Peter Miller, MD, PhD)
February 2024
February 14
Frank J. Slack, PhD
Title TBA
Director, Institute for RNA Medicine, BIDMC
Shields Warren Mallinckrodt Professor
Department of Pathology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Focus: translate discoveries of the roles of microRNAs into potential cures and biomarkers for cancer and aging
(Host: Mo Motamedi, PhD)
March 2024
March 6
Sarah-Maria Fendt, PhD
Title TBA
Principal Investigator, VIB Center for Cancer Biology
Professor of Oncology, KU Leuven, Belgium
Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology
Focus: elucidating regulatory principles in metabolism, understanding cancer metabolism during metastasis formation and during altered whole body physiology
(Host: Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD)
March 13
William G. Kaelin, Jr. MD
Title TBA
Professor of Medicine, DFCI & HMS
Associate Director, Basic Science, DF/HCC
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Focus: proteins encoded by specific tumor-suppressor genes, development of new anti-cancer therapies
(Host: Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD)
March 20
Jennifer Wargo, MD, MMSc
Title TBA
Professor, Dept. of Surgical Oncology
R. Lee Clark Endowed Professor, Dept. of Surgical Oncology
Professor, Dept. of Genomic Medicine, UT Houston
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Focus: studies the genetics of melanoma and other cancers with the goal of understanding what allows them to grow, spread, and evade the immune system
(Host: Francesca Gazzaniga, PhD)
March 27
Seth Rubin, PhD
Title TBA
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Department of Chemistry
UCSC, University of California Santa Cruz
Focus: mechanisms controlling cell division
(Host: Ioannis Sanidas, PhD)
April 2024
April 3
Navdeep S. Chandel, PhD
Title TBA
David W. Cugell Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics
Northwestern University
Focus: mitochondria control of physiology and disease, biology linked to mitochondria and metaboisum that controls physiological responses and diseases including cancer
(Host: Liron Bar-Peled, PhD)
April 17
Shabnam Shalapour, PhD
Title TBA
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Cancer Biology
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Focus: role of chronic inflammation and adaptive immunity in the control of tumor development and the response of various cancers to therapy
(Host: Lloyd Bod, PhD)
April 24
Joan Brugge, PhD
Title TBA
Louise Foote Pfeiffer Professor of Cell Biology (HMS)
Director of the Ludwig Center at Harvard
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Focus: investigating the cellular processes and pathways that are involved in normal morphogenesis of epithelial tissues as well as those involved in the initiation and progression of epithelial tumors
(Host: Liron Bar-Peled, PhD)
May 2024 - TBA