Laboratories for Tumor Biology

Overview

The goal of our research is to further mechanistic understanding of vascular, interstitial, and cellular barriers to the delivery and effectiveness of molecular medicine in solid tumors. Our aim is to develop and test new strategies to overcome the physiological barriers for improved detection and treatment of primary and metastatic tumors. Our mission is to translate these strategies from bench to bedside.

The Steele Laboratories were founded in 1975 by Herman D. Suit, MD, PhD, then Chief of Radiation Oncology. In 1991, Dr. Suit invited Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, from Carnegie Mellon University to serve as Director of the laboratories, to become the Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Tumor Biology, and to establish a program in tumor pathophysiology.

Today the Steele Laboratories are regarded as a world leader in quantitative tumor pathophysiology and are recognized widely for the discovery that antiangiogenic therapies can "normalize" tumor vessels, thus improve oxygenation, drug delivery, and treatment efficacy in animal models and cancer patients. This novel concept explains how Avastin^®, the first FDA-approved antiangiogenic drug, works in patients and has spawned a number of clinical trials at Massachusetts General Hospital and elsewhere. Our ongoing and planned preclinical and clinical studies are designed to develop new strategies to extend the window of normalization and to identify molecular and cellular biomarkers for optimizing the use of targeted therapies in cancer patients.

The hallmarks of the Steele Laboratories include a unique multidisciplinary approach to tumor biology and a tight integration between bench and bedside, which are supported by four scientific cores: the Bioengineering and Microscopy core, the Molecular core, Cellular and Histology core, and the Animal and Surgery core.

Our staff of approximately 60 people includes one full professor, three associate professors, four assistant professors, two instructors, seven Harvard-MIT doctoral students, 16 post-doctoral fellows, 14 technicians, and four support staff.

The laboratories are primarily supported by grants from the NIH, including a Program Project Grant (Integrative Pathophysiology of Tumors), a Bioengineering Research Partnership Grant (Integrative Biology of Metastasis), and a Training Grant (Tumor Pathophysiology). The philosophy of the laboratory is to seek and welcome collaborations with physicians and scientists in the Harvard-MIT community and worldwide.

To learn about our research projects, publications, and member laboratories visit, please visit our website at steele.mgh.harvard.edu.

Meet the Team

Associate Professors

• Yves Boucher, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School
• Dan Duda, DMD, PhD, Director of Translational Research in GI Radiation Oncology
• Dai Fukumura, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology
• Lance Munn, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology
• Timothy Padera, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology

Assistant Professors

• Igor Garkavtsev, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology
• Peigen Huang, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology
• Lei Xu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology

Postdoctoral Fellows

• Zoreh Amoozgar, PhD | Jain Lab
• Patrik Andersson, PhD | Fukumura Lab
• Shuichi Aoki, MD, PhD | Duda Lab
• Suboj Babykutty, PhD | Fukumura Lab
• Sampurna Chatterjee, PhD | Jain Lab
• Jie Chen, MD
• Igor dos Santos | Fukumura Lab
• Gino Ferraro, PhD | Jain Lab
• Mitrat Gosh, PhD | Jain Lab
• Dennis Jones, PhD | Padera Lab
• Keehoon Jung, PhD | Jain Lab
• Kosuke Kawagchi, MD | Fukumura Lab
• Hiroto Kikuchi | Duda Lab
• Sergey Kozin, PhD | Research Associate
• Shanmugarajan Krishnan, PhD | Jain Lab
• Ashwin Kumar | Jain Lab
• Wilhelmus Kwanten, MD, PhD | Jain Lab
• Huabing Li, PhD | Munn Lab
• Nir Maimon, PhD | Munn Lab
• Aya Matsui, PhD | Duda Lab
• Mei Rosa Ng, PhD | Jain Lab
• Takashi Nojiri | Fukumura Lab
• Ethel Pereira, PhD | Padera Lab
• Jessica Posada | Jain Lab
• Jun Ren | Jain Lab
• Kangsan Roh | Padera Lab
• Kohei Shigeta, MD, PhD | Duda Lab
• Yao Sun | Xu Lab
• Hadi Tavakoli Nia, PhD
• Rong Wang
• Nancy Wang, MD
• Limeng Wu
• Yanling Zhang, MD

Graduate Students

• Ivy Chen, PhD
• Maneel Datta, PhD
• William Ho
• Hao Liu, MD
• Michelle Wu

Senior Technologists

• Mark Duquette
• Julia Kahn, BS
• Sylvie Roberge, MS
• Carolyn Smith, MMu

Research Technicians/Technologists

• Tsion Hbatmu, BS
• Anna Khachatryan, MS | Research Technologist

Administrative Staff

• Zeina Chaptini | Jain Lab
• Elizabeth Garzon | Jain Lab