Laura Delong Wood, MD, PhD

Primary Academic Title

Associate Professor of Pathology

Background

Additional Academic Titles

Associate Professor of Oncology, Associate Professor of Medicine

Contact for Research Inquiries

1550 Orleans Street
CRB2 Room 345
Baltimore, MD 21231

Research Interests

Cancer genomics, Pancreatic cancer, Premalignant precursor lesions

Research Summary

Dr. Wood's research focuses on defining the key steps in malignant progression in the pancreas, and she has several exciting ongoing projects. Her group is working to define the molecular changes that underlie the “moment of invasion” in pancreatic cancer – this work will help to understand a key transition in the biology of pancreatic cancer and will also identify targets for early detection. In addition, she is developing an approach for genetic analyses of single pancreatic cancer cells in order to better define intratumoral heterogeneity. Finally, her group is developing a three-dimensional “organoid” model of pancreatic cancer in order to test the importance of potential biomarkers in living pancreatic cancer cells.

Selected Publications

• Wood LD*, Parsons DW*, Jones S*, Lin J*, Sjöblom T*, Leary RJ, Shen D, Boca SM, Barber T, Ptak J, Silliman N, Szabo S, Dezso Z, Ustyanksky V, Nikolskaya T, Nikolsky Y, Karchin R, Wilson PA, Kaminker JS, Zhang Z, Croshaw R, Willis J, Dawson D, Shipitsin M, Willson JKV, Sukumar S, Polyak K, Park BH, Pethiyagoda CL, Pant PVK, Ballinger DG, Sparks AB, Hartigan J, Smith DR, Suh E, Papadopoulos N, Buckhaults P, Markowitz SD, Parmigiani G, Kinzler KW, Velculescu VE, Vogelstein B. The genomic landscapes of human breast and colorectal cancers. Science. 2007 Nov 16; 318(5853):1108-13. (*equal authorship)

• Basturk O*, Hong SM*, Wood LD*, Adsay NV, Albores-Saavedra J, Biankin AV, Brosens LAA, Fukushima N, Goggins M, Hruban RH, Kato Y, Kern SE, Klimstra DS, Klöppel G, Krasinskas A, Longnecker DS, Matthaei H, Offerhaus GJA, Shimizu M, Takaori K, Terris B, Yachida S, Esposito I, Furukawa T. A revised classification system and recommendations from the Baltimore consensus meeting for neoplastic precursor lesions in the pancreas. Am J Surg Pathol. 2015 Dec; 39(12):1730-41. (*equal authorship)

• Dal Molin M, Zhang M, de Wilde RF, Ottenhof NA, Rezaee N, Wolfgang CL, Blackford AL, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Papadopoulos N, Hruban RH, Maitra A, Wood LD. Very long-term survival following resection for pancreatic cancer is not explained by commonly mutated genes: results of whole-exome sequencing analysis. Clin Cancer Res. 2015 Apr 15; 21(8):1944-50.

• Jiao Y, Pawlik TM, Anders RA, Selaru FM, Streppel MM, Lucas DJ, Niknafs N, Guthrie VB, Maitra A, Argani P, Offerhaus GJA, Roa JC, Roberts LR, Gores GJ, Popescu I, Alexandrescu ST, Dima S, Fassan M, Simbolo M, Mafficini A, Capelli P, Lawlor RT, Ruzzenente A, Guglielmi A, TortoraG, de Braud F, Scarpa A, Jarnagin W, Klimstra D, Karchin R, Velculescu VE, Hruban RH, Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, Papadopoulos N, Wood LD. Exome sequencing reveals frequent inactivating mutations in BAP1, ARID1A, and PBRM1 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. Nat Genet. 2013 Dec; 45(12):1470-3.

• Wu J, Matthaei H, Maitra A, Dal Molin M, Wood LD, Eshleman JR, Goggins M, Canto MI, Schulick RD, Edil BH, Wolfgang CL, Klein AP, Diaz LA Jr, Allen PJ, Schmidt CM, Kinzler KW, Papadopoulos N, Hruban RH, Vogelstein B. Recurrent GNAS mutations define an unexpected pathway for pancreatic cyst development. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Jul 20; 3(92):92ra66.

Honors

• Team Science Award, American Association for Cancer Research
• AGA-Bernard Lee Schwartz Foundation Research Scholar Award in Pancreatic Cancer, American Gastroenterological Association
• Kimmel Scholar Award, Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research
• AACR-Incyte Corporation Career Development Award in Pancreatic Cancer Research , American Association for Cancer Research
• Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
• Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society

Graduate Program Affiliations

• Pathobiology

Memberships

• American Association for Cancer Research
• United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology
• College of American Pathology
• American Gastroenterological Association

Professional Activities

United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Abstract Review Board