Johns Hopkins is a member of the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Cervical Cancer. With a $11.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, we are conducting lab, translational and clinical studies to prevent and treat cervical cancers. Previous studies have identified connections between immune system genes and HPV16. Current projects include the development of next-generation HPV vaccines to control HPV-associated precursor lesions and invasive cancer. Our dedicated researchers are working to extend the techniques used in HPV vaccine development to the creation of vaccines targeting other cancers with defined tumor antigens.

Zheng’s research focuses on two R01-funded projects; first, the group has developed a pancreatic cancer immunotherapy research program on a neoadjuvant therapy platform as well as a number of preclinical models of pancreatic cancer for developing innovative immunotherapy strategies. The group has applied the knowledge gained from pancreatic cancer immune-based therapies to the development of a colorectal cancer GVAX vaccine. Second, the group is aimed at understanding the mechanistic roles of the tumor microenvironment in cancer development and metastasis and identifying new targets for pancreatic cancer therapies by dissecting the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer.

Established in 2004, the MRB Molecular Imaging Service Center and Cancer Functional Imaging Core provides comprehensive molecular and functional imaging infrastructure to support the imaging research needs of the Johns Hopkins University faculty. Approximately 55-65 different Principal Investigators use the center annually. The MRB Molecular Imaging Service Center is located behind the barrier within the transgenic animal facility in the basement of MRB. The MRB location houses a 9.4T MRI/S scanner for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, an Olympus multiphoton microscope with in vivo imaging capability, a PET-CT scanner, a PET-SPECT scanner, and a SPECT-CT scanner for nuclear imaging, multiple optical imaging scanners including an IVIS Spectrum, and a LI COR near infrared scanner, and an ultrasound scanner. A brand new satellite facility in CRB2-LB03 opens in 2019 to house a simultaneous 7T PET-MR scanner, as well as additional imaging equipment, to meet the growing molecular and functional imaging research needs of investigators. To image with us, MRB Animal Facility training and Imaging Center Orientation are required to obtain access to the MRB Animal Facility and to the MRB Molecular Imaging Center (Suite B14). The MRB Animal Facility training group meets at 9:30 am on Thursdays at the Turner fountain/MRB elevator lobby. The Imaging Center orientation group meets at 1 pm on Thursdays at the Turner fountain, and orientation takes approximately 30 min. Please keep in mind that obtaining access to both facilities requires time, so please plan in advance.

Dr. Anders’ laboratory focuses on the basic processes that lead to cancer. His team approaches these questions through the use of both experimental models and examination of human tissues. His team is specifically interested in interrogating the immune microenvironment of cancer, detecting circulating cancer cells and preventing cancer metastasis.

The GI Biomarkers Laboratory studies gastrointestinal cancer and pre-cancer biogenesis and biomarkers. The lab is led by Dr. Stephen Meltzer, who is known for his research in the molecular pathobiology of gastrointestinal malignancy and premalignancy. Research in the lab has led to several groundbreaking genomic, epigenomic and bioinformatic studies of esophageal and colonic neoplasms, shifting the gastrointestinal research paradaigm toward genome-wide approaches.

The Kathryn Carson Lab investigates ways to improve medical research, particularly in the areas of brain and thyroid cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, HIV and lupus. Our team seeks to help researchers optimize their studies through better study design, protocol and grant writing, data cleaning and analysis, and publication writing. We work with investigators from a wide range of departments through the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

The Raman laboratory is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science. The focus of the laboratory is bench-to-bed side cancer research. We integrate molecular and cellular biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, molecular imaging techniques to study cancer formation and progression. Many of the projects in the lab investigate dysregulated genes in cancer and the translatability of this information to a clinical setting. One such project is to functionally decipher the role of a RNA helicase gene, DDX3, in the biogenesis of multiple cancer types such as breast, lung, brain, sarcoma, colorectal and prostate. Additionally, using a rational drug design approach, a small molecule inhibitor of DDX3 (RK-33) was synthesized and its potential for clinical translation is being investigated.