Basic Science Labs
The Department of Radiation Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has a robust and varied research enterprise. Explore our labs below to learn about the broader goals of the labs, as well as details on individual faculty labs and teams.
Mohamed Abazeed Lab Individualize cancer care (radiotherapy) by helping physicians recommend treatments based on the genetic and imaging features of individual tumors.
Research Description
Precision oncology facilitates individualized treatment decisions on the basis of patient and tumor-specific factors for an increasing proportion of cancer patients. Despite growing evidence that interpatient variation affects treatment responses to radiotherapy, most patients continue to receive the same or similar doses.
We seek to build an information capability at the forefront of personalized radiotherapy. We achieve this by assembling experimental scaffolds across the translational research spectrum, helping us understand tumor complexity and predict clinical outcomes.
Large-Scale Biological Profiling Projects
X-ray Target Discovery and Development Project
The X-ray Target Discovery and Development (XTD2) project profiled survival in 533 cancer cell lines from 26 cancer types exposed to ionizing radiation. This effort represents the largest profiling project to date on cancer cell line survival after irradiation.
Pan-cancer Radiogenomic Atlas
The Pan-cancer Radiogenomic Atlas is a gene-variant profiling initiative that examined more than 1,000 common and rare variants involved in cellular response to ionizing radiation, using immortalized human (noncancer) cell models. Current work extends this unary profiling approach by studying interactions among gene variants, moving toward more complex models.
10,000 Avatar Project
Launched in 2019, the 10,000 Avatar Project is the largest patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse experiment ever undertaken. About 10,000 mice engrafted with roughly 500 genetically annotated PDXs will be irradiated on a unified experimental platform. The project will correlate genomic and other omic features (e.g., transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles) with the likelihood of radiotherapy response and matched recurrent tumors.
Clinomic Dataset and Integrated Patient Models
Alongside these large-scale profiling efforts, we developed a clinomic dataset that integrates clinical information (e.g., demographics, treatments and outcomes) with patient avatar models and multiomic outputs. These include:
- Radiomics: Quantitative data derived from imaging modalities such as CT.
- Genomics: Tumor or germline genetic information.
- Transcriptomics: Gene expression data.
- Other omic layers as they become available.
Using these integrated data streams, we aim to design tools that help physicians estimate the probability of treatment failure and adjust treatment recommendations to each patient’s individual risk.
For lab information and more, see Abazeed's faculty profile.
Publications
See Abazeed's publications in PubMed.
Contact
Contact the Abazeed Lab at 312-503-2195. You may also contact Abazeed directly via email.
Postdoctoral Fellows: Priyanka Gopal, Rohan Bareja
Student: Alexandru Buhimschi
Technical Staff: Titas Bera, Dylan Schellenberg, Trung Hoang
Gayle Woloschak Lab Studying radiation-induced mutations in radiation-induced cancers; DNA-TiO2 nanoparticles; Radiosensitivity/motor neuron disease.
Research Description
The Woloschak Lab members focus their research on three main areas.
The Janus Project: Studying radiation-induced mutations in radiation-induced cancers
This 30-year, $200 million set of experiments was performed at 150 laboratories and then terminated before the data were completely analyzed. Funded by the Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, department radiobiologists will continue the data analyses.
Members of the Woloschak laboratory have assumed responsibility for archiving tissue from 30,000 mice and 4,000 dogs that received various doses and dose rates of radiation from Argonne National Laboratory.
These studies examined the effects of dose rate on radiation-induced toxicities and cancer. They are analyzing cancer cells from these tissues to identify differences in mutational spectra between tumors induced in radiation-exposed animals and those in spontaneous tumors. Recent scientific concerns about very low dose exposures make this effort particularly important. Collaborators include the University of Chicago, Bundeswehr Radiobiology Institute in Munich and Argonne National Lab.
DNA-TiO2 nanoparticles
The investigators have combined the functional properties of the biomolecule DNA with those of the inorganic compound TiO2. The project is oriented to investigating the functional use of these nanocomposites for intracellular manipulation, imaging and gene silencing.
Radiosensitivity/motor neuron disease
The project's purpose is to better understand the molecular basis for the combined abnormalities from a molecular-cellular perspective. Chip-based mRNA studies, gene promoter analyses, immunohistochemistry and standard molecular approaches are being used.
For lab information and more, see Woloschak's faculty profile and Woloschak Lab site.
Publications
See Woloschak's publications in PubMed.
Contact
Contact Woloschak at 312-503-4323 or via email.
Research Assistant Professor: Tatjana Paunesku, PhD