Lab Team

Principal Investigator

Headshot of Mark Rubin
Mark A. Rubin , M.D.
  • Director, Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine
  • Homer T. Hirst Professor of Oncology in Pathology
  • Vice Chair for Molecular and Genomic Pathology

Dr. Rubin is a recognized world leader in the area of prostate cancer genomics and pathology. He is a board-certified pathologist with expertise in prostate cancer pathology and the translation of novel findings to clinical investigations. As a laboratory-based researcher, He has more than 15 years experience in biomarker discovery and characterization. He is currently Co-PI with Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan (University of Michigan) of a Biomarker Discovery Laboratory of the EDRN, and works closely with Dr. Levi Garraway (Broad Institute) on whole genome and exome sequencing of prostate cancer. In his role as a scientific leader at Weill Cornell Medicine, 
He is the Founding Director of the recently established Englander Institute for Precision Medicine. 
His primary responsibility is for its scientific development and oversight for all genomics, computational cancer genomics, and biobanking activities related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Among his seminal observations in prostate cancer genomics and biomarker development, he was the co-Senior Investigator of the first gene expression profiling study in prostate cancer (Nature, 2001) and the first whole genome and exome DNA sequencing studies in prostate cancer (Nature, 2011 and Nature Genetics, 2012). This work led to the discovery and development of several prostate cancer biomarkers, including AMACR, Hepsin, Pim1, EZH2, JAGGED1, SPOP, MED12, MYCN, and AURKA. Working with Dr. Chinnaiyan, he played a pivotal role in the landmark discovery of recurrent ETS rearrangements in prostate cancer, most often involving TMPRSS2:ERG (Science, 2005). His recent genomics work has defined an SPOP mutant subclass of prostate cancer, as defined by a high susceptibility to double stranded DNA damage (Cell, 2013). Additionally, his discovery of AURKA/MYCN amplified aggressive prostate cancer (Cancer Discovery, 2013) has led to a Phase II Trial of MLN8237 in Patients with Metastatic Castrate Resistant and Neuroendocrine PCa (NCT01799278).

Lab Members

Headshot of Lamont Barlow
Lamont Barlow , M.D.
  • Instructor in Urology
Headshot of Shaham Beg
Shaham Beg , M.D.
  • Research Fellow
Sung-Suk Chae
Sung-Suk Chae , Ph.D.
  • Senior Research Associate
Research Focus:

Hormone therapy induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer development; transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of tumor growth, drug sensitivity and neuroendocrine transdifferentiation

  • Ph.D. University of Connecticut Health Center
  • M.A. Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
  • B.A. Korea University
Headshot of Cynthia Cheung
Cynthia Cheung
  • Research Technician II
Headshot of Yelena Churakova
Yelena Churakova
  • Research Technician II
  • B.S. Northeastern University
Headshot of Sandra Cohen
Sandra Cohen
  • Senior Research Specialist
Joanna Cyrta, MD
Joanna Cyrta , M.D.
  • Research Fellow
Research Focus:

Role of chromatin remodeling complexes in oncogenesis and progression of solid tumors.  Her fellowship is partially supported by the Nuovo-Soldati Foundation.

  • Resident in Anatomic Pathology in Paris, France (3 PGY)
Headshot of Casey Hebding
Casey Hebding
  • Research Technician I
Headshot of Terra McNary
Terra McNary
  • Lab Manager
Research Focus:

Further personalized medicine through patient derived tumor organoid development and testing.

  • B.A. Washington & Jefferson College
Headshot of Rebecca Meyer
Rebecca Meyer
  • Research Technician I
Fanying Tang
Fanying Tang
  • Graduate Student
Research Focus:

Study tumor heterogeneity with single cell RNA seq

  • M.S. Georgetown University
  • Wuhan University (China)
Headshot of Joanna  Triscott
Joanna Triscott , PhD
  • Postdoctoral Associate
  • University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Headshot of David Wilkes
David Wilkes , PhD
  • Research Associate

Alumni and Former Lab Members

Michael A. Augello Ph.D
Michael Augello , Ph.D.
  • Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Focus:

Delineate the oncogenic roll of CHD1 loss in prostate cancer progression and transcriptional regulation

  • Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson University
  • B.A. The College of New Jersey
Headshot of Alyssa Bagadion
Alyssa Bagadion
  • Ph.D. Candidate, BCMB Program
Research Focus:

Identifying DNA Damage Response pathway components that are genetic determinants of cisplatin sensitivity in prostate cancer and urothelial cancer cell lines.

  • B.S. University of Florida
Mirjam Blattner-Johnson
Mirjam Blattner-Johnson
  • Ph.D. Candidate (2012-2016)
Research Focus:

The role of mutated SPOP in development and progression of prostate cancer.

  • M.S. Humboldt University, Berlin
Headshot of Dimple Chakravarty
Dimple Chakravarty , PhD
  • Instructor (2011-2016)
Research Focus:

Changes in transcriptome repertoire (coding and non-coding events) and the genome-wide influence of tissue specific regulators during cancer progression. Understanding the role played by long noncoding RNAs in prostate cancer progression. Identifying alterations in the functionally relevant lncRNAs and on determining their functional consequences. 

  • Ph.D. Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
Headshot of Kellie Cotter
Kellie Cotter , Ph.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate
Research Focus:

Estrogen receptor signaling in prostate cancer and the role of somatic variants in non-coding regions of the cancer genome.

  • Ph.D. Boston University
  • B.S. State University of New York at Buffalo
Headshot of Jaclyn Croyle
Jaclyn Croyle
  • Research Technician II (2015-2016)
  • M.S. Quinnipiac University
  • B.S. Quinnipiac University
Headshot of Juan  Ding
Juan Ding
  • Research Specialist (2014-2016)
Adam Donoghue
Adam Donoghue
  • Laboratory Technician
Research Focus:

Neuroendocrine Differentiation in Prostate Cancer; Using a platform to quantify mRNA expression levels of select genes may lead to new insights on the state of disease, novel therapeutic targets, and mechanisms underlying disease progression from prostate adenocarcinoma to neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

  • B.S University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Bishoy Faltas MD
Bishoy Faltas , M.D.
  • Medical oncologist, Post-doctoral research fellow
Research Focus:

Molecular profiling of advanced platinum-resistant urothelial bladder carcinoma to generate a detailed molecular, transcriptomic and epigenetic profile as well as understand the clonal evolution under the effect of chemotherapy and metastatic spread. Ultimately identifying “druggable” targets for translation of these findings into therapeutic clinical trials. 

Headshot of Madhumitha Gobinath
Madhumitha Gobinath
  • Research Technician II
  • M.S. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; B.A. Rutgers University
Headshot of Chantal Pauli
Chantal Pauli , M.D.
  • Research Fellow (2014-2016)
  • Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Zurich
Loredana Puca, Ph.D
Loredana Puca , Ph.D.
  • Postdoctoral Associate
Research Focus:

Identify new biomarkers and therapies to prevent or treat a very aggressive subtype of prostate cancer called neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) using 3D human organoids cultures derived from metastatic prostate cancer patients.

  • Ph.D Institut Pasteur, Paris (France)
  • M.S. University of Naples "Federico II” (Italy)
  • B.S. University of Naples "Federico II” (Italy)
Verena Sailer
Verena Sailer , M.D.
  • Research fellow
Research Focus:

Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer

  • M.D. Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
Ethan Shelkey
Ethan Shelkey
  • Technician
Research Focus:

Creation and examination of isogenic cell lines in urothelial bladder carcinoma through the use of CRISPR systems to study cell cycle defects. Determine the sensitivity of a variety of bladder cancer cell lines to chemotherapy drugs that target select over expressed genes in each of the cell lines.

  • B.S. State University of New York at Geneseo
Ashlee Wisdom
Ashlee Wisdom
  • Administrative Assistant
  • B.S. Howard University

Weill Cornell Medicine Rubin Lab Belfer Research Building
413 E. 69th Street, 14th Fl
New York, NY 10021