Pichiorri Lab

Enrico Caserta, Ph.D., highly involved in translational and preclinical research, and recently his expertise was rewarded with a highly competitive NIH award (R50) for his accomplishments attained in the past 8 years. He started his education in Italy, earning a Masters in Biology in 1997 and a Ph.D.  in 2001, from University of Camerino. Seeking possible targets for novel antibiotics, he investigated on the initiation of translations in procaryotes in a European Scientific Network under the guidance of Dr. Claudio Gualerzi and Dr. Cynthia Pon. This scientific interest continued as Post-Doc, under the guidance of Dr. Anna La Teana (Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, 2001-2005). During this time, he gained experience in bioinformatics, thanks to a brief sabbatical at Universita’ di Torino (Dr. Raffaele Calogero). Always looking for ways to bypass antibiotic resistance observed in clinics, Enrico moved to United States in 2005 at Ohio State University to study transcription initiation in procaryotes (Dr. Tina Henkin) (2005-2008). At the beginning of 2008, he transferred his experience in molecular biology, from targets for antibiotics to the field of oncology, under the guidance of Dr. Gustavo Leone (2008-2014), expanding his scientific experience using animal models. In August 2014, he joined the newly installed laboratory of Dr. Flavia Pichiorri (2014-current) and has been substantially involved in translational and preclinical research. 

Amanda Duplan is a graduate student in the laboratories of both Dr. Flavia Pichiorri and Dr. John Williams. She graduated from Grand View University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. She then joined the protein biochemistry group in the laboratory of Dr. Travis Young at the Scripps Research Institute. Her work consisted of the design, production, and testing of recombinant antibody-based therapeutics targeting a range of malignant tumors. She joined City of Hope as a graduate student in 2021, where she now is developing antibody-based therapeutics against multiple myeloma.

After obtaining his DVM degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine in 2016, Dr. Milad Moloudizargari ranked first in the country to qualify for a clinical Ph.D. course in Medical Immunology at the School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

During his Ph.D., he did rotations in the major referral hospitals of Tehran to closely observe immunological conditions in immunodeficiency and allergy, rheumatology, infectious diseases, and dermatology. His research focused on the study of immune cell regulation by multiple myeloma extracellular vesicles, their effects on anti-cancer immune responses, and the possibility of targeting such interactions for therapeutic purposes. Additionally, as a Ph.D. candidate in a diagnostic immunology lab, he obtained extensive experience in the immunophenotyping of clinical samples from patients with leukemia and other immunological disorders.
 

Mariam Murtadha, Ph.D., M.Sc., graduated from Ursinus College (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) in 2003 with Honors Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She completed her Master of Science with distinguished honors in Microbiology and Immunology at Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain in 2012, studying the role of T regulatory cells in mediating autoimmunity. In 2018, she completed her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and Genomics at University of Southern California/Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles in the laboratory of Dr. Muller Fabbri. Her Ph.D. dissertation investigated the role of exosomal microRNAs in mediating cross talk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment in solid pediatric malignancies. She joined City of Hope as a postdoctoral fellow in 2018 and worked with Dr. Flavia Pichiorri in testing bispecific antibodies in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo for acute myeloid leukemia, T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Her interests are focused on immuno-oncology and studying epigenetic regulation of key immunotherapeutic targets in hematological malignancies.

Ottavio Napolitano, M.D., graduated from University of Foggia Medical School in Italy in 2022. His thesis project focused on characterizing the role of stromal mesenchymal stem cells in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy-related condition. He joined Dr. Pichiorri’s group in September 2022 and is now working on identifying new feasible therapeutical targets for both acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Lokesh Nigam earned his M.Tech in computational and system biology in 2009 from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, with a scholarship awarded by Department of Biotechnology. In 2019, with a fellowship awarded by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, he completed a PhD in Bioinformatics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. During this tenure, he published 11 research articles and one book chapter and was awarded “best poster award” on National Science Day. In Dr. Pichiorri’s lab, he is studying the effects of peptide based inhibitors in multiple myeloma. 

Alexander Pozhitkov, Ph.D., graduated from the Moscow State University with an M. Sc. in chemistry and molecular biology in 1998.  His master’s thesis was on the detection of microorganisms by biochips using 16S rRNA. In 2003, Alexander earned his doctorate degree from the Albertus Magnus University of Cologne (Germany), focusing on the physical chemistry of immobilized DNA oligonucleotides for the purpose of detection and quantification of specific RNA targets. He also conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Washington (Seattle), studying the interaction between microorganisms and implant materials. 

In Prof. Pichiorri’s lab, Dr. Pozhitkov has established and been maintaining the informatic infrastructure for the ongoing clinical trials. Also, he has been developing atomic force microscopy protocols to investigate cellular micromechanics.

James Sanchez earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from University of California Irvine and his Ph.D from University of Southern California, studying secondary metabolite biosynthesis in Aspergillus nidulans. At City of Hope, he is a project development scientist with the Clinical Translational Project Development team and helps the members of the Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for Clinical Research develop their proposals, manuscripts, and clinical trial protocols.

Theophilus Tandoh, M.S., has experience and spearheads the laboratory’s single-cell mass cytometry (CyTOF) endeavors and general laboratory management. He plays a pivotal role in conducting CyTOF-based immune profiling in clinical correlative studies and is actively engaged in diverse cancer immunotherapy projects, which include evaluating several therapeutics such as bispecific antibodies, oncolytic virus, proteasome inhibitors and other therapeutics with the primary focus on multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia. Additionally, he contributed to the development of an immune predictive mathematical model (Immuno-SINDy) and participated in a promising trial involving leflunomide for several COVID-19, conducted at City of Hope. Currently, one of his projects is dedicated to a pilot study on amyloid light chain amyloidosis, highlighting his commitment to advancing medical solutions through rigorous scientific inquiry.