Several new members have been added to the University of Illinois Cancer Center’s roster. If you haven’t already been introduced to them, now is the time.
New to UIC and the UI Cancer Center: Takeshi Shimamura, PhD, Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Takeshi Shimamura’s primary research interest is in the area of understanding the mechanisms that drive acquired targeted-drug resistance with a mesenchymal phenotype in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). The goal of his research is to develop therapeutic strategies to overcome the acquired and de novo targeted-drug resistance using both in vitro and in vivo models. He received his PhD from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and his postdoctoral work was conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. While at Dana-Farber, he studied acquired resistance to targeted therapies and strategies to overcome the resistance in NSCLC. Following his active participation in Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Lung SPORE program as an Instructor of Medicine at the cancer institute, he joined the faculty of the Oncology Research Institute at Loyola University of Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. Shimamura’s email: [email protected]
New to UIC and the UI Cancer Center: Sandra Pinho, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Sandra Pinho has investigated the bone marrow microenvironment – or niche – where blood stem cells are found and regulated by a variety of surrounding cells that constitute the niche. She has discovered that multiple cell types contribute to the growth and function of these stem cells, increasing the difficulty of imitating the in vivo microenvironment in the laboratory. Pinho is attempting to understand which cells and factors are needed to keep the blood stem cells healthy and able to differentiate into all blood and immune cell types. A native of Portugal, she received her PhD from Imperial College School of Medicine in London, England, and completed her postdoctoral training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Pinho can be reached at [email protected]