Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics for Lung Cancer Laboratory
Location and Contact Information
Principal Investigator
Research at the Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics for Lung Cancer Laboratory focuses on the use of targeted radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Specifically, we are using fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting molecules to investigate the molecular and cellular effects of targeted radiotherapy in pre-clinical models, including in vitro using human lung cancer cell organoids and in vivo using murine models of lung cancer. Our goal is to elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which these agents attenuate cancer cell growth. Additionally, we are performing studies using FAP targeted radiotherapy in conjunction with standard of care therapies for mutationally diverse lung cancers to evaluate if molecular targeted radiotherapy can potentiate response to therapy and determine the underlying changes to tumor cells and microenvironment. Our goal is to achieve durable responses for NSCLC and provide therapeutic options for individuals who otherwise have limited potential therapies.
Research
Our research is focused on the following areas:
- Potentiating response to therapy in NSCLC
- Characterizing molecular response to targeted radiotherapy
- FAP PET Imaging post therapy
Our clinical trial focuses on changes in FAP expression resulting from immunotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy, with the goal of demonstrating how checkpoint inhibitors change that expression of FAP. This will inform dosing of FAP targeted radiotherapy when the combination is used together clinically. Together these projects will allow us to better understand how targeting FAP can be used to increase response to therapy and generate a durable response. Furthermore, by identifying genes and pathways that are involved in response to therapy, we hope to ultimately be able to convert non-responders to responders to therapy.
Lab Members
Lab Members
Maierdan (Mardan) Palihati, PhD
- Postdoctoral Fellow
Mardan Palihati was born and raised in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. His interest in medicine stemms from his teenage experience shadowing his aunt who practices traditional Uyghur medicine. He completed his medical school education at Fudan University, where he was actively involved in multiple basic and translational cancer research projects aimed at identifying potential prognostic biomarkers of bladder cancer and prostate cancer based on large-scale multi-omics data. This work distinguished the integrated prognosis-related proteins and revealed a novel prediction model, outperforming the traditional prognostic indicators for anticipating bladder and prostate cancer progression and better clinical strategies, which ultimately fortified his career goal to become a physician scientist.
Mardan's keen interest in medical research led him to his first research fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic, where he focused on exploring the underlying mechanisms of cancer-associated thrombosis and anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), with a special emphasis on elucidating the role of endothelium and platelet dysfunction in the etiology of these devastating diseases. He has presented this work at the 2023 and 2024 American Society of Hematology annual conference and recently published in Blood. In addition to the basic research projects, he coordinated multiple NIH-funded, multi-central clinical trials regarding the identification of novel biomarkers and treatments for cancer-associated thrombosis and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The promising results from the HHT trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine as a potential novel therapeutic option for treating HHT.
Outside the lab, Mardan enjoys hunting down Central Asian cuisine in NYC, swimming, training for the marathon, and talking to his succulents at home.
Select Publications
Dorine de Jong, Jeeban Das, Hong Ma, Jacienta Paily Valiplackal, Conor Prendergast, Tina Roa, Brian Braumuller, Aileen Deng, Laurent Dercle, Randy Yeh, Mary M. Salvatore, Kathleen M. Capaccione. Novel Targets, Novel Treatments: The Changing Landscape of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Cancers. 2023; 15(10):2855.
Sophia Huang, Dorine de Jong, Jeeban Das, Scott Widemon, Brian Braumuller, Jacienta Paily, Aileen Deng, Connie Liou, Tina Roa, Alice Huang, Hong Ma, Belinda D’Souza, Jay Leb, Jade L’Hereaux, Pamela Nguyen, Lyndon Luk, Mark Francescone, Randy Yeh, Valerie Maccaronne, Laurent Dercle, Mary Salvatore, Kathleen M. Capaccione. Imaging the Side Effects of CAR T Cell Therapy: A Primer for the Practicing Radiologist. Acad Radiol. 2023 Nov;30(11):2712-2727. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2023.04.004.
Kathleen M. Capaccione, Mikhail Doubrovin, Brian Braumuller, Dev Leibowitz, Nikunj Bhatt, Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Andrei Molotkov, Michael Kissner Kimberly Goldner, Mark Soffing, Alessandra Ali, Akiva Mintz. Evaluating the Combined Anticancer Response of Checkpoint Inhibitor Immunotherapy and FAP-Targeted Molecular Radiotherapy in Murine Models of Melanoma and Lung Cancer. Cancers 2022, 14, 4575.
Laetitia Vercellino, Dorine de Jong, Laurent Dercle, Benoit Hosten, Brian Braumuller, Jeeban Paul Das, Aileen Deng, Antoine Moya-Plana, Camry Vonyae' A'Keen, Randy Yeh, Pascal Merlet, Barouyr Baroudjian, Mary M. Salvatore, Kathleen M. Capaccione. Translating Molecules into Imaging- The Development of New PET Tracers for Patients with Melanoma. Diagnostics. 2022; 12(5):1116.
Capaccione KM, Doubrovin M, Bhatt N, Mintz A, Molotkov A. Granzyme B PET Imaging of the Innate Immune Response. Molecules. 2020;25(13):E3102.
For a full list of publications from the Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics for Lung Cancer Laboratory, please visit PubMed.