Sylvester researchers drove breakthroughs across cancer biology, genomics, lifestyle medicine and precision oncology, advancing studies published in leading journals and shaping the future of patient care in 2025. The following includes highlights.
Dr. Nimer and Ramin Shiekhattar, Ph.D., co-leader of the Cancer Epigenetics Program and chief of the Division of Cancer Genomics and Epigenetics, led a study showing that the regulator TAF1 acts as a molecular “switch” prompting blood cell maturation from stem cells. This finding may lead to new drug targets for blood cancers and disorders. Published in Developmental Cell.
C. Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., co-leader of the Translational and Clinical Oncology Research Program director of Sylvester Myeloma Institute and, and Sylvester researcher Marcella Kaddoura, M.D., helped map the DNA-damage timeline of multiple myeloma. Their analysis of 421 whole-genome sequences showed key mutations can begin decades before diagnosis, offering clues for earlier detection and precision medicine. Published in Nature Genetics.
Jonathan Trent, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of clinical research and director of sarcoma research, oversees Sylvester’s role in the global GENIE initiative, aggregating rare sarcoma genomic and clinical data to drive personalized treatments and discoveries, strengthening hope for sarcoma care.
Tracy Crane, Ph.D., RDN, co-leader of Sylvester's Cancer Control Program and director of lifestyle medicine, prevention and digital health, advanced research on lifestyle factors in treatment response and survivorship. She chairs the Diet and Malnutrition Working Group of the NCI-funded ENICTO consortium, building frameworks to assess nutrition's role in treatment tolerance. Dr. Crane is corresponding author of a Journal of the National Cancer Institute article calling for rigorous oncology nutrition studies. Her research on digital recovery models was published in Digital Medicine: A randomized trial showed wearable monitoring improved recovery after cancer surgery. Extending this, she and co-investigator Paola Rossi, M.D., Sylvester clinical program director for lifestyle medicine, are conducting the ASCENT study, which uses MyCarePulse to address food insecurity among survivors.
Sylvester researcher Danny Reinberg, Ph.D., co-authored a Nature study revealing a genetic mechanism in ants with implications for gene regulation and cancer biology, highlighting how chromatin changes activate oncogenes or silence tumor suppressors.
Two Molecular Cell papers led by Sylvester researcher Pradeep Kumar Reddy Cingaram, Ph.D., and Ramin Shiekhattar, Ph.D., co-leader of the Cancer Epigenetics Research Program and chief of the Division of Cancer Genomics and Epigenetics, documented a new RNA sequencing technology that uncovered molecular drivers of cellular differentiation, advancing regenerative therapy research and real-time disease monitoring.
Justin Taylor, M.D., associate professor of hematology, identified an XPO1 mutation linked to colorectal and endometrial cancers. In preclinical models, combining selinexor with irinotecan shrank those tumors, pointing to a promising therapeutic strategy. His research was published in Cancer Research and supported by Stanley J. Glaser Foundation funding.
Emanuela Palmerini, M.D., Ph.D., published two Journal of Clinical Oncology papers on using genetic and immune signatures to refine osteosarcoma treatment strategies.
Gilberto Lopes, M.D., chief of the Division of Medical Oncology, Chinmay Jani, M.D., a clinical fellow in hematology and oncology, and Estelamari Rodriguez, M.D., M.P.H., co-lead of the Thoracic Site Disease Group analyzed global tracheal, bronchial and lung cancer mortality from 1990–2019 for a study published in eClinicalMedicine (The Lancet). They found an 8% overall decrease in deaths, with rising rates tied to particulate-matter air pollution.