Molecular Microbiology

Overview

Ana Gradissimo
Director

Founded in 2009, the Molecular Microbiology Facility (MMF), currently supported by the van den Brink Laboratory, is a comprehensive resource for microbiome research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), providing researchers with a cost-effective, high-throughput processing of biological microbiome samples.

The MMF manages a Fecal Biobank and stores and catalogues thousands of human stool samples from patients at MSKCC collected under protocols and clinical trials. The laboratory specializes in methodologies optimized to investigate the microbial composition of human or experimental mouse samples.

We provide services ranging from nucleic acid extraction to bacterial/fungal amplicon sequencing or metagenomics using Illumina platforms in collaboration with the Integrated Genomics Operation (IGO). The MMF supports investigators pursuing basic and clinical research interests in analyzing the microbiota of the small and large intestines, feces, saliva and oral mucosal surfaces, urogenital tract, and skin.

Investigators wishing to utilize our shared facility to bank research specimens or process samples should submit all requests through iLab or submit inquiries via email to Ana Gradissimo at [email protected] . External investigators can also use our iLab account for request submission.

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Services

Publications

Abate M, Vos E, Gonen M, Janjigian Y, Schattner M, Laszkowska M, Tang L, Maron S, Coit D, Vardhana S, Vanderbilt C, Strong V. A Novel Microbiome Signature in Gastric Cancer. Ann Surg 2022 Oct; 276(4):605-615. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005587

Smith M, Dai A, Ghilardi G, Amelsberg KV, Devlin SM, Pajarillo R, Slingerland JB, Beghi S, Herrera PS, Giardina P, Clurman A, Dwomoh E, Armijo G, Gomes ALC, Littmann ER, Schluter J, Fontana E, Taur Y, Park JH, Palomba ML, Halton E, Ruiz J, Jain T, Pennisi M, Afuye AO, Perales MA, Freyer CW, Garfall A, Gier S, Nasta S, Landsburg D, Gerson J, Svoboda J, Cross J, Chong EA, Giralt SA, Gill SI, Riviere I, Porter DL, Schuster SJ, Sadelain M, Frey N, Brentjens RJ, June CH, Pamer EG, Peled JU, Facciabene A, van den Brink MRM, Ruella M. Gut Microbiome Correlates of Response and Toxicity Following Anti-CD19 CAR T Cell Therapy. Nat Med 2022 Oct; 28:713-723. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-01702-9

Zegarra-Ruiz DF, Kim DV, Norwood K, Kim M, Wu WJH, Saldana-Morales FB, Hill AA, Majumdar S, Orozco S, Bell R, Round JL, Longman RS, Egawa T, Bettini ML, Diehl GE. Thymic Development of Gut-Microbiota-specific T Cells. Nature 2021 May; 594:413-417. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03531-1

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People

Members

Luigi Amoretti, Research Technician
Luigi Amoretti

Sr. Research Technician

Jennifer Haber

Senior Research Technician

Ariel Molina

Senior Research Technician

Alumni
Emily Fontana, Lab Manager
Emily Fontana

Lab Manager

Eric Littmann, Data Analyst
Eric Littmann

Data Analyst II

Stephanie Tong, Research Technician
Stephanie Tong

Research Technician

Roberta Wright, Research Technician
Roberta Wright

Sr. Research Technician

Zachary Kluger

Research Technician, Molecular Microbiology Facility

Zachary Kluger

Research Technician

Mergim Gjonbalaj, Research Study Assistant
Mergim Gjonbalaj

Research Study Assistant

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