Cancer Biology & Genetics Program

The Andrea Ventura Lab

Research

Andrea Ventura, MD, PhD

We use a combination of in vivo, in vitro, biochemical, and computational approaches to investigate various aspects of human cancer and development. Three broad biological domains we are currently exploring include extrachromosomal circular DNAs (ecDNAs), chromosomal rearrangements, and non-coding RNAs. In addition, we are making mechanistic insights into relevant cancer pathways via high-throughput genetic screens. To learn more, please see below or visit our webpage at: www.venturalaboratory.com.

View Lab Overview

Research Projects

Featured News

At Work: Cancer Biologist Andrea Ventura

Andrea Ventura’s research is focused on microRNA expression, as he seeks to understand how small RNAs act on genes to promote or suppress cancer.

In the Lab

Disorderly DNA: Researchers Simulate a Common Cause of Lung Cancer

MSK scientists have created a mouse model that replicates a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer caused by a chromosomal rearrangement.

Video

A Look Inside the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center

Watch our scientists discuss how the Geoffrey Beene Center helped Memorial Sloan Kettering establish a progressive approach to modern cancer research.

View All Featured News

Publications Highlights

Davide Pradella, Minsi Zhang1, Rui Gao, Melissa A. Yao, Katarzyna M. Gluchowska, Ylenia Cendon-Florez, Tanmay Mishra, Gaspare La Rocca, Moritz Weigl, Ziqi Jiao, Hieu H. M. Nguyen, Marta Lisi, Mateusz M. Ozimek, Chiara Mastroleo, Kevin Chen, Felix Grimm, Jens Luebeck, Shu Zhang, Andrea Alice Zolli, Eric G. Sun, Bhargavi Dameracharla, Zhengqiao Zhao, Yuri Pritykin, Carlie Sigel, Howard Y. Chang, Paul S. Mischel, Vineet Bafna, Cristina R. Antonescu & Andrea Ventura. Engineered extrachromosomal oncogene amplifications promote tumorigenesis. Nature 637, 955–964 (2025). PMID: 39695225.

Li X, Pritykin Y, Concepcion CP, Lu Y, La Rocca G, Zhang M, King B, Cook PJ, Au YW, Popow O, Paulo JA, Otis HG, Mastroleo C, Ogrodowski P, Schreiner R, Haigis KM, Betel D, Leslie CS, Ventura A. High-Resolution In Vivo Identification of miRNA Targets by Halo-Enhanced Ago2 Pull-Down. Molecular Cell 2020 May 29: S1097-2765(20)30310-5. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.05.009. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32497496.

Perez, A.&, Pritykin, Y.&, Vidigal, J.&*, Chhangawala, S., Zamparo, L., Leslie, C.*, and Ventura, A. GuideScan software for improved single and paired CRISPR guide RNA design. Nature Biotechnology 2017 Apr;35(4):347-349. PMID: 28263296. PMCID: PMC5607865 (* corresponding authors, & equally contributing authors)

Danilo Maddalo, Eusebio Manchado, Carla P. Concepcion, Ciro Bonetti, Joana A. Vidigal, Yoon-Chi Han, Paul Ogrodowski, Alessandra Crippa, Natasha Rekhtman, Elisa de Stanchina, Scott W. Lowe, and Andrea Ventura. In vivo engineering of oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements with the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Nature (2014) NIHMS:NIHMS632589 PMID: PMID: 25337876.

View All Publications

People

Andrea Ventura, MD, PhD

Cancer biologist Andrea Ventura studies DNA structural rearrangements and non-coding RNAs in cancer and development.
MD, Catholic University of Rome (Italy)
PhD, European Institute of Oncology (Milan Italy), Open University (London, UK)
Postdoctoral, Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

[email protected]: Email Address
646-888-3068: Office Phone
Download CV: PDF File

Members

Andrea Ventura

Giorgia Alessio

Visiting Graduate Student

Ylenia Cendon Florez

Research Scholar

Ziqi Jiao

GSK Graduate Student

Chiara Mastroleo

Research Technician, Sr.

Jayden McDonald

MSK Bridge Program Scholar

Tanmay Mishra

WCGS Graduate Student

Mateusz Ozimek

Research Technician

Eric Sun

MD/PhD Student

Sara Tavella

Research Associate

Yu Xia

Research Technician

Melissa Yao

GSK Graduate Student

Minsi Zhang

Assistant Attending

Stephanie Cervino

Administrative Assistant

Francesca Infante

Administrative Assistant

Paul Ogrodowski

Senior Associate Scientist at Regeneron

Ciro Bonetti

Fellow Scientist at Regeneron

Carla P. Concepcion

Assistant Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Joana DeCampos Vidigal

Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute

Raymond Wu

Healthcare Equity Research Associate at Ladenburg Thalmann in New York, NY

Ram Kannan

Director at Schrödinger

Xiaoyi Li

Assistant Professor at Westlake University

Danilo Maddalo

Senior Principal Scientist at Genentech

Turgut Dogruluk

Senior Clinical Genomics Scientist at BillionToOne

Rui Gao

Analytics Engineer at Vanguard Charitable

Yoon-Chi Han

Recursion Pharmaceuticals

Kim Huensuk

Senior Research Scientist at Arnivas

Ji Eun Lee

Postdoc

Ping Mu

Associate Professor of Urology and Pathology at the Yale School of Medicine

Davide Pradella

Research Associate

Moritz Weigl

Research Scholar

Evelyn Yao

Senior Clinical Scientist at Genentech

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Career Opportunities

Apply now

Get in Touch

[email protected]

Lab Head Email
646-888-3068

Office Phone
646-422-0871

Office Fax
646-888-3069

Lab Phone

Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Andrea Ventura discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].

View all disclosures