Memorial Hospital Research Laboratories

The Paul Romesser Lab

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Research

MSK radiation oncologist Paul Romesser
Paul Romesser, MD
Assistant Attending

Research of the Paul Romesser Laboratory focuses on three main concepts. First is the characterization of the processes of senescence. This includes senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) induction and tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling in response to radiation. Similarly, we seek to investigate pathways responsible for the anti-tumor immunomodulatory effects seen with radiation induced senescence. Harmonizing these together, we work to exploit senescence therapeutically to push the body’s immune response towards tumor rejection. As a radiation oncologist, the research we perform represents translational work that will improve therapeutic options for patients with colorectal cancer. Our close collaboration with surgical oncologist J. Joshua Smith, Chief of Colorectal Service Julio Garcia-Aguilar, and Chair of Radiation Oncology Simon Powell, has allowed us to develop various clinical trials that parallel the laboratory research we perform. This scientific inquiry is supported using our rectal cancer organoid models that recapitulate the myriad physiological characteristics of this disease. In doing so, this allows us to better understand the mechanisms by which radiation response in colorectal cancer occurs in immunocompromised and immunocompetent settings.

Publications Highlights

Romesser PB and Lowe SW. The Potent and Paradoxical Biology of Cellular Senescence in Cancer. Annual Review of Cancer Biology. 2023. Vol. 7: 207-228. Available from: doi: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-061421-124434.

Kim JK, Wu C, Del Latto M, Gao Y, Choi S, Kierstead M, Sauvé CG, Firat C, Chaves Perez A, Sillanpaa J, Chen C, Lawrence KE, Paty PB, Barriga FM, Wilkinson JE, Shia J, Sawyers CL, Lowe SW, García-Aguilar J, Romesser PB, and Smith JJ. An Immunocompetent Rectal Cancer Model to Study Radiation Therapy. Cell Reports Methods. 2022. Vol. 2 (12): 100353. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100353.

Falcone M, Uribe AH, Papalazarou V, Newman AC, Athineos D, Stevenson K, Sauvé CG, Gao Y, Kim JK, Del Latto M, Kierstead M, Wu C, Smith JJ, Romesser PB, Chalmers AJ, Blyth K, and Maddocks ODK. British Journal of Cancer. 2022. Vol. 127: 1773-1786. Available from: doi: 10.1038/s41416-022-01965-6.

Romesser PB, Kim AS, Jeong J, Mayle A, Dow LE, and Lowe SW. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019. Vol. 116 (41): 20672-20678. Avaialble from: doi: 10.1073/pnas.1906611116.

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People

MSK radiation oncologist Paul Romesser

Paul Romesser, MD

Assistant Attending

  • The Romesser lab studies colorectal and anal cancer with a focus on using radiotherapy to treat disease.
[email protected]
Email Address
646-888-2117
Office Phone
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Physician profile

Members

Michael Del Latto

Research Lab Manager

Sara Flowers

Research Technician

Maria Kierstead

Visiting Graduate Student

Satoru Meguro

Visiting Investigator

Lab Alumni
Amanda Kim

Senior Research Technician

Lab Affiliations

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

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members 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.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members 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.

Paul Romesser discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • 10x Genomics
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • EMD Serono, Inc
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Faeth Therapeutics, Inc
    Professional Services and Activities
  • HPV Alliance
    Professional Services and Activities
  • HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Natera Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • XRad Therapeutics
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)

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, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). 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].


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