Cancer Biology & Genetics Program

The Tuomas Tammela Lab

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Research

Dr. Tuomas Tammela
Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD

The Tammela lab is interested in understanding the remarkable phenotypic heterogeneity of cancer cells within tumors. We approach this question using a combination of sophisticated genetically engineered mouse models, single-cell approaches, tracing and ablation of distinct tumor cell lineages, CRISPR-mediated gene regulation, and advanced imaging techniques. We utilize the exceptional resources developed by our MSK collaborators, such as organoids and xenografts, for the translation of our findings into new treatments for human cancer. Our goal is to discover pathways that drive distinct cellular phenotypes and to develop new therapeutic concepts aimed at reducing cellular heterogeneity in tumors.

Research Projects

VIDEO | 01:57

Inside My Lab: Tuomas Tammela

Go inside the lab of Tuomas Tammela from SKI’s Cancer Biology & Genetics Program.
Video Details
Tuomas Tammela Lab

Featured News

Tuomas Tammela
At Work: Cancer Biologist Tuomas Tammela

Cancer biologist Tuomas Tammela discusses his path to becoming a cancer researcher and the focus of his lab.
Finding
Section of a lung cancer tumor in mice
A Never-Before-Seen Cell State May Explain Cancer’s Ability to Resist Drugs

Identified in mice, this unusual cell state emerges early during tumor evolution and gives tumors enormous malleability.

Publications

Marjanovic ND, Hofree M, Chan JE, Canner D, Wu K, Trakala M, Hartmann GG, Smith OC, Kim JY, Evans KV, Hudson A, Ashenberg O, Porter CBM, Bejnood A, Subramanian A, Pitter K, Yan Y, Delorey T, Phillips DR, Shah N, Chaudhary O, Tsankov A, Hollmann T, Rekhtman N, Massion PP, Poirier JT, Mazutis L, Li R, Lee JH, Amon A, Rudin CM, Jacks T, Regev A, Tammela T. Emergence of a High-Plasticity Cell State during Lung Cancer Evolution. Cancer Cell, 38(2):229-246 (2020).

Tammela T, Sanchez-Rivera FJ, Malli-Cetinbas N, Joshi NS, Helenius K, Park YK, Azimi R, Wu K, Kerper NR, Wesselhoeft RA, Gu X, Schmidt L, Cornwall-Brady M, Yilmaz ÖH, Xue W, Katajisto P, Bhutkar A, and Jacks T. A Wnt-producing niche drives proliferative potential and progression in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature, 545:355-359 (2017).

Roper J*, Tammela T*, Cetinbas N, Akkad A, Almeqdadi M, Wu K, Sánchez-Rivera F, Rickelt S, Park Y, Liang X, Oberli M, Eng G, Roghanian A, Azimi R, Kedrin D., Neupane R., Beyaz S., Sicinska E.T., Bass A., Suarez Y., Yoo J., Chen L., Taylor M.S., Zukerberg L., Katajisto P., Lees J., Deshpande V., Chen J., Hynes R.O., Langer R., Bhutkar A.J., Jacks T., Yilmaz. Ö.H. Epithelial genome editing and orthotopic transplantation models of sequential mutagenesis in colorectal cancer. Nature Biotechnology, 3:569–576 (2017).

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People

Dr. Tuomas Tammela

Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD

  • Cancer biologist Tuomas Tammela investigates cellular heterogeneity in lung and pancreatic cancers.
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • University of Helsinki, Finland: MD, PhD
646-888-2048
Office Phone

Members

Photo of Heather Alcorn
Heather Alcorn

Lab Manager

Photo of Klavdija Bastl
Klavdija Bastl

GSK Graduate Student; Harold Varmus Scholar in Cancer Biology

Jason Chan, MD, PhD
Jason Chan

Clinical Instructor

Photo of Selena Ding
Selena Ding

Research Technician

Zhuxuan Li
Zhuxuan Li

PhD Student

Photo of Chun-Hao Pan
Chun-Hao Pan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jonathan Rub
Jonathan Rub

PhD Student

Photo of Dr. Anupriya Singhal
Anupriya Singhal

Clinical Fellow

Hannah Styers
Hannah Styers

Research Technician

Carleigh Sussman, BS
Carleigh Sussman

Senior Research Technician

Stefan Torborg
Stefan Torborg

MD-PhD Student; Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F30) Fellow

Xueqian Zhuang, PhD
Xueqian Zhuang

Postdoctoral Fellow; NYSTEM Training Award at the Center for Stem Cell Biology (CSCB)

Lab Alumni
Melissa Blum, BS
Melissa Blum

M.D. Student, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Alexander Ferrena
Alexander Ferrena

Ph.D. Student, Computational Biology Program, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Olivera Grbovic-Huezo
Olivera Grbovic-Huezo

Senior Principal Scientist, Clinical Biomarker Development at Loxo Oncology/Lilly

Griffin Hartmann, BS
Griffin Hartmann

Ph.D. Student, Stanford University

Matilda Holm
Matilda Holm

Postdoctoral Fellow, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Anna Hudson
Anna Hudson

M.D./Ph.D. Student, University of Miami

Emily B. Johnson, MPH
Emily B. Johnson

Clinical Research Project Coordinator, MSKCC Pediatrics

Simon Joost, PhD
Simon Joost

Scientist II, Computational Biology, GC Therapeutics

Ken Pitter, MD, PhD
Ken Pitter

MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, OSUCCC, Columbus, Ohio

Katherine Wu, BS Senior Research Technician
Katherine Wu

M.D./Ph.D. Student, New York University

Yan Yan
Yan Yan

Assistant Professor, Wuhan Agricultural University

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Josie Robertson Investigator (2017-2022)
  • The Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award (2021)
  • Rita Allen Foundation Scholar (2020)
  • National Cancer Institute R37 MERIT Award (2020)
  • American Cancer Society Scholar (2020)
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  • V Foundation Scholar (2019)

Open Positions

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

Career Opportunities

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Research Technician

The Tammela Lab is currently seeking a qualified Research Technician. We are looking for a self-motivated, inquisitive, ambitious, and enthusiastic person who thrives in a fast-paced environment and works well as part of a team.

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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.

Tuomas Tammela discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Gerson Lehrman Group
    Provision of Services
  • Guidepoint Global Advisors
    Provision of Services

The information published here 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, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). 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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