Laura A. Martello-Rooney, PhD

Education and Training:

Positions held:

• Research Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (2022 - )

• Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (2009 - 2022)
• Research Scientist, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY (2005 - 2008)

Postdoctoral Fellowship:

• Molecular Oncology, New York University School of Medicine, NY (2002 - 2005)

Graduate School:

• PhD Biological Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (2001)

Career / Research Interests:

My previous backgrounds in gastrointestinal diseases and more extensively in molecular oncology have now merged in my role as Director of GI Research. The GI Research laboratory is focused on translational research projects with an emphasis on pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and cancer health disparities. Pancreatic and colon cancer are a primary focus due to the African American population predominant at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University/Kings County Hospital Center having a higher incidence of these cancers. Current projects involve generating patient-derived organoids from African American patient's colon and pancreatic tumors as well as performing genomic and transcriptomic sequencing in collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and will be crucial to understanding the disease at the molecular and cellular level. In addition, we have projects investigating the oral/gut microbiome in colon cancer, testing a novel drug delivery approach for pancreatic tumors utilizing mouse models of pancreatic cancer, and analyzing the cytokine profile of pancreatic cyst fluid underscoring our commitment to pursuing multiple directions in GI cancer research.

• Tortora SC, Agurto MG, Martello LA. The oral-gut-circulatory axis: from homeostasis to colon cancer. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 2023 Nov 8;13:1289452. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1289452.
• Spagnardi M, Paredes J, Zabaleta J, Garai J, Reyes T, Martello LA, Williams JL. IL-1b enhances cell viability and decreases 5-FU sensitivity in novel colon cancer cell lines derived from African American patients. Frontiers in Oncology 2022 Dec 1;12:1010380. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1010380. eCollection 2022.
• Tortora SC, Bodiwala VM, Quinn A, Martello LA, Vignesh S. Microbiome and colorectal carcinogenesis: Linked mechanisms and racial differences. World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology 2022 Feb 15;14(2):375-395.
• Paredes J, Zabaleta J, Garai J, Ji P, Imtiaz S, Spagnardi M, Alvarado J, Li L, Akadri M, Barrera K, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Gupta R, Alshal M, Talus H, Wang X, Carethers JM, Williams J, Martello LA. Immune-Related Gene Expression and Cytokine Secretion is Reduced Among African American Colon Cancer Patients. Frontiers in Oncology 2020 Sep 2;10:1498. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01498. eCollection 2020.
• Agrawal R, Chen M, Bukhari Z, Ogunwobi OO, Haseeb MA, Martello LA. EZH2 Downregulation Augments the Effect of Irradiation in Reducing Pancreatic Cancer Cell Proliferation in vitro. Annals Clinical and Laboratory Science 2020 Jan;50(1):45-56.
• Siu L, Paredes J, Kurbatov V, Ramachandran R, Serafini F, Grossman E, Gress F, Martello L. Clinical Utility of Cytokine Biomarker Analysis of Pancreatic Cyst Fluid Obtained by Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine Needle Aspiration: A Pilot Study. Pancreas 2019 Sep; 48(8):e60-e61. doi: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000001365.
• Caceres J, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Hossian AKMN, Paredes J, Barrera K, Mattheolabakis G, Martello L, Vignesh S. Evaluation of the feasibility of intrapancreatic delivery of drug-loaded microparticles via EUS-guided fine-needle injection using a swine model. Endoscopy International Open 2019 Aug; 7(8):E1008-E1017. doi: 10.1055/a-0953-2070. Epub 2019 Aug 8.
• David Y, Ottaviano L, Park J, Iqbal S, Likhtshteyn M, Kumar S, Lyo H, Lewis AE, Lung BE, Frye JT, Huang L, Li E, Yang J, Martello L, Vignesh S, Miller JD, Follen M, Grossman EB. Confounders in Adenoma Detection at Initial Screening Colonoscopy: A Factor in the Assessment of Racial Disparities as a Risk for Colon Cancer. Journal of Cancer Therapy 2019 Apr;10(4):269-289. doi: 10.4236/jct.2019.104022. Epub 2019 Apr 9.
• Reddy A, Amarnani A, Chen M, Dynes S, Flores B, Moshchinsky A, Lee YJ, Kurbatov V, Shapira I, Vignesh S, Martello L. Privacy Concerns About Personal Health Information and Fear of Unintended Use of Biospecimens Impact Donations by African American Patients. Journal of Cancer Education 2019 Mar 7. doi: 10.1007/s13187-019-01491-9. [Epub ahead of print].
• Paredes J, Ji P, LaComb, JF, Shroyer KR, Martello L, Williams JL. Establishment of Three Novel Cell Lines Derived from African American Colorectal Carcinomas: A Unique Tool for Assessing of Racial Health Disparity. International Journal of Oncology 2018 Oct; 53(4):1516-1528. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2018.4510. Epub 2018 Jul 31.
• Tiriac H, Belleau P, Engle DD, et al., Martello L, et al., Gallinger S, Tuveson DA (70 authors). Organoid profiling parallels therapeutic response in pancreatic cancer patients. Cancer Discovery 2018 Sep; 8(9):1112-1129. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-0349. Epub 2018 May 31.
• Tiriac H, Bucobo JC, Tzimas D, Grewel S, Lacomb JF, Rowehl LM, Nagula S, Wu M, Kim J, Sasson A, Vignesh S, Martello L, Munoz-Sagastibelza M, Somma J, Tuveson DA, Li E, Buscaglia JM. (2018) Successful creation of pancreatic cancer organoids by means of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy for personalized cancer treatment. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 2018 Jun; 87(6):1474-1480. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2017.12.032. Epub 2018 Jan 9.