
Drs. Commisso and Zhang Present at AACR
September 30, 2021
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This year's AACR conference on Pancreatic Cancer was held virtually and featured Dr. Cosimo Commisso as the Session Keynote for the Metabolism and Ras Signaling session. Dr. Yijuan Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Commisso lab, also presented a poster. It was a great two days of exciting and informative pancreatic cancer research. Hopefully see everybody next time in person!
A New "Achilles' Heel" of Cancer?
May 13, 2021
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Could the Golgi apparatus represent a 'proton sink' in cancer? Dr. Koen Galenkamp, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Commisso lab, explores this idea in a new Hypothesis and Theory article. The idea that acidic organelles support tumorigenesis by helping cancer cells maintain their intracellular pH is an exciting new area of research. Check it out!
Paper Published in Cancer Discovery
March 9, 2021
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Research led by Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Yijuan Zhang is published in Cancer Discovery. This paper demonstrates that macropinocytosis functions in the pancreatic tumor stroma to support cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) cell metabolic fitness and PDAC tumor growth. Check it out!
Dr. Yijuan Zhang awarded T32 Fellowship
January 9, 2021
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Congratulations to Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Yijuan Zhang for being awarded a T32 Fellowship to study cancer targets that regulate macropinocytosis in the pancreatic tumor stroma. We're very proud of you Yijuan!!
Paper Published in Journal of Experimental Medicine
June 8, 2020
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Research led by Staff Scientist Dr. Vicky Recouvreux is published in Journal of Experimental Medicine. This paper demonstrates that glutamine depletion in pancreatic tumors leads to EMT and metastiasis through the transcription factor Slug. Check it out!

Paper Published in Cancer Discovery
March 24, 2020
Research led by Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Koen Galenkamp is published in Cancer Discovery. This paper provides insight into how intracellular pH is regulated in pancreatic cancer. Check it out!
Dr. Koen Galenkamp Awarded TRDRP Fellowship
January 2, 2020
Congratulations to Koen Galenkamp, a postdoctoral trainee in the laboratory for being awarded a 3-year fellowship from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program for his work on pH homeostasis in pancreatic cancer. We are very proud of you Koen!

Happy Holidays!!!
December 21, 2019
The lab headed over to Ballast Point Brewery with our friends from the Emerling lab to partake in some holiday cheer!


Paper Published in Developmental Cell
June 27, 2019
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Research led by Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Szu-Wei Lee is published in Developmental Cell. This paper provides mechanistic and biological insight into inducible and constitutive forms of macropinocytosis in pancreatic tumors. Check it out!
Macropinocytosis Review Published in Trends in Cancer
May 20, 2019
The signaling events leading to macropinocytic induction in cancer cells are very complex. Dr. Yijuan Zhang, a Postdoctoral Associate in the lab has just published a review on this interesting topic. Check it out:
Published Book Chapters on Macropinocytosis
February 18, 2019
In a series of manuscripts, we have provided updated technical approaches to study macropinocytosis in cancer. The first appears in Cancer Metabolism: Methods and Protocols and describes how to quantify macropinocytosis in vitro. The second is published in Pancreatic Cancer: Methods and Protocols and describes how to detect and quantify macropinosomes in vivo.
Szu-Wei is awarded T32 Fellowship
January 20, 2019
Congratulations to Szu-Wei Lee, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Commisso lab for being awarded a T32 Fellowship for her work on macropinocytosis targets in pancreatic cancer. The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) (T32) supports grants to institutions to develop or enhance research training opportunities for pre and postdoctoral fellows to be trained in cancer research. Very proud of you Szu-Wei!!!

17th Annual SBP Postdoctoral Research Symposium
September 25, 2018
The Commisso laboratory had a great showing at this year's Postdoctoral Research Symposium. Yijuan Zhang did a great job presenting her poster about macropinocytosis in the tumor stroma and Koen Galenkamp presented some of his work focused on pancreatic cancer as part of his official Fishman Fund award. It was an awesome event!




Koen awarded 2018 Fishman Fund Career Development Award
August 9, 2018
Congratulations to Koen Galenkamp, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, for being awarded the 2018 Fishman Fund Career Development Award!! The Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute’s founders, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman, appreciated the important impact that postdoctoral scholars have on medical research, and were dedicated to fostering the career development of young scientists at the Institute. Established in that commitment to professional growth, the Fishman Fund Career Development Awards are granted each year to outstanding SBP postdocs with clear visions for their careers and decided plans for achieving their professional goals. This award provides financial support for the pursuit of professional development activities toward those career goals.

Victoria wins 2017 Eric Dudl Scholarship
November 20, 2017
Vicky Recouvreux, a postdoctoral fellow in the Commisso Lab, was awarded the Eric Dudl Scholarship, recognizing postdoctoral excellence in cancer research. She was presented the award by Dr. Garth Powis, the SBP Cancer Center Director at our annual Cancer Center Open House on November 9. Congratulations to Vicky for the well-deserved award! Click here to read the SBP Beaker Blog post written about Vicky's award.


16th Annual SBP Postdoctoral Research Symposium
September 22, 2017
The lab had a great showing at our annual SBP Postdoctoral Research Symposium. Congratulations to our very own Koen for taking home the 1st prize for his poster presentation. Great job!!


Koen Galenkamp

Szu-Wei Lee

Vicky Recouvreux
Lab Happy Hour
July 13, 2017
Cheers to the summer! The Commisso Lab enjoyed a few margaritas and tacos at En Fuego in Del Mar, California. We said farewell to Nathalia who joined the lab on Day 1 and we wish her well in her new biotech position!! We also welcomed Yijuan to the lab, our newest Postdoctoral Associate that is studying new ways to improve pancreatic cancer therapies.

SBP Beaker Blog
October 11, 2016
Congratulations to Nathalia Cruz for her heartfelt and informative blog post about PurpleStride San Diego.
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You can read her blog entry here!!!

PurpleStride San Diego
October 5, 2016
On October 2, the Commisso Lab participated in PurpleStride San Diego, a fundraising and awareness event organized by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. We raised money for this amazing cause together with our colleagues at SBP Medical Discovery Institute. Here are some photos from the event!






Waging Hope Toward 2020
September 1, 2016
On August 19-20, grantees gathered for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA. The sessions were filled with exciting new research in pancreatic cancer and advances in therapy. For the second year in a row, the scientific conference was held jointly with the annual volunteer meeting and it was a huge success. Join us on October 2, 2016 as we help raise funds for PanCAN at PurpleStride San Diego, a major fundraising event.


Left: Waging hope with Dr. Rushika Perera (UCSF) and Dr. Jennifer Bailey (UT Houston).
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Above: Southwestern theme volunteer and scientist event with Dr. Jonathan Brody (Thomas Jefferson) and Dr. Michael Vansaun (U of Miami).
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Biotech All-Stars: San Diego Padres
August 2, 2016
Our work was highlighted and honored by the San Diego Padres in their Biotech All-Stars series. Thanks to the Padres for the opportunity and for a great evening.
Our work was highlighted and honored by the San Diego Padres in their Biotech All-Stars series. Thanks to the Padres for the opportunity and for a great evening.

The NIH RAS Initiative: RAS Dialogue
June 6, 2016
Understanding the role of tumor heterogeneity in tumor progression and therapy is an important topic in cancer biology. Read Dr. Commisso's RAS Dialogue blog entry about metabolic heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer.
PurpleStride San Diego
September 20, 2015
The Commisso Lab was honored to take part in PurpleStride San Diego to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. Our team name was SBP Discovery and we managed to raise just over $800 for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. It was a really sunny day and we had a great time at Mission Bay Park. See everybody next year!!!

National Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Day
Advocacy Day 2015 took place on June 22 and 23 in the heart of Washington, D.C., with approximately 600 participants in attendance. Dr. Commisso was honored to be one of the scientists representing pancreatic cancer researchers. It was a day full of tears, joy and summer heat. It was a pleasure to meet all the survivors and families that participated, especially those from our California delegation! Thank you to California Members of Congress Scott Peters and Lois Capps for your continued support of NIH-funded cancer research.
July 8, 2015



