Postdoctoral Research
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August 2017 - Present
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Pancreatic cancer has an abysmal clinical outcome due to low early detection rates, ineffective treatments, and a highly supportive surrounding environment for tumor growth. Blanket removal of the microenvironment (or stroma), however, is also problematic as this too can lead to unrestrained tumor growth. This suggests that the stroma has both tumor supporting and tumor restricting properties. What causes the stroma to act in a tumor supportive versus restrictive manner remains currently unknown. However, if we are able to harness only the natural tumor restrictive properties of pancreatic cancer’s stroma, the outcome of this disease may drastically improve.
As such, the goals for my project are three-fold. 1) To reveal the driving factor(s) promoting pancreatic cancer’s stroma’s tumor supportive nature. 2) To evaluate the consequences these factor(s) have on tumor development and progression. And 3) to understand the finer details of the underlying biology with the purpose of discovering future druggable targets. |
Publications
Meaders, C., Gardiner, J.C., Wynns, S., Nigam, S., & Harris, J. (2023). A comic-based conservation lesson plan diversifies middle school student conceptions of scientists. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 9(1), 20-45. doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2023.127
Raghavan, K.S., Francescone, R. Franco-Barraza, J. Gardiner, J.C., Vendramini-Costa, D.B., Luong, T. Pourmani, N., Andren, A., Kurimchak, A., Ogier, C., Duncan, J.S., Lyssiotis, C.A., Languino, L.R., Cukierman, E. (2022). NetrinG1+ cancer-associated fibroblasts generate unique extracellular vesicles that support the survival of pancreatic cancer cells under nutritional stress. Cancer Research Communications. doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-21-0147
Gardiner, J.C., Cukierman, E. (2022). Meaningful connections: Interrogating the role of physical fibroblast cell-cell communication in cancer. Advances in Cancer Research. Academic Press. Book Chapter. doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2022.01.004
Alexander, J.I., Vendramini-Costa, D.B., Francescone, R. Luong, T., Franco-Barraza, J., Shah N., Gardiner, J.C., Nicolas, E., Raghavan, K.S., Cukierman, E. (2021). Palladin isoforms 3 and 4 regulate cancer-associated fibroblast pro-tumor functions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Scientific Reports doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82937-3
Gardiner, J.C., Raghavan, K., Alexander, J.I., Franco-Barraza, J., Cukierman, E. 2019. ‘Fibroblastic Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrices: A Cell Culturing System to Model Key Aspects of the Tumor Microenvironment’ in Decellularized Extracellular Matrix: Characterization, Fabrication, and Applications. Royal Society for Chemistry. Book Chapter. Pages 305-327. doi.org/10.1039/9781788015998-00305
Raghavan, K.S., Francescone, R. Franco-Barraza, J. Gardiner, J.C., Vendramini-Costa, D.B., Luong, T. Pourmani, N., Andren, A., Kurimchak, A., Ogier, C., Duncan, J.S., Lyssiotis, C.A., Languino, L.R., Cukierman, E. (2022). NetrinG1+ cancer-associated fibroblasts generate unique extracellular vesicles that support the survival of pancreatic cancer cells under nutritional stress. Cancer Research Communications. doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-21-0147
Gardiner, J.C., Cukierman, E. (2022). Meaningful connections: Interrogating the role of physical fibroblast cell-cell communication in cancer. Advances in Cancer Research. Academic Press. Book Chapter. doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2022.01.004
Alexander, J.I., Vendramini-Costa, D.B., Francescone, R. Luong, T., Franco-Barraza, J., Shah N., Gardiner, J.C., Nicolas, E., Raghavan, K.S., Cukierman, E. (2021). Palladin isoforms 3 and 4 regulate cancer-associated fibroblast pro-tumor functions in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Scientific Reports doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82937-3
Gardiner, J.C., Raghavan, K., Alexander, J.I., Franco-Barraza, J., Cukierman, E. 2019. ‘Fibroblastic Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrices: A Cell Culturing System to Model Key Aspects of the Tumor Microenvironment’ in Decellularized Extracellular Matrix: Characterization, Fabrication, and Applications. Royal Society for Chemistry. Book Chapter. Pages 305-327. doi.org/10.1039/9781788015998-00305