Nastiuk Lab Team

Our lab members come from around the world to join our efforts.

Department of Cancer Genetics and Genomics

Aerken Maolake, MD, PhD

Research Associate

Dr. Maolake is a trained urologic surgeon (Xi’an School of Medicine, China) who went on to complete a PhD studying the role of cytokines in prostate cancer metastasis at Kanazawa University in Japan. Dr. Maolake is leading our efforts on the mechanism of myokines regulating tumor growth and the tumor microenvironment.

Emily Dougherty, BS, MPH

Pre-Doctoral Candidate

Ms. Dougherty earned her undergraduate degree in biology and Masters in Public Health at the University at Lynchburg, prior to matriculating to the PhD program in Cancer Sciences at Roswell Park. Since joining the Nastiuk lab, she has developed computational biology expertise, analyzing single cell transcriptomes to identify functional myokine signaling nodes in tumors. She is extending this to spatial transcriptomic analysis of myokine signaling blockade in the tumor microenvironment in murine models, as well as both constitutive myokine signaling and changes after androgen deprivation therapy, in human specimens.

Kavin Velur Ganesan, MS

Research Associate

Mr. Genesan earned a MS in the Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics program in the Jacobs School of Medicine while in the lab. Since graduating, he has continued as a Research Associate focused on the role of the vasculature in altering the immune microenvironment of prostate tumors.

Shrey Shukla, BSc

Master's Student

Mr. Shukla is matriculated to the Biotechnology Master’s program at SUNY/UB, and is carrying out his thesis research in Dr. Kent Nastiuk’s laboratory at Roswell Park. His thesis research examines the effects of a novel therapy on the tumor biology and immune landscape of prostate cancer in mouse models.

Seth Morrison, BS

Post-Baccalaureate Trainee

Mr. Morrision is a lab as a Post-Baccalaureate trainee after graduating from of Cornell University in Biological sciences focused on genetics. Since joining the lab, he is working on deciphering the role of inflammatory cytokines and myokines in frailty, primarily in samples from our clinical trials. He is also working on generating mouse models of tumor microenvironment specific myokine loss.

Renyuan Zhang, PhD

Recent Alumna

Dr. Zhang joined the Roswell Park graduate program after completing her bachelor’s degree at Xiamen University (China) in both chemical biology and advertising. She initially quantitatively determined the effects of ADT on the prostate anatomy in a mouse model of benign prostatic hyperplasia, and followed up by functionally determining the activity of TNF in BPH. She then determined the role of TNF and CCL2 in castration-resistant recurrence of prostate cancer. The focus of her thesis employed the combination of the bioinformatic expertise she developed in combination with “wet bench” characterization of mouse model to dissect the immune suppressive changes in prostate cancers, and how these are modulated by ADT.

Jessica Herrington, BS

Recent Alumna

Ms. Herrington interned in the lab while a student at Rochester Institute of Technology in Biomedical Sciences. She then joined the lab as a Post-Baccalaureate trainee. Initially, she characterized novel targeted photoacoustic imaging agents for prostate cancer. Subsequently, she has been worked to unravel the role of myokines in frailty, primarily in samples from our clinical trials. She has since entered a physician’s assistant program.

From left: Neha Jaiswal (former post-doc), Renyuan Zhang (former PhD student), Ellen Sanders-Noonan (retired Dept. Administrator), John Krolewski (retired collaborator), Nadia Ghent (JK’s wife), Aerken Maolake (research scientist): Kent Nastiuk (photographer).

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Department of Cancer Genetics & Genomics
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Elm and Carlton Streets
Buffalo, NY 14263