2021 Professional Day Meet your Alumni

Art Shaffer, Ph.D., Associate Director, Hematologic Malignancy Target Discovery, AstraZeneca started his career as an immunologist, studying B cell development at Johns Hopkins University, where he got his PhD with Mark Schlissel in 1996. He next moved to the laboratory of Louis Staudt at the NCI, applying his knowledge of immune cells to understanding B cell lymphoma. By applying then-novel DNA microarray technology, in collaboration with the laboratories of well-known immunologists like Katherine Calame, Laurie Glimcher, and Harinder Singh, he elucidated the roles of key B cell transcription factors like BCL6, BLIMP1, XBP1, and IRF4 in normal and malignant B cell biology.

In recent years, as a Staff Scientist, then Senior Associate Scientist at NCI, he has focused more on discovering novel therapeutic strategies to attack both primary and treatment-resistant lymphoma. In addition, he has devoted his time to enriching the intramural program through being a perennial member of the Immunology Interest Group Steering Committee and as the co-chair of the NIH Assembly of Scientists. He has recently moved to AstraZeneca to pursue new opportunities to expand his efforts to treat aggressive hematologic malignancies.

Michael Difilippantonio, Ph.D., Program Officer received his B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a Certificate in Cytogenetics from the University of Connecticut, and his Ph.D. in Genetics at Yale University where he studied the role of the RAG1 & RAG2 proteins in V(D)J recombination of T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin gene loci in developing lymphocytes under the mentorship of Dr. David G. Schatz. His career at NIH began in 1998 as a post-doctoral fellow in the intramural laboratory of Dr. Thomas Ried, applying cutting-edge molecular cytogenetic techniques to the study of colorectal cancer, chromosome missegregation and the role of aberrant DNA damage repair in tumorigenesis. Dr. Difilippantonio became a Staff Scientist in

2001, subsequently transitioning to the NCI extramural Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) as a Program Manager in 2010 where he was involved in implementation of the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program. In addition to being a Project Lead for one drug discovery and one drug development project currently in Phase I trials in the NIH Clinical Center, and the many administrative and budgetary roles for which he is responsible within the Office of the Director for the Division, Dr. Difilippantonio is certified as a COR Level III and is currently the Program Officer responsible for oversight of the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research (FNLCR) activities funded by DCTD.

Ana I. Robles, Ph.D. Program Director in the Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research (OCCPR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). A cancer biologist, she provides scientific management, leadership and oversight to large-scale proteogenomics programs, including the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), and the International Cancer Proteogenome Consortium (ICPC). Prior to joining OCCPR, Dr. Robles was an Associate Scientist at the NCI, focused on molecular epidemiology and the identification and functional characterization of lung cancer biomarkers. Her studies aimed to integrate genomic, epigenetic, transcriptomic and microbiome data generated in well-characterized patient populations to improve patient stratification into risk categories and illuminate lung cancer biology.

Dr. Robles has co-authored 3 book chapters and over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is member of journal Editorial Boards. Throughout her career at the NCI, Dr. Robles has mentored over 40 students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows. She received the NCI Director’s Innovation Award for her work leveraging DNA methylation for diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer, and numerous mentoring and travel awards. Dr. Robles completed undergraduate training in Chemistry at University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, holds a Ph.D. degree in Cancer Biology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas, and completed postdoctoral training in the NCI Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis.

Christophe Marchand, Ph.D., obtained his PhD in Molecular Pharmacology in 1997 from the University of Paris, Pierre & Marie Curie, in the area of gene therapy via DNA triple helix formation. In 1998, he joined the Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology at the NCI as a Visiting Fellow where he was appointed Staff Scientist in 2006. In 2014, he was promoted to Senior Staff Scientist (NIH Associate Scientist) in the Developmental Therapeutics Branch. In 2016, Dr. Marchand became a Health Scientist Administrator at the Center for Research Strategy within the Office of the Director at the NCI. During his 25 years of bench work, Dr. Marchand has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and holds 23 patents. He is a recipient of three NCI Director’s Innovation Awards and 14 Federal Technology Transfer Awards for the development of new classes of antiviral and anticancer drugs. He is also the recipient of a competitive NIH R03 grant for a trans-NIH high-throughput screening effort. Dr. Marchand has

been leading the Professional Development Committee of the NCI Staff Scientists and Staff Clinicians Organization from 2011 to 2016 and has been involved in capacity building at the institute level ever since.

Even Walseng, Ph.D. is currently working on bi-specific antibodies in the Antigen Discovery and Protein Engineering department in AstraZeneca. Previously he worked as a staff scientist in the Experimental Immunology Branch at the National Institutes of Health, where his focus was MHC-II antigen processing and presentation. Prior to joining the NIH, Even was a Sr. Research Associate at Scripps Research Institute, where he spent his time studying and developing a new platform of programmable bi-specific antibodies used to redirect T cells to target cancer cells. Earlier, he held a postdoc position at the University Hospital of Oslo; here, he worked to isolate and develop therapeutic T-cell receptors, publishing a novel method of creating soluble TCRs. Even holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology

from the University of Oslo.

Dona Love, PhD is a program officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and manages research grants related to medical mycology. This portfolio encompasses the genetics, genomics, biochemistry, host-pathogen interactions and preclinical animal studies of the major human fungal pathogens. Before joining the institute, she served as a scientific review officer at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Love received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Temple University School of Medicine and did postdoctoral research in glycobiology and genetics at NIH’s National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Love’s research has covered a variety of topics including host-pathogen interactions, nutrient sensing, and chromatin remodeling.

Suneet Shukla, Ph.D., is currently Senior Pharmacologist and Acting Team Leader at the Office of Clinical Pharmacology in CDER, FDA. Dr Shukla is a pharmacist by educational training and got his Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India where he studied drug transporters, and their role in cancer drug resistance, fungal infections and altering ADME-toxicity of drugs. After graduation, he continued to pursue his research interest in drug transporters for over 10 years at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH where he completed his postdoctoral training and was later appointed Staff Scientist. He then joined FDA’s Office of New Drug Product Development where his responsibilities included the review of INDs,

NDAs, ANDAs, PMAs and other regulatory submissions from a biopharmaceutics/pharmacology perspective. He then moved to the Office of Generic Drugs as Senior Pharmacologist and was involved in assessing the bioequivalence studies submitted for approval of generic drugs. His current works involves assessing and providing regulatory recommendations for the new drug applications or investigational drugs (both small molecules and biologics), which are submitted to FDA for approval, from clinical pharmacology perspective.

Dr Shukla is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Anticancer Research updates, serves as a peer reviewer for several journals, has published several highly cited research and review articles and has received patents and scientific awards. He has served on panels evaluating research grants submitted to NIH and FDA, mentored several undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral trainees He has participated as member for guidance development working group, PBPK best practice working group and Scientific Interest Group (SIG) on drug transporters at FDA and has served as the lead instructor of the medical pharmacology course at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School, NIH.

Brunilde Gril Ph.D. M.P.S. is a Program Director at National Cancer Institute (NCI)I received her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 2006, from the University of Paris Rene Descartes, France. The same year, I joined the laboratory of Dr. Steeg, Women’s Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, as a visiting fellow. I was appointed staff scientist in 2013. I worked on translational research investigating brain metastases of breast cancer with a multifocal approach for fourteen years. The overarching theme of my research was on characterizing the blood-tumor barrier, identifying molecular targets, deciphering signaling pathways, and preclinical testing of developmental therapeutics in mouse models. My work has involved successful collaborations with pharmacologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and breast cancer advocates. These collaborations enabled me to

see brain metastatic diseases from multiple angles, providing me with a perspective of the complexities associated with translational research.

In parallel, I developed an interest in psychoneuroimmunology. In 2012, I received the NCI Director’s Intramural Innovation Award for my proposal, entitled “Transdisciplinary approach to study a mechanistic role of stress in breast cancer progression,” investigating the role of psychological stress on breast cancer metastasis progression. I established a mentoring relationship with Paige Green, Ph.D., Chief of the Basic Biobehavioral and Psychological Sciences Branch, in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. In 2017, I received a master’s degree in Clinical Psychological Science, from the University of Maryland, while still maintaining my full-time position at NCI. I have a clinical protocol open in collaboration with the Neuro-Oncology Branch. The goal is to evaluate psychological adjustment and coping strategies to optimize well-being among patients with brain tumors, correlating psychological dispositions to immune response.

I believe that the source of happiness and fulfillment is to develop a life purpose beyond our self-interest. Mentoring and encouraging people to develop their full potential are important aspects of my work. I have mentored several post-bac students, Ph.D. students, and post-doctorate fellows. I joined the SRK program as a mentor in 2017. In 2017, I received the NCI Staff Scientists and Staff Clinicians Outstanding Mentor Award. I was elected as an SS representative for the CCR Women Scientific Advisors (WSA). As a WSA and SRK mentor, I worked on increasing mentoring opportunities and helping women navigate their careers with confidence, developing competence and credibility while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I was a member of the CCR Staff Scientist/Staff Clinician professional development committee. In 2019, I co-founded the SS/SC-OD Liaison to improve and maintain communication with the CCR leadership.

In April 2021, I transitioned to the extramural world of the NCI. I am now a program director in the Tumor Metastasis Branch, Division of Cancer Biology. I manage a grant portfolio and advocate for transdisciplinary and systems-level approaches to understand basic mechanisms of cancer progression.