PITARRESI LAB
Meet the Team
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Principal Investigator
Jason received his B.S. from SUNY Geneseo in Biochemistry, and his PhD from the Ohio State University in Biochemistry. During his PhD he studied the role of stromal fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer. He then pursued postdoctoal training in the labs of Anil K. Rustgi and Ben Z. Stanger at the University of Pennsylvania, where he uncovered new drivers of metastasis and pancreatic cancer initiation. He is now leading a research group at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Selected Honors and Awards
2023 AACR NextGen Star
2022 APA Young Investigator
2021 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
2020 Hopper-Belmont Foundation Inspiration Award
2019 AGA Bern Schwartz Research Scholar Award in Pancreatic Cancer
2017 NIH NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship
2015 NIH NRSA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship
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Postdoc
Nikita Bhalerao received her MS in Biotechnology from Maharaja Sayajirao University and PhD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she studied the role of sialyltransferases in pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis and progression.
Fun Fact: Nikita loves axe throwing! 🪓
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Graduate Student
Hau-Chian (Ethan) Chang received his BS in Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology from National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei, Taiwan. Before coming to UMass Chan for grad school, he investigated the negative regulatory mechanisms of TLR7 signaling under Prof. Li-Chung Hsu.
Fun Fact: Ethan loves baseball and is a big fan of the Yankees!
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Undergraduate Resarcher
Suheera is an undergraduate in the lab pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology and a Bachelors of Arts in Reproductive Health at UConn on the pre-medical track.
Fun fact: Suheera has been to 5 national parks, and is a big fan of all the NYT games
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Graduate Student
Calvin is a Massachusetts native and received his B.S. in Microbiology from UMass Amherst. During his post-bac years, he investigated M. tuberculosis pathogenesis at Tufts Medical School and worked at several biotechnology startups aiming to develop new medicines for the treatment of solid tumors. He has a particular passion for interrogating and augmenting the interplay between cancer cells and the immune system.
Fun Fact(s): During the warmer months you can find Calvin on the road training for his next road bike race. You should also ask about his pets; I am sure he has a few pictures to share!
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Research Associate
Yamini Ogoti received her MS in Biomedical Engineering from NYU. Prior to joining UMass, she worked at Versiti Blood Research Institute, Milwaukee wherein she studied the effects of altered Protein C pathway activity in acute and late vascular responses to radiation. She also worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center studying MDS. She brings with her 10yrs of experience.
Fun Fact: Yamini loves to travel and cook for family and friends.
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Graduate Student
Jessica Peura received her BS and MS in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering from Northeastern University and is currently pursuing her PhD at UMass Medical School. Before coming to UMass, she worked at Fulcrum Therapeutics and did internships at Pfizer and the University of Vermont.
Fun Fact: Jess is an avid hiker and recently got a puppy named Lucy (nicknamed “goose”). Their favorite local hike is Wachusett!
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Graduate Student
Paula received her BS in Biology at UMass Boston and is currently pursuing her PhD at UMass Chan Medical School. Before joining the Pitarresi lab, she worked in Victor Ambros' lab as a technician. She is co-mentored by Jessica Spinelli at UMass Chan (Spinelli lab website) and is studying the role of novel metabolites in PDAC metastasis.
Fun Fact: Paula is a foodie and loves to eat, even though she doesn’t eat a lot. Much like her novel metabolites, it is quality, not the quantity, that matters!
LAB ALUMNI
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PhD Rotation Student
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PhD Rotation Student
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PhD Rotation Student
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Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Student
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PhD Rotation Student
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Postdoc alumni
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SURP Undergraduate Student
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PhD Rotation Student
Interested in joining?
We are constantly looking for passionate and talented researchers (postdocs, graduate students, MD and MD/PhD students, undergraduates, and research technicians). Contact Dr. Pitarresi if interested.