Our Researchers

Dr. Karen Rabin has research interests in genomics and management of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with particular areas of interest in ALL in children with Down syndrome, and disparities in childhood leukemia outcomes in Latinos. Dr. Rabin is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) ALL Executive Committee, Vice Chair of ALL Biology for COG, and Vice Chair of the current COG trial AALL1731 for children with Standard Risk and Down Syndrome ALL.

Murine and human hematopoietic stem cells; genetic and epigenetic regulation and development.

The objectives of the Gramatges lab are to uncover genetic risks, such as underlying defects in telomere maintenance, that may predispose children to cancer and cancer therapy-related toxicities as well as late effects. Her research explores these associations using human samples obtained locally and in collaboration with organizations such as the Children’s Oncology Group and the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Research Interests
Molecular causes of leukemia and lymphoma
Proteomics and the deregulation of cell cycle protein degradation during the development of malignancy
Developmental Therapeutics

Dr. Karen Rabin has research interests in genomics and management of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with particular areas of interest in ALL in children with Down syndrome, and disparities in childhood leukemia outcomes in Latinos. Dr. Rabin is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) ALL Executive Committee, Vice Chair of ALL Biology for COG, and Vice Chair of the current COG trial AALL1731 for children with Standard Risk and Down Syndrome ALL.

Dr. Redell is committed to understanding and targeting mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance and relapse in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Research projects in her lab are focused on understanding the intrinsic mechanisms and extrinsic factors that lead to treatment failure. Her lab is also very interested in preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutics targeting chemoresistance pathways. As with solid tumors, individual cases of AML consist of a variety of subtypes of leukemia cells with different behaviors.

Dr. Stevens is currently researching ways to use safe, existing drugs to more effectively treat acute myeloid leukemia, or “AML.” Because the most effective currently available treatments for AML can be hard for children to tolerate, Dr. Stevens is particularly interested in examining how to use atovaquone, a common and well-tolerated drug with promising anti-cancer properties, to better treat pediatric AML. Finding new, tolerable drugs to combat AML would ease treatment side effects and save children’s lives. This has been and always will be Dr. Stevens’ ultimate goal.

Dr. Joanna Yi's translational research focuses on the pre-clinical identification and development of new, targeted small molecules for the treatment of childhood cancers with the purpose of evaluating them in clinical trials. She is especially interested in epigenetic drugs and combining them with other active agents.

Austin Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Co-Director of the Long-term Survivor Research Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center. He leads a research program focused on characterizing the acute and long-term adverse effects of pediatric cancer therapy.

Dr. Philip Lupo is a genetic epidemiologist with a focus on susceptibility to childhood cancer and congenital conditions. He is the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Epidemiology Committee and has served in various capacities in the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), including President and Chair of the Data Committee.

The ultimate goal of Dr. Lupo’s research is to discover factors that can be used in new prevention efforts and targeted interventions to limit the adverse consequences of pediatric diseases.

Dr. Melissa Richard is a genetic epidemiologist with a focus on using integrative, modern genetic-based approaches to uncover the molecular basis of disease. 

She has a particular focus on using multi-omic measures to characterize cardiometabolic traits as both a cause and consequence of health outcomes.

Her current work uses genetic epidemiologic techniques to uncover the molecular basis of disrupted metabolism in survivors of childhood cancer, as well as the influence of metabolic traits on human development.

Dr. Michael Scheurer is a molecular epidemiologist at Texas Children’s Cancer Center and in the Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Program of the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Scheurer’s research focuses on viruses and immune function as risk factors for cancer development and progression.

Dr. Jeremy Schraw is a molecular epidemiologist whose research interests include structural birth defects and childhood cancer. He uses large-scale, population-based registry data and genomics to identify risk factors for these phenotypes and to understand the basis for their co-occurrence. He has a background in nutritional epidemiology, and is also interested in how diet and body composition affect cancer risk and outcomes.

Visit her profile on BCM.edu