{"id":2300,"date":"2024-09-18T10:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T14:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/?page_id=2300"},"modified":"2025-01-27T12:36:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T17:36:26","slug":"meet-the-lab","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/meet-the-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, MBA, FRCP (Lon.), FAAN, FANA\u00a0<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2405 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Soma Sengupta\" width=\"241\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-261x300.jpg 261w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-891x1024.jpg 891w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-768x883.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-1336x1536.jpg 1336w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-1782x2048.jpg 1782w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/11\/SS-headshot2024.2025-600x690.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/directory\/soma-sengupta-md-phd-frcp-faan-fana\/\">Dr. Soma Sengupta<\/a> is a neuro-oncologist, physician-scientist, integrative oncologist and an academic leader focused on designing and studying therapeutics, designing digital technologies with AI and designing clinical trials.\u00a0 Soma has a long-standing interest in clinically relevant membrane transport proteins. She completed both her doctoral research and medical training at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, U.K.). During her PhD on a fungal transporter, she conducted research at the CNRS, Strasbourg France. During post-doctoral research, she worked on an ATPase at Yale University under Carolyn Slayman. Soma also completed research training in immunology focused on the TAP transporter with Paul Lehner at the CIMR (Cambridge, U.K.). Clinically, Soma completed a residency (Neurology) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a fellowship (neuro-oncology) in the Partners program (Mass General\/Dana-Farber\/Bringham Women\u2019s). Further, she completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine from the Andrew Weil Center at the University of Arizona. As well as a clinical fellowship in neuro-oncology, she completed a research fellowship with Scott Pomeroy and Frances Jensen at Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital focused on understanding the contribution of the GABA-A receptor in an aggressive subtype of pediatric brain cancer medulloblastoma. This was the beginning of her fascination with neurotransmitter receptors and cancer.\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Daniel A. Pomeranz Krummel, PhD<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2457\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-232x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Daniel Pomeranz Krummel\" width=\"241\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-791x1024.jpg 791w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-1583x2048.jpg 1583w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-600x776.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Krummel-scaled.jpg 1978w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/directory\/daniel-pomeranz-krummel-phd\/\">Dr. Daniel Pomeranz Krummel<\/a> is a research-focused faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. \u00a0 He has a long-standing research interest in gene expression mechanisms. He completed his doctoral research at Yale University under Sidney Altman (Nobel 1989) studying an RNA enzyme, ribonuclease P. During post-doctoral research, he extended his interest in RNA-protein interactions and gene expression at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, U.K.) under Kiyoshi Nagai. During this period, he determined the first structure of a U snRNP complex, obtained by x-ray crystallography (Pomeranz Krummel et al., 2009). While maintaining an interest in RNA structure-function, his interests broadened to include translational neuro-oncology. He became fascinated with the contribution of neurotransmitter receptors to cancer development and exploring how they could be a therapeutic vulnerability. Daniel is a faculty member at the medical school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Kerry Roby Jr., PhD<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2470\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Kerry Roby\" width=\"241\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Kerry-Roby-2025-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\nDr. Kerry Roby Jr. is a cancer biologist and project manager in the SoDa Lab. His primary research focus is on the tumor microenvironment and on understanding the molecular and functional properties of perivascular astrocyte and their contributions to blood brain barrier development and in cancer progression. Dr. Roby grew up in a small, rural town in Mississippi and is a first-generation college student along with his older sister.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Roby joined theSoDa Lab\u00a0from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he completed his post doc fellowship in the McCarty Lab under the direction of Dr. Joseph McCarty.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Caroline Mohammed, BS<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2293 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-19-113032.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"254\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\nCaroline is a research technician in the lab. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in May of 2023 with a double major in Biological Sciences and Mathematics. Her research in the lab is focused on the immune response elicited from the administration of the drug, AM-101, and how it can enhance the effectiveness of other standard-of-care cancer treatments. The future, Caroline intends to attend medical school.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Colin Chen<\/h2>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2323 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-18-at-10.26.13\u202fAM-237x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"251\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\nColin is a 3rd-year neuroscience major with an entrepreneurship minor on the pre-med track from Cincinnati, Ohio. Colin&#8217;s research focuses on the cellular mechanisms behind AM101 and the targeting of cell signaling pathways for translational therapeutics. Under the mentorship of David Plas, Colin has gained extensive experience with 3D tumor spheroids and confocal microscopy at the University of Cincinnati. The future, medical school most likely following a gap year.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Matthew Owusu<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW130440276 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW130440276 BCX0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2469 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1420\/2025\/01\/Matthew-Owusu.jpg\" alt=\"Matthew Owusu\" width=\"148\" height=\"148\" \/>Matthew is a 3rd-year biology major<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW130440276 BCX0\"> with a neuroscience minor at UNC-Chapel Hill. Matthew hails<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW130440276 BCX0\"> from North Potomac, Maryland. Matthew is currently a Scholar in The Chancellor\u2019s Science Scholars Program at UNC, which provides a pathway to success for highly able students who aspire to pursue both an undergraduate and advanced degree in the sciences. Matthew has a particular interest in immuno-oncology and conducting research that impacts human health. The future, pursuing a PhD in cancer biology and\/or immuno-oncology.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, MBA, FRCP (Lon.), FAAN, FANA\u00a0 Daniel A. Pomeranz Krummel, PhD Kerry Roby Jr., PhD Caroline Mohammed, BS Colin Chen Matthew Owusu Matthew is a 3rd-year biology major with a neuroscience minor at UNC-Chapel Hill. Matthew hails from North Potomac, Maryland. Matthew is currently a Scholar in The Chancellor\u2019s Science Scholars Program &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/meet-the-lab\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Meet the Lab\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115595,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2300","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neurosurgery\/neuro-oncology-translational-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}