Former Lab Members
Alan Chiu
Lab Manager
Alan is a Rhode Island native making his first journey to the West Coast. After graduating from Harvard in 2010 Alan has managed research teams at MIT, Boston University, and Harvard Medical School. His published work has so far focused on the development of animal models for chronic disease with a focus on macrophages and their interactions with biomaterials. He is excited to now pursue their role in the metastasis of ovarian cancer.
Bruce Schaar
Dr. Bruce Schaar received his Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Pennsylvania. He first arrived at Stanford for his postdoctoral studies in developmental neurobiology and subsequently held senior scientist positions in the departments of Neurosurgery and Developmental Biology in the School of Medicine. Dr. Schaar's current
interests are in epigenomics as a tool to study macrophage diversity and translational aspects of cancer immunology.
Venkatesh Krishnan
Postdoctoral Fellow
Venkat has identified a key role for adipose tissue macrophages in omental colonization of ovarian cancer. His research interests are focused on defining the mechanism(s) by which the omental microenvironment supports and promotes progression of precursor cells to high-grade serous ovarian cancers, and ultimately peritoneal metastases. Venkat brings the tools and expertise, from his training at the Univ. of Chicago, to carry out preclinical validation studies – allowing the translation of newly identified signals first into biomarkers for risk, and secondly, as targets for prevention.
Mahsa He
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Huanhuan He, or Mahsa, was born and raised in China. Having spent much of her teenage years dreaming of becoming a scientist like Marie Curie, she received her PhD from UCLA in the lab of Luisa Iruela-Arispe. Originally trained in vascular biology and stem cells, Mahsa became interested in macrophages during her graduate studies and is now exploring their role in ovarian cancer in the Dorigo Lab.
Kalika Kamat, MS
LSRP III
Kalika joined the Dorigo lab as a Life Science Research Professional III in 2018 to better understand the mechanism of early metastasis in ovarian cancer. Her goal is to use a combination of genomic, transciptomic and proteomic approaches on patient sera to help predict onset of ovarian cancer. Outside of work, Kalika reads, plays board games, hikes and travels.
Leanne Almario
Medical Student
Leanne V. Almario, a native San Diegan, earned her bachelor’s degree in Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of California, Berkeley in 2009. She went on to attend Stanford University School of Medicine, where she found her calling in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Leanne’s interest in immunology and gynecologic oncology allowed her to be awarded yearlong funding by the Stanford Medical Scholars Research Program. Her project focuses on macrophage re-education in ovarian cancer. She will graduate in June 2015 and will be starting her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center.
Ashley Moon, MD
Gynecology Oncology Fellow
Dr. Moon was a Gynecologic Oncology fellow completing a research year in Dr. Dorigo’s lab. Her research focuses on optimizing tumor associated macrophages to better study and understand the tumor microenvironment in ovarian cancer. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. After service with AmeriCorps, Dr. Moon earned her medical degree from the University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School in Australia and New Orleans. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.