Cancer Biology & Genetics Program

The Tuomas Tammela Lab

Research

Dr. Tuomas Tammela
Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD
Associate Member, Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, MSKCC

Associate Professor

The Tammela lab is interested in understanding the remarkable phenotypic heterogeneity of cancer cells within tumors. We approach this question using a combination of sophisticated genetically engineered mouse models, single-cell approaches, tracing and ablation of distinct tumor cell lineages, CRISPR-mediated gene regulation, and advanced imaging techniques. We utilize the exceptional resources developed by our MSK collaborators, such as organoids and xenografts, for the translation of our findings into new treatments for human cancer. Our goal is to discover pathways that drive distinct cellular phenotypes and to develop new therapeutic concepts aimed at reducing cellular heterogeneity in tumors.

Research Projects

Publications Highlights

Singhal A, Styers HC, Rub J, Li Z, Torborg SR, Kim J, Grbovic-Huezo O, Feng H, Tarcan ZC, Sahin Ozkan H, Hallin J, Basturk O, Yaeger R, Christensen JG, Betel D, Yan Y, Chio IIC, de Stanchina E, Tammela T. A classical epithelial state drives acute resistance to KRAS inhibition in pancreas cancer. Cancer Discovery (2024). DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-0740

Zhuang X, Wang Q, Joost S, Ferrena A, Humphreys DT, Li Z, Blum M, Bastl K, Ding S, Landais Y, Zhan Y, Zhao Y, Chaligne R, Lee J, Carrasco SE, Bhanot UK, Koche RP, Bott MJ, Katajisto P, Soto-Feliciano YM, Pisanic T, Thomas T, Zheng D, Wong ES, Tammela T. Aging limits stemness and tumorigenesis in the lung by reprogramming iron homeostasis. bioRxiv [Preprint] 2024.06.23.600305; DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.23.600305

Li Z, Zhuang X, Pan CH, Yan Y, Thummalapalli R, Hallin J, Torborg SR, Singhal A, Chang JC, Manchado E, Dow LE, Yaeger R, Christensen JG, Lowe S, Rudin CM, Joost S, Tammela T. Alveolar differentiation drives resistance to KRAS inhibition in lung adenocarcinoma. Cancer Discovery, 14(2):308–325 (2024). [PMID: 37931288] DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-0289

Torborg SR, Grbovic-Huezo O, Singhal A, Holm M, Wu K, Han X, Ho Y, Haglund C, Mitchell MJ, Lowe SW, Dow LE, Pitter KL, Sanchez-Rivera FJ, Levchenko A, Tammela T. Solid tumor growth depends on an intricate equilibrium of malignant cell states. bioRxiv [Preprint] 2023.12.30.573100; DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.30.573100

Marjanovic ND, Hofree M, Chan JE, Canner D, Wu K, Trakala M, Hartmann GG, Smith OC, Kim JY, Evans KV, Hudson A, Ashenberg O, Porter CBM, Bejnood A, Subramanian A, Pitter K, Yan Y, Delorey T, Phillips DR, Shah N, Chaudhary O, Tsankov A, Hollmann T, Rekhtman N, Massion PP, Poirier JT, Mazutis L, Li R, Lee JH, Amon A, Rudin CM, Jacks T, Regev A, Tammela T. Emergence of a high-plasticity cell state during lung cancer evolution. Cancer Cell, 38(2):229-246 (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.06.012

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People

Dr. Tuomas Tammela

Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD

Associate Member, Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, MSKCC

Associate Professor

  • Cancer biologist Tuomas Tammela investigates cellular heterogeneity in lung and pancreatic cancers.
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • University of Helsinki, Finland: MD, PhD
646-888-2048
Office Phone

Members

Photo of Heather Alcorn
Heather Alcorn

Lab Manager

Emma Brown

Research Technician

Jason Chan, MD, PhD
Jason Chan

Clinical Instructor

Brooklyn Christensen

Research Technician

John Guthrie

Research Technician

Gary Guzman

PhD Student, GSK; Geoffrey Beene Graduate Fellow

Jung Yun Kim

Postdoctoral Fellow

Photo of Klavdija Bastl
Klavdija Krause

GSK Graduate Student; Harold Varmus Scholar in Cancer Biology; Boehringer Ingelheim Fond PhD Fellow

Photo of Chun-Hao Pan
Chun-Hao Pan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jeyaram Ravichandran Damodaran

PhD Student, WCGS

Jonathan Rub
Jonathan Rub

PhD Student

Kate Ryan

PhD Student, GSK; Robert B. Catell Fellow

Shekinah Scott

Administrative Assistant

Photo of Dr. Anupriya Singhal
Anupriya Singhal

Clinical Instructor

Hannah Styers, BS
Hannah Styers

Research Technician

Xueqian Zhuang, PhD
Xueqian Zhuang

Postdoctoral Fellow; NYSTEM Training Award at the Center for Stem Cell Biology (CSCB)

Lab Alumni
Melissa Blum, BS
Melissa Blum

M.D. Student, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Photo of Selena Ding
Selena Ding

MD/PhD Student, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Alexander Ferrena
Alexander Ferrena

Ph.D. Student, Computational Biology Program, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Olivera Grbovic-Huezo
Olivera Grbovic-Huezo

Senior Principal Scientist, Clinical Biomarker Development at Loxo Oncology/Lilly

Photo of Mikel Gregory
Mikel Gregory

BRIDGE Program Post-Baccalaureate trainee

Griffin Hartmann, BS
Griffin Hartmann

Ph.D. Student, Stanford University

Matilda Holm
Matilda Holm

Postdoctoral Fellow, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Anna Hudson
Anna Hudson

M.D./Ph.D. Student, University of Miami

Emily B. Johnson, MPH
Emily B. Johnson

Clinical Research Project Coordinator, MSKCC Pediatrics

Simon Joost, PhD
Simon Joost

Postdoctoral Researcher

Zhuxuan Li
Zhuxuan Li

PhD Student

Akshat Reddy Mekala

Research Technician

Mandy Montemoíño

Administrative Assistant

Ken Pitter, MD, PhD
Ken Pitter

Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, OSUCCC, Columbus, Ohio

Eliud Rivas Hernandez

MSK Bridge Scholar

Carleigh Sussman, BS
Carleigh Sussman

Research Associate, RenBio

Stefan Torborg
Stefan Torborg

MD-PhD Student; Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F30) Fellow

Katherine Wu, BS Senior Research Technician
Katherine Wu

M.D./Ph.D. Student, New York University

Yan Yan
Yan Yan

Assistant Professor, Huazhong Agricultural University

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Josie Robertson Investigator (2017-2022)
  • The Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award (2021)
  • Rita Allen Foundation Scholar (2020)
  • National Cancer Institute R37 MERIT Award (2020)
  • American Cancer Society Scholar (2020)
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  • V Foundation Scholar (2019)

Lab News & Events

Upcoming event

Nutritional Regulation of Tissue Regeneration, Cancer and Immunity

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rockefeller Research Laboratories
430 East 67th Street
Room RRL-116
New York, NY 10065

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Tuomas Tammela discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Lime Therapeutics, Inc.
    Equity; Professional Services and Activities

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.


This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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