Cancer Biology & Genetics Program

The Tuomas Tammela Lab

Research

Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD

Assistant 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

Understanding Cellular Heterogeneity in Cancer

VIDEO | 01:57

Inside My Lab: Tuomas Tammela

Go inside the lab of Tuomas Tammela from SKI’s Cancer Biology & Genetics Program.

Video Details

Featured News

At Work: Cancer Biologist Tuomas Tammela

Cancer biologist Tuomas Tammela discusses his path to becoming a cancer researcher and the focus of his lab.

Finding

A Never-Before-Seen Cell State May Explain Cancer’s Ability to Resist Drugs

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Identified in mice, this unusual cell state emerges early during tumor evolution and gives tumors enormous malleability.

Publications

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).

Tammela T, Sanchez-Rivera FJ, Malli-Cetinbas N, Joshi NS, Helenius K, Park YK, Azimi R, Wu K, Kerper NR, Wesselhoeft RA, Gu X, Schmidt L, Cornwall-Brady M, Yilmaz ÖH, Xue W, Katajisto P, Bhutkar A, and Jacks T. A Wnt-producing niche drives proliferative potential and progression in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature, 545:355-359 (2017).

Roper J*, Tammela T*, Cetinbas N, Akkad A, Almeqdadi M, Wu K, Sánchez-Rivera F, Rickelt S, Park Y, Liang X, Oberli M, Eng G, Roghanian A, Azimi R, Kedrin D., Neupane R., Beyaz S., Sicinska E.T., Bass A., Suarez Y., Yoo J., Chen L., Taylor M.S., Zukerberg L., Katajisto P., Lees J., Deshpande V., Chen J., Hynes R.O., Langer R., Bhutkar A.J., Jacks T., Yilmaz. Ö.H. Epithelial genome editing and orthotopic transplantation models of sequential mutagenesis in colorectal cancer. Nature Biotechnology, 3:569–576 (2017).

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People

Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD

Assistant 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

Melissa Blum, BS — Melissa Blum
Research Technician

Jason Chan, MD, PhD — Jason Chan
Clinical Fellow

Olivera Grbovic-Huezo
Senior Scientist/Research Lab Manager

Emily B. Johnson, MPH — Emily B. Johnson
Administrative Assistant

Simon Joost, PhD — Simon Joost
Postdoctoral Fellow; Hope Funds for Cancer Research Fellow

Carleigh Sussman, BS — Carleigh Sussman
Research Technician

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

Xueqian Zhuang, PhD — Xueqian Zhuang
Postdoctoral Fellow; NYSTEM Training Award at the Center for Stem Cell Biology (CSCB)

Lab Alumni

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

Griffin Hartmann, BS — Griffin Hartmann
Ph.D. Student, Stanford University

Matilda Holm
Postdoctoral Fellow, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

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

Ken Pitter, MD, PhD — Ken Pitter
MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, OSUCCC, Columbus, Ohio

Katherine Wu, BS Senior Research Technician — Katherine Wu
M.D./Ph.D. Student, New York 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)

V Foundation Scholar (2019)

Lab News & Events

Upcoming event

The Role of Stem Cell Niche in Aging and Cancer

Monday, June 6, 2022 - 4PM

This seminar will take place at M-107 and by Zoom webinar.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue
Room M-107
New York, NY 10065

Open Positions

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

Career Opportunities

Apply now

Get in Touch

646-888-2048

Office Phone
646-888-3857

Lab Phone

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:

Gerson Lehrman Group
Provision of Services

Guidepoint Global Advisors
Provision of Services

The information published here 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, 2020 through disclosure submission in spring 2021). 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 ecoi@mskcc.org.

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