University of Maryland School of Medicine



ResumeRaffaella Spina, PhDFaculty Research Associate, Department of PathologyUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineDate: October 15, 2019Contact InformationBusiness Address: Department of Pathology - University of Maryland School of Medicine, Bressler Research Building 8010 655 W. Baltimore StreetBaltimore, MD 21201Business Phone Number: (410) 706-2299Email: spinaraff@Foreign Languages: Italian (native speaker) Spanish (medium proficiency)Objective StatementMedical biotechnologist with a Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology and Experimental Immunology. Focused on the study of cellular and molecular biology of pediatric and adult brain tumors.Tenure as a pathology trainee at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Charles G Eberhart Faculty Research Associate at The University of Maryland - School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Eli E. BarStudied cellular heterogeneity in tumors, stem-like cancer cells (CSC) and therapeutically target signaling pathways in malignant brain tumors.Expertise in molecular and cell biology techniques:Experience with common tissue culture techniques including viral transduction and DNA/siRNA transfection to generate stable cell lines; genome CRISPR-Cas9 system and AAV production;Experience with complex culture systems including stem cell, primary tumor cells isolation from clinical or preclinical specimens;Common molecular biology skills: Western Blotting, ELISA, DNA and RNA extraction and quantification, Q-PCR, RT-PCR, Immunoprecipitation; Clonogenic assay (in soft agar and in methylcellulose) migration, invasion and comet assay. Experience with HTS drug screening (small molecule drug libraries) , citotoxicity, cell proliferation; Experience with in vivo models including subcutaneous and orthotopic xenografts;Immunofluorescence, Immunohistochemistry, HTS screening, Widefield and confocal microscopy, image analysis experience using ImageJ;Flow cytometry (FACS) (Guava 5HT, Attune, Cytek Aurora)Bioluminescence imaging using IVIS spectrum and PET-CT. Extensive experience with supervising and mentoring high school, graduate and undergraduate students;Experience training colleagues on the use of laboratory equipment (flow cytometer, colony counter, multi-detection microplate reader and fluorescence microscope) and experience helping troubleshooting experiments on collaborative projects;Ability to clearly provide technical and scientific guidance and excellent communication and presentation skills and strong ability to work well in both a team environment and independently. Highly driven and motivated person with a strong desire to work in a demanding, high-energy, hands-on startup environment.Education2002 – 2005 - B.S., Medical Biotechnologies, Federico II University of Naples, School ofMedicine, Italy;2005 – 2007 - M.S., Health Biotechnologies?Federico II University of Naples, School ofMedicine, Italy (Magna Cum Laude);2008 – 2012 - Ph.D., Molecular Oncology, Experimental Immunology and Development of innovative therapies, University of Catanzaro Magna Gr?cia, Catanzaro, Italy,Thesis Advisor – Giovanni MorronePost Graduate Education and Training2011 – 2012 - Pathology Trainee, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of PathologyEmployment History Academic Appointments2012-2018 - Postdoctoral Scholar, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine ?2018-2019 - Research Associate, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine 2019 - Present – Faculty Research Associate, University of Maryland, School of MedicineProfessional Society Membership2011 - Present AACR: American Association for Cancer Research2018 - Present SNO: Society for Neuro-OncologyHonors And AwardsCertificate of research excellence – UMGCC Cancer Research day, University of Maryland September 17th, 2019;Award for Drug Discovery & Development Article of the Year - SLAS 2018 Meeting February 5, San Diego, California -USA;AACR-Millennium Scholar-in-Training Award: AACR Annual Meeting April 1 2017, Washington, DC, - USA;Award for the Post-doctoral fellow/scholar competition at the Research ShowCASE, April 2016 Cleveland, OH, USA;Award for best poster in Translational Research. Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Annual Scientific Retreat July 11th 2014, Cleveland, OH, USA;AACR-Millennium Scholar-in-Training Award: The Takeda Oncology Company. AACR Annual Meeting April 5 2014, 2014, San Diego, CA – USA;Award for excellence in translational research. 4th Annual Department of Pathology Young Investigators’ Day April 26th, 2012, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore MD, USA;Poster selected for oral presentation by the EMBO editors. The EMBO meeting 4-7 Sept 2010, Barcelona SpainTeaching ServiceHigh School Student Teaching2016-present - Mentor3 high school studentsUndergraduate Student Teaching2012-present - Mentor, Summer Research Training Program6 undergraduate, daily contact for the summerGraduate Student Teaching2017-present Research Mentor1, graduate, 15 hours per weekPublicationsPeer-reviewed journal articlesRaffaella Spina, Dillon M. Voss, Xiaohua Yang, Jason W. Sohn, Robert Vinkler, Julianna Schraner, Anthony Sloan, Scott M. Welford, Norbert Avril, Eli E. Bar. Monocarboxylate Transporter-4 Inhibition Promotes DNA Damage, Inhibits Self-Renewal, and Cooperates with Radiation in Glioblastoma Stem Cells. In revision Neuro-oncology (N-O-D-19-00344)Brittany Aguila; Adina Brett-Morris; Raffaella Spina; Eli Bar; Julie Schraner; Robert Vinkler; Jason Sohn; The Ig superfamily protein PTGFRN coordinates survival signaling in Glioblastoma multiforme. Cancer Lett. 2019 Aug 1;462:33-42. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.07.018Gayle SS, Sahni JM, Webb BM, Weber-Bonk KL, Shively MS, Spina R, Bar EE, Summers MK, Keri RA. Targeting BCL-xL improves the efficacy of bromodomain and extra-terminal protein inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer by eliciting the death of senescent cells. J Biol Chem. 2018 Nov 27. pii: jbc.RA118.004712. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.004712Spina, R., Voss, D. M., Asnaghi, L., Sloan, A., Bar, E. E. Flow Cytometry-based Drug Screening System for the Identification of Small Molecules That Promote Cellular Differentiation of Glioblastoma Stem Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (131), e56176, doi:10.3791/56176 (2018).Nathaniel Boyd, Kiera Walker, Joshua Fried, James Hackney, Paul McDonald, Gloria Benavides, Raffaella Spina, Alessandra Audia, Sarah Scott, Catherine Libby, Anh Tran, Mark Bevensee, Corinne Griguer, Susan E. Nozell, G. Yancey Gillespie, Burt Nabors, Krishna P. Bhat, Eli Bar, Victor Darley-Usmar, Bo Xu, Emily Gordon, Sara J. Cooper, Shoukat Dedhar, Anita Hjelmeland. Addition of the Carbonic Anhydrase IX Inhibitor SLC-0111 to Temozolomide Treatment Delays Glioblastoma Growth in vivo. December 2017 Journal of Clinical Investigation 2(24)DOI10.1172/jci.insight.92928Voss DM, Spina R, Carter DL, Lim KS, Jeffery CJ, Bar EE. Disruption of the monocarboxylate transporter-4-Basigin interaction inhibits the hypoxic response, proliferation, and tumor progression. Sci Rep.?2017 Jun 27;7(1):4292. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04612-w.Spina R, Voss MD, Asnaghi L, Sloan A, Bar EE. Atracurium Besylate and Other Neuromuscular Blocking Agents Promote Astroglial Differentiation and Deplete Glioblastoma Stem Cells. Oncotarget.?2016 Jan 5;7(1):459-72. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.6314.Chiarella E, Carrà G, Scicchitano S, Codispoti B, Mega T, Lupia M, Pelaggi D, Marafioti, Spina R, Moore M AS, Bond HM, Mesuraca M, Morrone. UMG Lenti: novel lentiviral vectors for efficient transgene- and reporter gene expression in human early hematopoietic progenitors. PLoS One.?2014 Dec 12;9(12):e114795. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114795. Brett-Morris A, Wright BM, Seo Y, Pasupuleti V, Zhang J, Lu J, Spina R, Bar EE, Gujrati M, Schur R, Lu ZR, Welford SM. The polyamine catabolic enzyme SAT1 modulates tumorigenesis and radiation response in GBM. Cancer Res. 2014 Oct 2. pii: canres.1249.2014.Spina R,? HYPERLINK "" Filocamo G,?. Critical role of zinc finger protein 521 in the control of growth, clonogenicity and tumorigenic potential of medulloblastoma cells. Oncotarget.?2013 Aug;4(8):1280-92.Mega T, Lupia M, Amodio N, Horton SJ, Mesuraca M, Pelaggi D, Agosti V, Grieco M, Chiarella E, Spina R, Moore MAS, Schuringa JJ, Bond HM, Morrone G. Zinc finger protein 521 antagonizes early B-cell factor 1 and modulates the B-lymphoid differentiation of primary hematopoietic progenitors. Cell Cycle, 10 (13) July 1, 2011.Major Invited Speeches The Center for Co-Clinical Trails – MD Anderson, Houston, TX April 20th, 2018. Targeting Glioblastoma Stem Cells: Therapeutic implications and challenges.AACR Annual Meeting Minisymposium (Tumor Stem Cell Biology) April 4th, 2017, Washington, DC, - USA - Disruption of the monocarboxylate transporter-4-Basigin interaction inhibits the hypoxic response, proliferation, and tumor progressionMedia (links) Best Drug Discovery & Development Article of the Year10 Best Life Sciences Interviews of 2017Interview with SelectScience - Researchers Deplete Cancer Stem Cells to Fight Recurring Brain Tumors. InterviewJove manuscript - Flow Cytometry-based Drug Screening System for the Identification of Small Molecules That Promote Cellular Differentiation of Glioblastoma Stem Cells- Volunteer ExperienceVolunteer for VeloSano Bike to Cure - July 29-31, 2016 Cleveland, OH, USA ................
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