Colbert Laboratory
Lauren Colbert, M.D.
Principal Investigator
- Departments, Labs and Institutes
- Labs
- Colbert Laboratory
Areas of Research
- Cervical Cancer
- HPV
- Microbiome
- Radiation Oncology
- Radiation Therapy
- Vulvar Cancer
- Vaginal Cancer
- Anal Cancer
- Cancer Biology
- Cancer Genomics
- Computational Biology
- DNA Damage Response
- Immunology
- Immunotherapy
Welcome to the Colbert Lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center!
Our lab conducts clinical and translational research in human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers. Our research focuses on understanding why and how HPV-related cancers respond to radiation and chemotherapy to improve survival and decrease side effects. We aim to find markers in the tumor or blood for these outcomes and develop targeted therapies based on them.
Predicting and improving cancer response to therapy is complex. We believe that integrating multiple layers of data, including microbiome, immune and genomic data, can guide us to new, targeted approaches to improving patient outcomes. While we have a strong computational team and are actively developing new computational pipelines for rigorous biomarker identification, we also have an active bench lab program to test hypotheses generated from our computational data. We welcome interested lab members with both computational interests and wet lab interests.
Our Research
Our current projects include:
- Study of how specific bacterial species in the tumor microbiome, primarily L. iners, affect cancer and immune cells in HPV-related cancers.
- The use of serial non-invasive swab-based biopsies and a customized computational pipeline to perform serial whole-exome and shallow whole genome sequencing during chemoradiation. Using this data, we can identify tumor mutations associated with tumor microbial species and predict tumor antigens and neoantigens associated with T cell repertoire changes and immune alterations.
- The development of patient-derived organoids from cervical cancer patients for the study of tumor microbial species, the development of targeted therapies and a better understanding of radiation response in cervical cancer.
Join Our Lab
We have positions open at all levels, but are particularly looking for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Colbert is on faculty at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. We are currently accepting graduate school students for rotations and have several postdoctoral and research scientist positions available.
Recent Publications
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Cancer Immunology Research
Expansion of Candidate HPV-Specific T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment during Chemoradiotherapy Is Prognostic in HPV16+ Cancers Opens a new window
Colbert LE, El MB, Lynn EJ, Bronk J, Karpinets TV, Wu X, Chapman BV, Sims TT, Lin D, Kouzy R, Sammouri J, Biegert G, Delgado Medrano AY, Olvera A, Sastry KJ, Eifel PJ, Jhingran A, Lin L, Ramondetta LM, Futreal AP, Jazaeri AA, Schmeler KM, Yue J, Mitra A, Yoshida-Court K, Wargo JA, Solley TN, Hegde V, Nookala SS, Yanamandra AV, Dorta-Estremera S, Mathew G, Kavukuntla R, Papso C, Ahmed-Kaddar M, Kim M, Zhang J, Reuben A, Holliday EB, Minsky BD, Koong AC, Koay EJ, Das P, Taniguchi CM, Klopp A.Cancer Immunol Res. 2022 Feb;10(2):259-271. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-21-0119. Epub 2022 Jan 19. PMID: 35045973
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International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics
Microbiome Dynamics During Chemoradiotherapy for Anal Cancer Opens a new window
Lin D, Alam MBE, Jaoude JA, Kouzy R, Phan JL, Elnaggar JH, Resendiz B, Medrano AYD, Lynn EJ, Nguyen ND, Noticewala SS, Mathew GG, Holliday EB, Minsky BD, Das P, Morris VK, Eng C, Mezzari MP, Petrosino JF, Ajami NJ, Klopp AH, Taniguchi CM, Colbert LE.Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2022 May 2:S0360-3016(22)00396-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.04.037. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35513187
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Microbiology Methods
Diversity and composition of gut microbiome of cervical cancer patients: Do results of 16S rRNA sequencing and whole genome sequencing approaches align? Opens a new window
Biegert G, El Alam MB, Karpinets T, Wu X, Sims TT, Yoshida-Court K, Lynn EJ, Yue J, Medrano AD, Petrosino J, Mezzari MP, Ajami NJ, Solley T, Ahmed-Kaddar M, Klopp AH, Colbert LE.J Microbiol Methods. 2021 Jun;185:106213. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2021.106213. Epub 2021 Mar 27. PMID: 33785357
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Communications Biology
Gut microbiome diversity is an independent predictor of survival in cervical cancer patients receiving chemoradiation Opens a new window
Sims TT, El Alam MB, Karpinets TV, Dorta-Estremera S, Hegde VL, Nookala S, Yoshida-Court K, Wu X, Biegert GWG, Delgado Medrano AY, Solley T, Ahmed-Kaddar M, Chapman BV, Sastry KJ, Mezzari MP, Petrosino JF, Lin LL, Ramondetta L, Jhingran A, Schmeler KM, Ajami NJ, Wargo J, Colbert LE, Klopp AH.Commun Biol. 2021 Feb 22;4(1):237. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-01741-x. PMID: 33619320 Free PMC article.
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PLoS One
A prospective study of the adaptive changes in the gut microbiome during standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy for gynecologic cancers Opens a new window
El Alam MB, Sims TT, Kouzy R, Biegert GWG, Jaoude JABI, Karpinets TV, Yoshida-Court K, Wu X, Delgado-Medrano AY, Mezzari MP, Ajami NJ, Solley T, Ahmed-Kaddar M, Lin LL, Ramondetta L, Jazaeri A, Jhingran A, Eifel PJ, Schmeler KM, Wargo J, Klopp AH, Colbert LE.PLoS One. 2021 Mar 4;16(3):e0247905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247905. eCollection 2021. PMID: 3366200
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Cancer Prevention Research
Effect of Antibiotics on Gut and Vaginal Microbiomes Associated with Cervical Cancer Development in Mice Opens a new window
Karpinets TV, Solley TN, Mikkelson MD, Dorta-Estremera S, Nookala SS, Medrano AYD, Petrosino JF, Mezzari MP, Zhang J, Futreal PA, Sastry KJ, Colbert LE, Klopp A.Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2020 Dec;13(12):997-1006. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-20-0103. Epub 2020 Sep 11. PMID: 32917644
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PLoS Pathology
Microbiome factors in HPV-driven carcinogenesis and cancers Opens a new window
Lin D, Kouzy R, Abi Jaoude J, Noticewala SS, Delgado Medrano AY, Klopp AH, Taniguchi CM, Colbert LE.PLoS Pathog. 2020 Jun 4;16(6):e1008524. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008524. eCollection 2020 Jun. PMID: 32497113 Free PMC article. Review.
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International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics
Microbial Diversity and Composition Is Associated with Patient-Reported Toxicity during Chemoradiation Therapy for Cervical Cancer Opens a new window
Mitra A, Grossman Biegert GW, Delgado AY, Karpinets TV, Solley TN, Mezzari MP, Yoshida-Court K, Petrosino JF, Mikkelson MD, Lin L, Eifel P, Zhang J, Ramondetta LM, Jhingran A, Sims TT, Schmeler K, Okhuysen P, Colbert LE, Klopp AH.Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020 May 1;107(1):163-171. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.12.040. Epub 2020 Jan 25. PMID: 31987960. Clinical Trial.