Kadara Laboratory

Our group tackles different vignettes in order to discern the pathogenesis of cancer, mostly lung cancer. We are actively characterizing the landscape of molecular and immune alterations in normal-appearing lung tissues, premalignant lesions (PMLs) and early invasive lesions in the pathogenesis of lung cancer, particularly lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The Kadara Lab also studies the interplay between microbiome dysbiosis and immunomodulatory responses in the pathogenesis of LUAD. The lab also studies the role of alveolar intermediate cells and progenitors in lung cancer evolution in depth. The Kadara Lab is also part of the NCI’s Cancer Systems Biology Consortium to understand tumor-immune interactions and co-evolution in lung cancer pathogenesis. Our was among the first to characterize the landscape of oncodriver alterations in normal epithelium from LUAD patients and was also among the first to report a progressive decrement in immunity along the normal-PML-LUAD continuum. We are also characterizing, at exceptional single-cell resolution, cell-specific states that underlie development of PMLs and lung cancer. Our group utilizes an array of tools to achieve our goals including single-cell and multimodal spatial-omics technologies, tobacco carcinogen-associated and genetically engineered mouse models of carcinogenesis, unique cohorts of human tissues and state-of-the-art computational tools, among other methodologies.

Topics of interest include:

• Understanding early mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma
• Interrogating the immune contexture in lung adenocarcinoma pathogenesis
• Exploring uncharted roles of alveolar progenitor cells in development of lung adenocarcinoma
• Interrogating the role of the host microbiome in the pathogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma
• Mapping field cancerization and premalignancy in human lung cancer
• Understanding the malignant conversion of oral precancer

Learn more about our research