BioPitNeT

Yana Zavros – Program Director/MPI

Expert in physiology, tumor biology, organoid technology and building centralized resources using an interdisciplinary team science approach who will lead the efforts in the development of BioPitNeT as the translational scientist in collaboration with Dr Little; University of Georgia School of Medicine

Andrew S. Little – MPI

Founder and Director of the Registry for Adenomas of the PItuitary and related Disorders (RAPID) who will lead the efforts as the clinical MPI in collaboration with Dr Zavros; Barrow Neurological Institute

Albert H. Kim – Genomics and Epigenetics of PitNETs (CO-I)

Leads the team with expertise in genome, epigenome, and transcriptome analyses in CNS tumors, including glioblastoma, meningioma, vestibular schwannoma, and PitNET and will perform next-generation sequencing and pipeline analysis for exome and transcriptome in this project; Washington University School of Medicine St Louis

Gabriel Zada – Genomics and Epigenetics of PitNETs (CO-I)

Founding member and PI of the NIHNCI funded Pituitary Adenoma Genomics and Epigenomics (PAGE) Consortium who’s team will perform the methylome microarray and analysis; Keck School of Medicine of USC

Donato R. Pacione – RAPID Consortium Neurosurgeons (CO-I)

Specializes in neuroendocrine tumors as well as skull-based surgery who will identify patients that are eligible for study inclusion and will acquire tissue for specimen collection and collaborate with the Pathology and Endocrinology Departments and Laboratory; New York University Langone

James J. Evans – RAPID Consortium Neurosurgeons (CO-I)

Founder and director of the CAP certified cranial base tumor bank and will provide the necessary biospecimens, clinical expertise of CD treatments and PitNET biology; Thomas Jefferson University

Jennifer M. Eschbacher – Neuropathology (CO-I)

The PI of the Biobank Core Facility and the Clinical Lab Director for the IVY Brain Tumor Center who will provide pathology review, selection and scoring of all tumor cases for this project; Barrow Neurological Institute 

Kevin CJ Yuen – Endocrinology (CO-I)

Board certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology who will share his expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary dysfunction with a focus on facilitating long term patient participation in outcomes collection data; Barrow Neurological Institute

Sandro Santagata – Neuropathology, Molecular Pathology and Multiplex (high-plex) Spatial Imaging (CO-I)

Leads the team performing multiplexed tissue imaging and analysis and development of the PITuitary Molecular Atlas Project (PITMAP) and CD classification system; Harvard Medical School

James M. Wells – iPSC Organoid Technology and Genetic Engineering (CO-I)

Established the Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility (PSCF) and is one of the founding directors of the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) who will establish induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) lines genetically engineered with known mutations and fluorescent reporter lines to investigate the causes of PitNETs; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Program Management

Trippe Ross, Senior Grants and Contracts Manager and BioPitNeT Program Manager

With over 10 years experience supporting research and public service projects, he is the Senior Grants & Contracts Manager for the UGA School of Medicine and serves as the Program Manager for BioPitNeT and collaborates with the research team to advance, document and report project activities; UGA School of Medicine Research Center

Centralized Tissue Acquisition, Processing and Exchange Committee (CTAPE)

Chair, Yana Zavros

PITuitary Molecular Atlas Project Committee (PITMAP)

Chair, Sandro Santagata

Data Management and Coordination Committee (DMCC)

Chair, Ritu Pandey

Extensive experience in implementing programmatic solutions for research data management and integrative data analysis of molecular data from omics who will chair the Data Management and Coordination Committee; University of Arizona

CO-I, Jayati Chakrabarti – Organoid Technology and Genomic Analyses

Trained in the development and application of organoid technology, computational methods design and implementation of clinical informatics approaches; University of Arizona School of Medicine Tucson

COMPArative Canine Oncology Committee (COMPAC)

Co-Chair, Jonathon Mochel

Co-Chair, Karin Allenspach jorn

Translational Research Committee (TRC)

Chair, Albert H. Kim

Community Engagement and Patient Advocacy Committee (CEPC)

Chair, Gretchen Jordan

A patient and advocate with lived experience in Cushing’s Disease who will provide critical insight to ensure the research remains patient-centered and translational. In collaboration with the project teams, her professional experience in entrepreneurship, marketing and account management will also help lead the dissemination of research findings to community partners, scientists and medical providers; Minneapolis, Minnesota

Member, Ben Forred

Rare Disease patient; Owner of ZebraSite Studios (rare disease community web design) with a biology background and spearheaded the launch and growth of Sanford’s CoRDS rare disease patient registry. His professional and personal experience in both science and patient advocacy will support website development, content and messaging to the clinician, scientific and patient communities; Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Member, Heather Elder

Acromegaly patient; Vice-President on the volunteer-run Acromegaly Canada Board of Directors, where she also chairs the Communications Committee. Professionally, she is Marketing Director for a national non-profit organization that offers programs and resources to support the tourism workforce. She has 20 years’ experience crafting written and visual messaging on everything from research to events to training, for audiences from governments, associations, education, and businesses, as well as the general public; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Member, James J. Evans

In addition to supporting Aim 1, James’s passion for Cushing’s research and his extended network of medical and industry professionals will be an integral part of the committee’s success; Thomas Jefferson University

MGB PITUITARY CENTER LAB

Karen K. Miller, M.D., Chief, Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Co-Director

Roy Soberman, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Co-Director

Pamela Jones, M.D., Department of Neurosurgery, MGH, and Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Pituitary Neurosurgeon

Yunli Zhou, Ph.D. MGH Neuroendocrine Unit, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Tumor biology work

Allegra Petti, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School
Bioinformatics