Jean-Philippe Coppé, PhD
Dr. Coppé, an Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Radiation Oncology and a member of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF. He specializes in molecular and cell biology, focusing on cancer and aging research. Dr. Coppé and his team are dedicated to understanding how tumors adapt and survive various therapies, including radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted treatments. Collaborating closely with Dr. Coppé's group, the Ortiz Lab utilizes an advanced kinase signaling analysis system to uncover the cooperative signaling dependencies that support cancer cell persistence. Dr. Coppé and his colleagues have pioneered the development of the HT-KAM kinase activity screening platform and the PhosphoAtlas directional kinase-substrate network database. These tools enable us to assess kinase enzyme function, phospho-signaling circuits, and responses to new therapeutic approaches identified by the Ortiz Lab. By exploring these molecular parameters, which are rich in potential but largely unexplored, we aim to accelerate the discovery of actionable kinase-dependent pathways. This collaboration offers promising opportunities for the co-development of novel therapeutic strategies, advancing functional precision medicine.
Terumi Kohwi-Shigematsu, PhD
Dr. Kohwi-Shigematsu is a Professor of Orofacial Sciences at UCSF. Her research explores the functional organization of the mammalian genome within nuclei. The focus is on understanding how genes are appropriately and efficiently activated or repressed to elicit specific biological functions. This investigation centers on SATB1, a gene encoding a nuclear protein that serves as a landing platform for the assembly of chromatin remodeling/modifying complexes at specific genomic loci. SATB1, therefore, plays a crucial role in regulating a cell-type-specific epigenetic program and the expression of a large cohort of genes. In collaboration with the Shigematsu Lab, the Ortiz group is actively engaged in studying the regulatory role of nuclear-enriched long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in melanoma.
Spartia Therapeutics
Drs. Susana Ortiz and Valentin Feichtenschlager are the visionary minds behind Spartia Therapeutics, a pioneering startup poised to revolutionize cancer treatment. Building upon the groundbreaking discoveries of the Ortiz Lab, Spartia Therapeutics is dedicated to developing cutting-edge therapeutics and innovative delivery methods for clinical use. Their primary focus is on unlocking the potential of pharmacologically exploitable vulnerabilities in cancer cells reliant on MAPK-pathway upregulation, marking a significant breakthrough in the fight against cancer.