Faculty

Charles G. Eberhart, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor of Pathology and Oncology, Charlotte Wilson and Margaret Whitener Professor of Ophthalmology, and Director of Neuropathology and Ophthalmic Pathology. After medical and graduate studies at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, he trained in Anatomical Pathology and Neuropathology at Johns Hopkins and started his laboratory as a faculty member in 2001. In addition to his laboratory research on brain and eye tumors, he works as a clinician diagnosing these lesions using microscopic and molecular tests. Recent research projects include development of novel pediatric brain tumor models, and the identification of therapeutic targets in retinoblastoma and ocular melanoma.

Charles Eberhart – Google Scholar Profile

Eric H. Raabe, M.D., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Oncology and Instructor of Pathology. After receiving his PhD in 2002 and his MD in 2003 from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, he completed pediatrics residency at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He then completed a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship and pediatric neuro-oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He collaborates closely with Dr. Eberhart, and they have co-mentored numerous undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Current research aims to target the stem cell and reprogramming factor LIN28 and its downstream effectors. Key projects are studying the alterations in cellular function that occur downstream of LIN28, with a special focus on cancer metabolism.

Eric Raabe – Google Scholar Profile

Jeffrey Rubens, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Oncology & Pediatrics. He completed medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine and his Pediatric Residency at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He then trained in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Neuro-Oncology at Johns Hopkins. Ongoing research projects include 1) Understanding how glutamine metabolic inhibitors target pediatric brain tumors and impact epigenetic drivers of tumor growth and therapy resistance. 2) Determining the role of the PI3K signaling pathway in childhood brain tumor growth and survival and identifying novel combination therapies that improve survival in murine tumor models. 3) Understanding how the ER stress response protects childhood brain tumors against rapidly changing, harsh tumor microenvironments and toxic therapies.

Jeffrey Rubens – Google Scholar Profile

Ming Yuan, Ph.D. received her Ph.D. from the Umea University, Sweden. She subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Dept. of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences at Johns Hopkins University on a RNAi screening to identified novel tumor suppressor for glioblastoma. She joined our laboratory in July 2014, and is currently a research associate. Her current projects focus on low grade pediatric glioma, spinal cord tumors, and NF1-associated malignancies.

Su Chan Lee, Ph.D., is a Research Associate in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in 2017 from the Seoul National University, where he worked on cancer biology. He joined Dr. Eberhart’s group in October 2019 and began working on retinoblastoma and uveal melanoma and optic pathway gliomas studies.

Harpreet Kaur, Ph.D. is a Research Associate (Research Faculty) at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research focuses on investigating potential therapies and stem cell factors (HMGA proteins), and developing new model systems (Zebrafish) of pediatric brain tumors. Prior to working on pediatric brain tumors, Dr. Kaur has also identified and validated potential therapeutic targets in adult brain tumor glioblastoma. Her Ph.D. work focused on cancer biology, specifically regulation of cell cycle. Dr. Kaur is a prior recipient of the AACR Scholar-in-Training award.

Fellows

Katherine Barnett, M.D. is a pediatric neuro-oncology clinical and research fellow. Prior to starting her fellowship at Johns Hopkins, she completed medical school and pediatrics residency training at New York University School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Princeton University. Her research focuses on identifying novel therapies targeting epigenetic and metabolic vulnerabilities in DMG.

Connor Hall, M.D., Ph.D. is a Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Oncology and Hematology. He completed his MD and PhD in 2016 at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center followed by Pediatrics Residency at the Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center combined program. He is currently a 3^rd year fellow in the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Fellowship with a clinical interest in neuro-oncology.  His current research aims to develop nanoparticles for improved delivery of therapeutic agents to CNS tumors.

Anupa Geethadevi, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She joined the laboratory in May 2022 and is working with Dr. Eric Raabe on developing novel therapeutic strategies in AT/RTs and other pediatric brain tumors using in-vitro methods as well as tumor xenograft models. She graduated in Physiology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India in 2019, following which she designed and worked on a postdoctoral grant to dissect the role of dipeptidyl peptidases in various cancers like glioblastoma and gallbladder cancer. Her current research involves understanding the mechanism of action of an epigenetic complex, CoREST, and how specifically targeting it might help in the treatment of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors. When not in the lab, she loves being in and exploring nature, travelling, painting and preparing new culinary recipes!

Staff

Tyler Findlay, M.H.S., is a Research Specialist II working under the guidance of Dr. Raabe. He graduated with a B.S. in applied molecular biology and biotechnology, and minor in animal science, from the University of Delaware in 2019. Following his undergraduate studies he pursued a Master of Health Science at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, graduating in 2020. His master’s thesis further expanded on the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by proposing a largely unexplored linkage through H. pylori infections. Tyler’s current research looks to identify and target oncogenic drivers of aggressive pediatric brain tumors, with aims to translate the findings to clinical trials.

Akhila Parthasarathy, M.S.E., is a research specialist II working under Dr. Eric Raabe. She graduated with a B.Tech in Biotechnology from PES University, India in 2019 following which she pursued a Masters in Science and Engineering in Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. Her master’s thesis involved looking into the role of the Ten-Eleven Translocase (TET) enzymes in the survival of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Her current research involves understanding the impact of TET enzymes on DIPG genomic methylation patterns and on DIPG survival. 

Kristen (Kris) Malebranche is a Research Technologist. She was 1 out of 15 students accepted into the NIH Post Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at Johns Hopkins. She received a B.S in biochemistry with a minor in chemistry from Mississippi State University while playing collegiate soccer. Now, she is working with Dr. Rubens and studying different combinations therapies to treat atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT).  In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, travel and play soccer recreationally. 

Orlandi Valencia Novak is a research technologist. She joined the lab in 2014 as a volunteer when she was in high school. In 2018, she participated in Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s Pediatric Oncology Student Training (POST) program. Then, she graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2021. She is currently working with Dr. Raabe on investigating novel therapies for DIPG.

Yiming (Mark) Deng is a Research Specialist working under the guidance of Dr. Raabe. He graduated with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and a B.A. in Music with a concentration in classical music composition, from Yale University in 2023. His previous research at Yale focused on the disassembly of the mammalian primary cilium and the influence of this process on cell cycle progression. Currently, his research aims to explore the therapeutic potential of MEK inhibitors in helping children ailed by a severe type of pediatric brain tumor called AT/RT.

Abigail Tindall is a research technologist who joined the lab summer ‘22. In 2023, she received a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University with a concentration in the neurobiology of behavior and development. Her previous research has focused on neuro-developmental disorders in children. In the lab, she is working on targeted therapies for atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors and low grade gliomas. In her spare time she is working to get her EMT certification but also enjoys reading, running, and sailing. She hopes to attend medical school in a few years and potentially work towards a PhD.

Undergraduate Students

Alyssa Wu is a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Computational Medicine. She is currently working with Orlandi Novak to investigate the in vitro mechanisms of novel therapeutics targeting the integrated stress response in AT/RT and DMG.

Istabraq Musa is a junior Neuroscience major at Johns Hopkins University. She joined the laboratory during her freshman year and has worked on several projects focused on the therapeutic development for DMG and AT/RT. Currently, she is working on the application of liquid nanoparticles under the guidance of Dr. Eric Raabe.

Former Lab Members >>